Samsung wants to improve its software prowess

KOREAN ELECTRONICS MAKER Samsung is looking to improve its chances in mobile software in the wake of the announcement earlier this week that Google will buy Motorola.

According to Reuters, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee has asked the firm's top management to seek measures including acquisitions to improve its chances in software.

"Chairman Lee told top managers to come up with various measures including M&As to enhance software competitiveness," Kim Soon-taek, head of the Samsung Group office, told local reporters.

Samsung's comments come as the manufacturer continues to battle with Apple over patents, most recently over its Galaxy Tab 10.1, which it had to remove briefly from the market.

If that wasn't enough to floor Samsung, Google announced it will buy Motorola on Monday, threatening its ties with the Android operating system developer.

In July, Lee made comments urging managers to boost Samsung's software prowess, patent pools and talent at the firm's annual event. During his speech, he compared Samsung's products to its rivals but did not mention mergers or acquisitions.

Samsung was unable to confirm Lee's comments.

Some observers think that Samsung will be hard pressed to move beyond being a hardware company to become better at building mobile software. Just look what happened to Nokia when it attempted to make such a move. µ