In the grand world of electronics, it’s pretty much customary to launch in one country, wait a few days, launch in another, and so on. At most, companies launch their new toys in two or three countries at a time – it’s just really the only sane way to do it, you know?
Remind me not to ever call Samsung sane.
According to a Korea Times report from this morning, ol’ Sammie is planning on launching the Galaxy S in not one, not twelve, but one hundred and ten countries around the world on the same day. To put that in perspective: there are only 192 (or 195, depending on who’s counting) countries in the world. If Korea Times’ report pans out, Samsung’s going to be attempting to launch a handset in roughly 57% of the world simultaneously.
On one hand, it’s a clever move; as the Android space starts filling up, it’s getting harder and harder to standout. By pinning a worldwide launch on one day, they can dump money into playing up that one day’s importance in a global, unified advertising campaign. On the other hand, it introduces one hell of a lot of points of failure. Launch day stories leave lasting impressions, setting people’s perceptions of a device in stone.
Go big or go home, right?