Samsung Looks To Channel In Ultra-Mobile Market

Samsung launched a new version of its P3 partner program just over a year ago, and so far the company has been able leverage it to set itself apart from the competition with its established product lines like displays and up-and-coming sectors like its cutting-edge ultra-mobile PCs.

After eight months of research and finding out what its resellers were looking for in a partner program by talking to them and to industry experts, Samsung launched the program in January 2007.

Samsung then hit the road to evangelize its new offering, complete with extensive trainings, a quarterly product launch guide and marketing materials for its partners.

With its new line of ultra-mobile PCs, Samsung is helping its resellers take the devices to market by developing custom solutions for vertical markets that could benefit from touch-enabled PC-compatible tablet devices, like healthcare and hospitality.

"We're really focused on creating things like case studies to give resellers additional ideas in how they can utilize this technology and how they can create solutions," said Bret Berg, senior product marketing manager, mobile computing products for Samsung Electronics America, of Irvine, Calif.

"The UMPC has been successful at eating into that larger tablet business that is not being serviced in terms -- the devices are too big, too heavy, battery -- they're every expensive solutions. We've been able to eat into that business quite significantly," Berg said. Under Samsung's P3 program, resellers are able to get training and sales and marketing materials to help sell the ultra-mobile solutions to customers.

"It's all about who to sell to and how to sell the product. It gets back into: here are different markets where we're seeing success. How do they overlap with the businesses that you service? Here are the tools we can provide you like training or loyalty rewards," Berg said.

The products are integrated into the channel program and resellers can purchase one demo unit per quarter for up to 50 percent off MSRP, he said. "All we ask is that we get the details of the opportunity to help manage the review of that. "

Samsung is also offering spiffs of $10 to $50 per unit sold. "We want to encourage them to get into this new space," he said.