Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. surpass (v.) [ser-pas, -pahs] – to go further or beyond in terms of level or quality
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. surpass (v.) [ser-pas, -pahs] – to go further or beyond in terms of level or quality
Example: Thanks to constant
practice, the gymnast’s skills surpassed
the skills of her competitors.
2. drop (n.)
[drop] – a decline or a decrease
Example: Due to the bad economy, the
company experienced a drop in sales
this year.
3. patent (n.) [pat-nt] – a temporary legal right that says only
a certain person or organization can make, improve or sell a product or
invention
Example: Other companies cannot use this formula for
making medicine because one drug company has a patent on it.
4. inspection (n.) [in-spek-shuhn] – the act of carefully checking or examining something
Example: Airport security does an
inspection of people’s luggage before
they can get on the airplane.
5. redeem (v.) [ri-deem] – to get back something (often something that was lost)
Example: The company redeemed its good status in the market through
the release of its newest product.
Article
Read the text below.
Read the text below.
As smartphone sales keep growing, competition among smartphone makers is also growing stronger.
Samsung Electronics
reported a profit of $5.9 billion from last April to June, its highest
quarterly profit since 2008. Earlier this year, Samsung already surpassed Nokia as the world’s biggest
maker of mobile phones.
Analysts said Samsung’s
sales could still increase from July to September because of its new high-end
model Galaxy S III. The company estimated that it would have sold 10 million
units of this phone by July.
However, analysts expect
a drop in Samsung’s sales at the
end of the year because of the release of a newer version of the Apple
iPhone.
Aside from
competition with Apple’s iPhone, Samsung is also facing some legal disagreement with
Apple over patent issues. The two
companies accuse each other of copying product designs.
If the legal fight between
the two companies continues, the sales of Samsung would likely be affected. The
sale of some Samsung’s products in the US was already banned by a US court
due to the unfinished legal case.
Meanwhile, in
contrast with Samsung’s luck in sales from April to June, phone maker HTC from
Taiwan reported a 58% fall in profit. HTC is blaming low sales on the weak
economy in Europe. Furthermore, the company’s products are being held up in
US ports for inspection, also because
of patent issues with Apple.
HTC is now hoping its
“One” phone series will redeem market
share from Apple and Samsung.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Why do you think the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy
phone series are very successful?
·
What could be the reason why mobile companies make
very similar designs and features?
Discussion B
·
What do you think companies must do when they
face a decrease in sales?
·
Can you name a company in your country that
experienced a decrease in sales but recovered after some time? What did they
do?