Samsung has reiterated that its smartphone focus is on Android and bada powered devices, as the world’s second-largest handset maker targets sharp growth in this sector. While bada is positioned as its mass-market smartphone proposition, the company is prioritising Android, where it noted there is “consumer demand” – it also has some significant momentum in this space, with its Galaxy S Android smartphone (pictured) providing an international consumer hit. The company has also recently announced its fourth bada-powered device, Wave 723, which follows the earlier Wave, Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro. According to Reuters, Samsung noted there is some “professional, specialised” demand for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, although its product plans for this platform were not disclosed. As previously reported, the company has no immediate plans to offer another Symbian OS device, having offered a portfolio of terminals using this platform in the past, stating there is no “visible demand” – although it is ready to introduce Symbian smartphones if customer demand warrants this.

Separately, Dow Jones Newswires says that Samsung is now forecasting smartphone shipments of 25 million units during the year, compared with a previous forecast of 18 million. The company is aiming for a double-digit smartphone market share by the end of 2010, and to then double its smartphone sales during 2011. Samsung has been able to achieve some of its rapid growth by the repositioning of bada as a smartphone platform – previously, devices such as Wave would have fallen into the featurephone category – although its Android performance is also notable, with it suggested that ten million Galaxy S devices will be sold during 2010. Less positively, it has been noted that Samsung has yet to announce a successor for Galaxy S which, while currently a flagship, could see its lustre fade quickly as rival vendors launch new products. The company yesterday confirmed the launch of its Galaxy Tab tablet device, an Android-powered terminal that is set to rival products such as Apple’s iPhone and Dell’s Streak.