> Samsung sees itself as the next Apple That seems like a fatal delusion... Apple, for all that I don't like many of their policies or much of their software,

> Samsung sees itself as the next Apple That seems like a fatal delusion... Apple, for all that I don't like many of their policies or much of their software, is in a different class when it comes to hardware. They have something special that other makers do not, and that gives them an edge. [It remains to be seen whether they can keep this edge with Steve Jobs out of the picture, of course.] Samsung makes decent hardware, but they aren't in a different class than other Android smartphone makers. Their current position has a lot to do with simply being in the right place at the right time, and making some good calls, but there's really nothing particularly special about their hardware, and their software (that is, the software they write, rather than stock Android stuff) is reportedly pretty typical of big electronics makers: really bad. For a while, they can coast along on name-recognition, but I can't see any direction but down for Samsung if they attempt to strike out on their own.