Samsung Electronics (hangul:삼성전자; , , , ), one of the largest electronics companies in the world, is headquartered in Seoul, Korea and is part of the Samsung Group. It operates in approximately 58 countries and revenue in 2003 was over 101 billion USD. The name samsung literally means "three stars" or "tristar" in Korean.

The Samsung Group was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul (1910-1987). It was incorporated in 1951 as Samsung Corporation. Samsung Electronics, a subsidiary, was founded in Daegu, South Korea.

Samsung Electronics saw record profits and revenue in 2004. In 2005, Samsung was one of the world's most valuable brands, and is now one of the top 20 in the world.

As a chip maker, the semiconductor division of Samsung Electronics is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. In 1988, it entered for the first time in the Top 20 at the 18th rank. In 2005, Samsung was number 2 after Intel, followed by Texas Instruments, Toshiba and STMicroelectronics.

History

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Samsung is one of the leading manufacturers of plasma displays and has built the image of an innovator, which created patent disputes with companies such as Fujitsu who claim to have created plasma display technology first. Samsung has also faced controversy in Korea for its policies towards workers including a non-labor union policy.

On November 30, 2005, Samsung pleaded guilty to a charge that it participated in a worldwide price-fixing conspiracy during 1999-2002 that damaged competition and raised PC prices. In a deal with prosecutors, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary, Samsung Semiconductor Inc., are to pay a $300 million fine. As a result of this investigation, Hynix was to pay $185 million in 2005, and Infineon, $160 million in 2004. Micron Technology cooperated with prosecutors and no fine is expected.

Business areas

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Samsung Electronics focuses on five business areas: Digital Media, Telecommunication Network, Digital Appliance, Semiconductor, and LCD.

The Digital Media business area includes:

• Plasma TVs
• LCD TVs
• LCD monitors
• Laptops
• DVD players
• Digital camcorders
• Laser printers.

The Telecommunication Network business area includes:

• Mobile phones
• PDA Phones
• Enterprise Pocket PC Mobile Intelligent Terminals (MITs)
• Satellite receivers
• Multi-service DSLAMs.

The Digital Appliance business area includes:

• Refrigerators
• Air conditioners
• Air purifiers
• Washers
• Microwave ovens
• Vacuum cleaners.

The Semiconductor business area includes:

• SDRAM
• SRAM
• NAND Flash memory
• Smart Card
• System-in-Package (SiP)
• 4Chip Multi Chip Package (MCP)
• Optical disc drives
• Hard disk drives.

The LCD business area includes:

• TFT-LCD panels for laptops, monitors, and televisions.

Production Facilities

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• Dongguang, China

See also

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• Samsung Group
• Ho-Am Prize - A cultural award funded by Samsung in honor of Byung-Chull Lee
• Home appliances
• List of Korea-related topics
• Category:Samsung mobile phones

Samsung Telecommunications Americas-BCS Division

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Samsung Telecommunications Americas-Business Communications Division ^*

Samsung Telecommunications Americas-BCS division manufactures and distributes industry leading Voice over IP telephony and conventional telephony products including the OfficeServ 7200 and the ITP-5021D telephone.

External links

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• Samsung Electronics Company
• The Ho-Am Prize
• Samsung History Timeline on the corporate webpage of references
• Samsung Electronics AV Connection online guide case study

Samsung Group | Electronics companies of South Korea

Samsung Electronics | 삼성전자 | サムスン電子 | Samsung Electronics | 三星電子