By ZAM KARIM

PETALING JAYA: South Korean electronics giant Samsung is upbeat about the future despite the drop in global mobile phone shipments.

Analysts at Gartner said around 286 million handsets were sold during March to June, down 6.1% from the same period last year.

The drop follows a 9.4% decline on the year in the first quarter — the biggest decline in mobile handset sales ever recorded.

However, it is wrong to think that all phone market segments are in decline, said Yoon Ki Heung, Samsung Malaysia managing director.

The touchscreen and smartphone markets are actually on the rise and it is these segments that the company is keen on exploring further, he said.

“Demand has steadily gone up since last year for such phones,” Yoon said after launching the company’s Jet S8003 smartphone recently.

This claim is supported by the same Gartner survey which found that sales of smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone rose by 27% to 41 million units in the first quarter of this year.

According to Yoon, people are getting sophisticated — they are moving away from a single-purpose communication tool and opting for multi-functional devices that have multimedia capabilities, business functions and Internet connectivity.

The Jet, for instance, features a multi-task manager, GPS, 5-megapixel camera, WiFi as well as DivX and XviD video support.

Additionally, the phone is also very energy efficient, he said.

For example, the phone has a WVGA Amoled screen technology that uses 40% less energy than a mobile phone equipped with a TFT LCD display, he said.

Yoon also said that despite the push in the touchscreen and smartphone segments, Samsung will continue to support other phone categories by launching more than 20 models by the end of the year.

These would include its first Android-based phone, those that can play HD movies, phones for the fashion-conscious user and so-called “tough” phones that are water, dust and shock-proof.

Doing its bit for the environment, Samsung also plans to bring in several “green” phones that will be sold under its Blue Earth Dream series.

Samsung’s first eco-friendly handset features a solar panel and is made from recycled PCM plastic, which is extracted from water bottles.