Samsung Takes on Apple, Facebook, and Instagram

Samsung, the beleaguered second-choice for smartphone customers, has long been coming up short as compared to Apple. With the new release of the iPhone 5, competition is stiffer than ever in North America and abroad.

Now, as Samsung aggressively markets its Galaxy smartphone, it may have accidentally (or intentionally) pitted itself against an even worthier opponent, Facebook. Facebook is as dominant in terms of social media as Apple is in the smartphone scene, but Samsung does not seem to be deterred. 


Image via www.samsung.com

One of the most prominent features of Samsung’s Galaxy phone mimics Facebook’s offering of being able to share photos on the go. Share Shot, the app that lets users share pictures with friends, comes very close to imitating not only the basic share function on Facebook, but also the newly acquired and much-coveted Instagram. Samsung is not being quiet about this capability in the least, and is actually highlighting the Share Shot tool in much of its promotional material lately. 

The photo-sharer is a tad clunky, but works well enough for what it is. Still, the inclusion of this tool on the Galaxy has a lot of people wondering whether it’s really all that necessary to have an alternative to Instagram and Facebook?

Instagram is a beloved new toy that Facebook and iPhone users have latched onto in droves. Being able to share and comment on photos is very popular among customers, but why create a less-graceful version in Share Shot? 

While Share Shot may be a bit more sophisticated, it is nowhere near as streamlined or attuned to the social sphere. That fault may be the deciding factor of Share Shot’s failure; after all, who cares about being able to snap a faux-vintage picture if you can’t blast it all across your friends’ Facebook walls? Probably, this will be another false start for Samsung, but perhaps a few alternative-thinkers will latch on to Share Shot, as well. 

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