The history of the Samsung industrial group, one of the monsters of the modern global economy, began in 1938, then in a unified Korea. An enterprising resident of the town of Daegu, trader Byong Chul Lee, decided to expand his business and, together with his Chinese partners, founded a rice trading company. Things were going well, the company was expanding into new areas of activity, its staff was growing, and in 1948 it was decided to give the company a fashionable “American” name: Samsung Trading Co.
The beginning of Samsung - a trading post in Daegu, 1938
Semiconductors are better than rice
A real breakthrough in the history of the company occurred in 1969, when it, together with the Japanese company Sanyo, opened South Korea workshop for assembling black and white Japanese televisions. Already in 1973, a full-fledged large-scale production of various consumer electronics was established in the city of Suwon, and the joint venture came completely under the control of Samsung Trading Co and turned into a corporation Samsung Electronics.
Having started its activities in the consumer electronics market practically from scratch, within a few years Samsung Electronics took a prominent place in it. By adopting Sanyo technology and then focusing on the production of semiconductors, the corporation eventually became one of the largest and most famous electronics manufacturers in the world.
Today it is difficult to find an industry in which Samsung divisions are not involved. Literally everything is produced under this brand: from microwaves and toasters to digital cameras and stereo systems, from cars to ocean-going ships and airplanes. In the domestic market of South Korea, Samsung Group is also engaged in financial transactions, insurance and security activities, as a result of which it forms more than 50% of the country’s total budget. Almost half a million employees work in the corporation's representative offices around the world, and the South Korean city of Suwon, where the headquarters of Samsung Electronics is located, has long been called “Samsung City.”
Lost in translation
There is no clear version of the origin of the word samsung (pronounced “samson”), but the most common version is that it means “three stars” in Korean. Perhaps the choice of name is related to the three sons of the company's founder, Byong Chul Lee, one of whom, Kun Hee Lee, heads industrial group currently.
By the way, the company’s early logos featured the image of three stars. But in 1993, Samsung, considering the previous logo to be inconsistent with the image of an international corporation, decided to replace it. It was then that the modern emblem we are accustomed to saw the light of day - a dynamically inclined blue ellipse with the name of the company written inside. Excellent design and a large-scale advertising campaign did their job: the logo became one of the most recognizable in the world. Advertising students from leading universities are now studying the change of the Samsung logo as an example of an exceptionally successful rebranding.
When developing the new emblem, Eastern philosophy was not avoided. According to Samsung marketers, “the elliptical shape of the logo symbolizes global movement in space, expressing the idea of constant renewal and improvement.”
Amateur photography
Business strategists at Samsung Electronics began to think about the fact that entering the amateur photographic equipment market could bring considerable profit back in the mid-1970s. The result of this thought was the appearance of the first Samsung camera in 1979. The SF-A model did not have a pronounced charisma: it was just a good point-and-shoot camera with a flash that anyone could use. But the company did not strive to create a technical masterpiece - the main goal was to produce simple cameras for the mass consumer. AND mass consumer responded with interest, since the first Samsung cameras were inexpensive for their class, quite reliable and easy to operate.
The further development of Samsung compact cameras kept pace with the development of photographic technology: more powerful flashes, motors for rewinding film, a function for automatically reading the DX code, red lights, which were credited with protecting against the “red evil eye”, appeared, and finally, full-fledged autofocus and variable focal lenses distance - zooms. Having acquired all these innovations, Samsung products, however, did not particularly stand out among other cameras, but at the same time, in terms of functionality and quality, they did not lag behind the “classmate” models of leading manufacturers in this field.
When developing amateur compacts, Samsung engineers were well aware that obtaining truly high-quality images is impossible without the use of high-quality optics. But starting the production of good optical glass from scratch is an extremely troublesome task, requiring serious financial and intellectual resources. As a result, Samsung chose a different path: in 1995, it entered into a partnership agreement with the legendary German optics manufacturer Schneider-Kreuznach, whose name, printed on the lens frame, was a guarantee of quality for anyone familiar with photography. Since then, an unpronounceable combination of letters of the German alphabet has appeared on the lenses of all top models of Samsung cameras.
Of course, no one made these lenses in Germany and then screwed them onto Korean cameras. The production of branded “Schneider” optics was established at Samsung factories under license and under the strict control of the German concern. As we know, already in the digital era the Japanese followed the same path: Panasonic, which entered into an agreement with Leica AG, and Sony, which widely uses Carl Zeiss optics.
It’s interesting that in the late 1990s, Samsung tried to compete with the “five leaders” (as the group of Japanese companies leading photographic equipment manufacturers were called in those days: Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Minolta and Pentax) in the SLR camera segment, releasing its first SLR - non-autofocus Samsung SR4000 with Schneider-Kreuznach optics.
The camera turned out to be very good, with well-thought-out controls and a “handy” body, and the Schneider optical line, in addition to the standard fifty dollars, included three more lenses with variable focal length. But, despite its obvious advantages, the camera traditionally did not have any bright features, which is why it was “lost” among the copies of more famous photo manufacturers.
In the photo market, Samsung was still perceived only as a manufacturer of amateur compact cameras. Thus, at the end of the “film era” in Russia, three cameras from the Samsung model range were sold everywhere. The first, the simplest, is the Fino 40s with a 30mm fixed lens with f/4.5 aperture, flash and automatic film rewind. The second, more functional, is the Vega 700 with an optical zoom covering focal lengths from 35 to 70 mm. And the third, most sophisticated one, is the Vega 290W, the main features of which can be considered a universal zoom lens with a focal length of 28–90 mm and the ability to control shutter speed manually (bulb), which is questionable for such a camera. Agree, this is clearly not enough to be considered a serious photo producer. But, as we can now see, Samsung had everything yet to come.
Digital philosophy
“Samsung Electronics sees itself as a leader in the “Era of Revolutionary Digital Convergence”; our task is to translate this vision into reality, turning our company into a digital one - Digital-ε Company,” - this is how the essence of the Samsung Electronics philosophy is formulated on the official website of the corporation. The company began to put this philosophy into practice back in the 1990s in all areas of its activities, including the production of photographic equipment.
In 1994, the relatively compact digital camera Samsung SSC-410N was presented to the public. The camera, shaped more like a modern binocular or a small video projector, was equipped with a 1/3-inch CCD matrix with a resolution of 768 x 484 pixels, a zoom lens with an equivalent focal length of 40–120 mm and a built-in memory module with a capacity of 4 MB. However, this device went into production only in 1997, and a year before that, a compact digital camera of a more traditional design appeared in photo stores - the Samsung Kenox SSC-350N, which was also produced under the Apple and Fujifilm brands.
A CCD matrix with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels was responsible for recording images in the Kenox SSC-350N; the information was recorded on a removable memory card in SmartMedia format. Otherwise, the device was quite simple even for its time: a plastic body, a lens with a fixed equivalent focal length of 38 mm, a shutter speed range from 1/4 to 1/5000 s and the only possible photosensitivity value - 100 ISO units. But it was one of the first digital cameras costing less than $1000, so Samsung can safely be considered one of the pioneers in the production of digital photographic equipment - with the only caveat that the Kenox SSC-350N was not the company’s own development.
The model range of Samsung digital compacts, which could already realistically lay claim to commercial success, was first presented at the PMA 2002 exhibition. The 2-megapixel Samsung Digimax 230 digital compact with 3x zoom began the model line, followed by the 3-megapixel Digimax 340, followed by a little the more functional Digimax 350SE, also equipped with a 3-megapixel sensor, and the 4-megapixel Digimax 410 rounded out this list.
In October 2004, gadget lovers were happy to learn that Samsung Electronics had released the world's first camera phone with a 5-megapixel matrix resolution, and the following spring the first Korean phone with a 7-megapixel camera appeared. But with the production of cameras themselves, everything was not so great: they were improved, but still remained only one of many. In order for the Korean corporation to be talked about as a notable photo manufacturer, it was necessary to release a bright, truly innovative product. Samsung Electronics specialists began developing such a product, or rather a series of them, in 2005.
Chocolate interface
After conducting numerous marketing research The “dream camera” development team took three main opinions of potential consumers as a guideline:
- I don’t know anything about photography, but I still want to look professional;
- I like the thin and elegant design;
- the camera is conservative in nature.
In other words, it was necessary to create a series of technically impeccable cameras with an outstanding design, which, nevertheless, would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that you are holding a camera in your hands.
Devotees in an Eastern way to their corporation and motivated in a Western way literally took up residence in their office and became like zombies, raving about things that no one understands. More than five hundred sketch ideas were developed, tailored to specific technical specifications; they all turned out to be quite bright, but a memorable design alone was not enough: innovative solutions were required in the very principle of camera control.
Recalling this period, the developers admit that they survived only thanks to the chocolate that they consumed then in a huge number. One day, one of the “office prisoners” was sitting at his desk, staring at a chocolate bar he had started, and suddenly said: “We can make the menu navigation buttons look like a chocolate bar consisting of nine smaller pieces.” Everyone took it as a joke, but then they seized on the idea, which at first seemed to be the product of a completely exhausted imagination. This is how the principle of controlling the camera using touch buttons located along the LCD display was born, significantly different from the usual four-button joysticks used in most other cameras.
This original, completely new user interface, coupled with a beautiful, memorable design and rich functionality, allowed the Samsung NV (New Vision) series cameras to become one of the brightest new products on the photo market in 2006.
Almost in the lead
Today Samsung Electronics is one of the world's largest camera manufacturers. In 2006, the company released the first digital SLR, Samsung GX-1S, under its own name, the result of a partnership agreement with Pentax. Despite the fact that the GX-1S is an almost exact copy of the *ist DS2 model from Pentax, its release indicates the company's intention to attract the attention of advanced amateur photographers. This became completely clear after Samsung’s debut in the semi-pro segment with the 10-megapixel GX-10 DSLR, also developed by Pentax. Amateur photographers have appreciated these efforts and are increasingly considering Korean cameras with a signature blue border as full-fledged and very competitive devices. This could not but affect the popularity of Samsung compact cameras, presented in four series.
The recently updated NV Series continues to combine high-quality, feature-rich cameras with outstanding design and innovative controls that may seem a little overwhelming at first.
The i-series is the most compact and stylish camera accessory for fashionistas, but not for people who are passionate about photography. The universal L series contains high-quality fully automatic cameras. The S-series combines both the simplest digital compacts, which do not allow much interference in the shooting process, and functional cameras with the ability to enter settings manually.
In general, Samsung's modern range of compact cameras is extremely diverse. Most cameras, despite their modest size, fit comfortably in the hand due to the presence of a characteristic protrusion. Many models are available in a classic black design, which cannot but please old-school photographers, and simply lovers of the classics or the now fashionable retro style.
Well, the main thing is that almost all cameras (with the possible exception of the i series) belong to the case where a memorable design does not prevent the device from being really easy to use and quite functional. Samsung's compact cameras have finally acquired distinct individual features: today they are difficult to confuse with any others.
Everyone uses mobile devices, TVs, various household appliances: microwave ovens, refrigerators, washing machines. And if you ask who is the best in this sector, many will answer - the manufacturer Samsung.
Yes, that's true. is a well-known global brand, under whose leadership almost any equipment used daily in everyday life is produced. You can hear about this company in advertising. You can read about her interesting facts on various sites. It can be seen in any thematic ratings, where it occupies far from the last place. But few people know how it all began, and even which country is the manufacturer of Samsung.
The beginning of the story
Samsung's manufacturing country is Korea, since it was here in 1938, in the city of Daegu, that the company was founded. Its founder was Byung-Chull Lee, a Korean entrepreneur whose financial condition was only 30 thousand won (2 thousand dollars at that time).
At the time of its founding, the company was named Samsung ("three stars" in Korean), in honor of Byong's three sons. But there is other information about Samsung and the origin of its name. Which of them is true is unknown.
Although Samsung is now considered the world leader in production various equipment and electronics, at the time of its founding, the company’s employees were engaged in completely different matters, namely, the production of rice flour. It was only in 1969 that the company made a breakthrough in the technical field.
Production of equipment
At the very beginning, the company, together with Sanyo (a Japanese electronics manufacturer), began producing semiconductors. Later, a workshop was opened where they assembled black and white televisions.
Since 1973, production gradually switched to large-scale production of household appliances. And the cooperation of two opposing companies turned into an entire corporation called Samsung Electronics.
In the same year, Samsung Electronics moved from Daegu to Suwon (a city in South Korea), where a home appliance plant was built in early December. A year later, Semiconductor Co. joined the corporation. (Korean company). This marked the beginning of large-scale production of refrigerators and washing machines.
Since 1979, the company began producing VCRs. And since 1983 - PC. In the same year, the manufacturing country of Samsung is no longer only South Korea, but also the USA. The fact is that production moved here with the aim of opening a plant for the production of microwave ovens.
Production started in 1998 digital TVs and DVD players. And in 1999 the company created the first mobile phone.
Samsung today
Today it is difficult to say which country is Samsung's manufacturing country, because the company's factories are located all over the world. The corporation has provided jobs to more than half a million citizens in 60 countries. And it plans to expand further in the future.
Almost everything is produced under this brand: from stereo systems and televisions to refrigerators and washing machines. Even such specific household appliances as sandwich makers or waffle irons are mass produced at Samsung Group factories. That is why now in almost any area of life you can come across the Samsung brand, which is constantly developing, introducing innovations in order to conquer new heights in the electronics industry.
Samsung is an entire industrial concern. The giant was founded back in 1938.
In 1938, Korean entrepreneur Lee Byung-chul succeeds in registering the Samsung Trading Company trademark. At first, his company exported rice, sugar and dry fish from Korea to China and Manchuria.
The name Samsung is not Korean. Lee Byung-chul named his enterprise this way because he had far-reaching plans. At the onset of the 50s, the ambitious Korean planned to develop a partnership with the countries of North America.
During World War II, when American troops landed in Europe, Samsung began supplying the American military with rice vodka and beer. However brutal war in Korea, which flared up in the 50s, stopped the company's growth. The alcohol sales business was curtailed, and many factories were simply destroyed.
Renaissance
After the end of the Korean War, the new government began to implement large-scale economic reforms. In order to boost the country's economy, it was decided to provide the largest entrepreneurs with government orders. They were also provided with huge tax and legal benefits. It was during this period that such Korean giants as Daewoo, Hyundai, Goldstar (LG) were created.
Each company had its own specialization. Daewoo was engaged in the production of cars, Hyundai - in construction, Samsung began to produce electronics, LG began to produce a variety of electronics.
The company made another breakthrough when in 1969, after merging with Sanyo, it began producing the first black and white televisions. At that time, only 2% of Koreans had televisions at home.
The merger of the two companies became the basis for the creation of a large division - Samsung Electronics.
However, already in the 80s the company had to endure a major crisis. The economic downturn of the eighties almost cost the company collapse.
Samsung had to get rid of several non-core divisions, as well as reduce the number subsidiaries.
Big changes
The next chapter in the company's history began with the arrival of a new leader, Lee Gon-hee. He proposed a major range of reforms, which involved a complete restructuring of the company and a change in all management principles.
The company also faced a complete change in marketing. The company strategy and logo were completely redesigned. It was then that the world saw the modern Samsung logo.
Today, all students who are studying to become advertisers are talking about the Samsung rebranding as one of the most successful in history. Stunning design and a large-scale advertising campaign around the world did their job. Now the Samsung logo is considered the most recognizable in the world.
In 1983, the company began producing personal computers. In 1992–1993, the company's developers completed work on the first personal mobile devices.
According to marketing research conducted by international agencies, Samsung is in 21st place in terms of total brand value. Brand Samsung is valued at nearly $17 billion.
Samsung Group has many divisions that are involved in the production of microelectronics, chemical industry, construction, etc.
The structure of the company is a full (closed) production cycle of various electronics.
According to research, Samsung ranks first in the United States in selling mobile phones. The company is a leader in the European mobile phone market and is ahead of its main competitor, the Swedish company Nokia.
Most users are interested in which country Samsung is made in. The main highlight of the method, which will be described in detail below, is that any user will be able to check the country of origin of any Android smartphone, and not just a Samsung Android smartphone.
Samsung began its first manufacturing in India, opening its first plant in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, near New Delhi, in 1997. This modern complex is today the base site of the electronics giant. Mobile phones, refrigerators and LED TVs are produced here. The Noida facility is considered to be the leader among all Samsung subsidiaries in terms of obtaining maximum productivity.
To help produce its products better and faster in the southern part of the country, Samsung opened a second manufacturing complex in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in November 2007. Today, LED TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and split air conditioners are manufactured at the Sriperumbudur facility.
Displaying IMEI on the screen
To decide on the manufacturer, first we need to figure out how to display the IMEI number of your smartphone. This is a unique identifier of any gadget that cannot be replaced or faked.
To display these numbers on the screen, you need to dial the combination *#06#. Next, one or two IMEI numbers will appear in front of you, depending on how many SIM card slots are installed in the smartphone. In addition, the unique serial number of the Samsung smartphone will be displayed.
You can also view the IMEI number and serial number if your phone model is equipped with a removable battery. To do this, you need to turn off the device, remove the battery, and in its compartment there will be a sticker with these Samsung data.
What country is the manufacturer of this or that smartphone? This question worries a large number of users. And no wonder. After all, many may not even know that the country of origin of Samsung may differ. Thus, it was previously believed that all smartphones of this brand are assembled in China, but this is not true.
What do IMEI symbols mean?
After you have displayed the IMEI information on the screen, you need to figure out what it means. On the smartphone screen the information will look something like this: Samsung ww70k62108wd ua. The country of origin is not displayed in open form.
By the way, Samsung management claims that the quality of their products is consistently high, regardless of which country produces them.
Returning to the IMEI decoding, the user will be interested in its 7th and 8th characters. They contain information about the country of origin of this particular Galaxy smartphone.
Explanation by country
Below are all the available codes that explain in which country a particular gadget was produced:
- The numbers 05 or 50 indicate that the Galaxy smartphone is manufactured in Brazil or the USA.
- The number 08 or 80 means your Galaxy was made in Germany.
- The numbers 00 indicate that it was manufactured in the country where it was purchased.
- The numbers 01 or 10 mean that Galaxy is manufactured in Finland.
- The numbers 02 or 20 indicate that it was assembled in the UAE or India.
- The numbers 03 or 30 mean your phone is made in China.
- The numbers 04 or 40 also indicate that the gadget was assembled in the Middle Kingdom.
- Numbers 06 or 60 indicate that the Galaxy smartphone was manufactured in Hong Kong, China or Mexico.
- The number 13 demonstrates that it was produced in Azerbaijan.
Let us repeat that the country of origin of Samsung does not affect the quality of a particular device. Rather, it is the personal preferences of users. But, according to numerous surveys, it becomes obvious that users still prefer to look for smartphones made in India.
If the IMEI line contains numbers not from the list above in place of the 6th and 7th characters, then the smartphone was produced in Vietnam at a partner factory. This, alas, is not the most best choice, since the device may use some components from a partner factory, and not from Samsung.
Alternative method
If you do not want to find out the country of manufacture of Samsung by IMEI code, then this can be done using a third-party software. For example, you can install the Phone Info Samsung program on your smartphone. It will display information about which country Samsung is manufactured on the main screen.
The named application has a very simple interface. It simply displays all the information it can extract from the device. This includes how to find out the country of origin of a Samsung phone. At the top of this list there is a section " General information", containing information about the device's country of origin, production date, and the status of the Knox counter.
Slogan: Digitally Yours
Samsung Group is one of the largest conglomerates in the business world; in its homeland, South Korea, the word “chaebol” is used for such companies. Chobol is a large financial and industrial group, predominantly owned by one family and associated with government circles.
The leading division of the corporation Samsung is rightfully Samsung Electronics, a world-famous manufacturer of LCD panels, DVD players, mobile phones, memory modules used in computers, phones, players. Corporations Samsung also belong Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung SDS, Samsung Securities, Samsung C&T Corporation. Until 2000, the composition Samsung also included a unit Samsung Motors, now owned Renault.
Samsung Group was founded in Daegu, Korea, on March 1, 1938. Its founder was entrepreneur Byung-Chull Lee (1910-1987), whose starting capital was only 30,000 won ($2,000), named the company Samsung (Samsung Trading Co), translated from Korean as “three stars”, on the first logos of the company these three stars are present in different variations. One of the most plausible versions the origin of the name says that the entrepreneur had three sons. (Judging by further development none of the three sons turned out to be a fool, which, in fact, distinguishes the Korean fairy tale from the Russian folk tale.) This version is also supported by the fact that the company, in the spirit of many Asian companies, remained a family business, transferring and increasing capital among a circle of relatives (and making a relative of the one who managed to enter the business, stand out: intra-clan marriages are one of the traditions of business in Asia). The entrepreneur, who, according to some sources, never received an academic degree, became one of the most famous and most respected people in Korea; a Korean analogue is named after him Nobel Prize— Ho-Am Prize, established by Samsung and awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of science and technology.
The company experienced its rebirth in 1951. After the war and predatory actions on the part of the warring parties, the business was completely destroyed, but it is impossible to destroy the entrepreneurial spirit and, starting from scratch, Byong Chul Lee revived the company, achieving even greater wealth in just a year. Whatever the entrepreneur did, his sphere of interests included: the production of sugar, wool, and other consumer goods, retail, insurance, radio broadcasting, publishing business, securities trading. In the 1960s Samsung unprecedented success awaited. In order to revive the Korean economy, a policy was pursued to develop large national companies; the state subsidized, supported and helped selected corporations in every possible way, essentially creating greenhouse conditions for them, eliminating competition and giving them broad powers. To the Creator Samsung managed to get closer to government circles, which provided the corporation with unlimited opportunities for growth and expansion.
In the 1970s, Samsung entered the semiconductor market, seeing the promise of this area and the rapid development of the industry. Created Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, a company that included several smaller branches Samsung Group, engaged in electronics ( Samsung Electron Devices, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Corning, Samsung Semiconductor and Telecommunications).
In 1969, the division Samsung — Samsung-Sanyo releases the first batch of black and white televisions. 5 years later, the company begins to produce refrigerators and washing machines. After another 5 years - the release of microwave ovens and air conditioners. In 1978, a representative office of the company was opened in the USA. Having managed to become the first in Korea ( Samsung accounts for one-fifth of Korea's total exports), Samsung begins the journey to achieve world leadership. In the 1980s Samsung enters the personal computer market. In 1991, the first mobile phone was developed Samsung, and in 1999 - the first smartphone. In 1992, the company began developing its first DRAM memory chip, then it was about a capacity of 64 MB, now chips with a capacity of 64 GB are produced. In 1998, mass production of digital televisions developed at the company's research center began. Year after year Samsung expands its presence in the global market, maintaining leadership in sales of cell phones and televisions.
In 1993, the year of the company's 55th anniversary, an updated logo appeared Samsung- tilted ellipse blue, with an inscription inside. The new logo successfully reflected the company's entry into the international arena, a unique bid for global leadership. Visually it seems that the word Samsung is inside the orbit celestial body, undoubtedly the corporation is a kind of universe, but at the same time this universe is open to the world, just look at the letters "S" And "G"- they are in contact with external space. One of the highlights of the logo is the writing of the letters. "A" without a dash, repeated many times subsequently, this technique still remained familiar Samsung.
Today the advanced unit Samsung Group - Samsung Electronics has become a world leader in the production of electronics and household appliances. Samsung Heavy Industries- the division engaged in shipbuilding is the second in the world. The corporation is headed by Lee Kun Hee, the son of the founder. It is to him that Samsung owes its success in modern world, having assumed the responsibilities of the head of the conglomerate after the death of his father in 1987, Lee Kun-hee abandoned the idea of mass production of goods of low, so-called budget quality and focused the company’s efforts on the production of high-quality products that are innovative and ahead of market trends. Brand Samsung gained a lot from this decision, because those who considered the company’s products to be of insufficient quality have in recent years discovered the world of household appliances and electronics with an exceptional price-quality combination, and if we add here the high level of service of the company, then alternatives to the products There is practically no company left.