A hellish June led by Apple and Samsung may steamroll BlackBerry, other contenders

A hellish June led by Apple and Samsung may steamroll BlackBerry, other contenders:
Various factors have conspired to create a unique U.S. launch cluster for the most high-profile smartphones of the year. Samsung's (005930) Galaxy S IV now looks to be debuting in America in May after a European roll-out in April. Mixed response to iPhone 5 combined with Android's market share surge in emerging markets may push Apple (AAPL) into launching one or two new iPhones in June. Delays with U.S. operator testing has pushed the first new QWERTY BlackBerry into May or June as well. The May/June time frame is a popular period to launch new phones, but this mega-cluster is definitely not what vendors would have preferred to have happen. BlackBerry (BBRY) originally planned to launch the Q10, its most important new model, in early 2013 in the United States and Apple has chosen late autumn for its recent iPhone launches. Much to the dismay of several smartphone contenders, these scheduling changes have enormous implications for the industry.



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