Apple vs. Samsung – who’s winning the war?

There are die-hard Apple fans out there that you could not sway even if you tried… And then there are the Apple haters, and those who are indifferent to the brand. But you also have to give it up for Samsung, the cheeky non-American upstart that has become a global brand in just the last few years.
Some view this as the Herculean tug of war between West and East, while for others it is a sign of the times, as world power shifts from the Occident to the Orient.
Apple has become the world’s richest company in terms of market capitalisation, while some would say it rivals Coke as the world’s most valuable brand. Samsung, like Hyundai and Daewoo, is the pride of South Korea.
Both have branched out from their original brand offering. Apple was essentially a computer company that saw the gap in the market and introduced the iPod, and then saw another gap in the market and introduced the iPhone, both of which have been hugely successful. Samsung carved its niche in electronics and then also branched out into telephony, with their highly popular tablets and smart phones.
So which is better, especially as regards phones? That probably depends largely on personal taste. Some people fawn over Apple’s delicious looking products and services, and obviously they are American, which gives them a perceptual advantage (and access to the largest economy in the world, for now). Some people simply like the fact that an Apple Mac will not give you a virus. For others, the ubiquity of Samsung cannot be surpassed. If you’re about to renew your contract, chances are you’ll have to wait for your Apple, but you will immediately get your Samsung (and this is not because they are not as popular because they are not as good). And of course, they are Asian, and are situated right next door to the world’s second-biggest (and in the future, biggest) economy.
Personally? I have never been a fan of Apple, and I have always supported the underdog. Samsung is good quality, and arguably unlike Blackberry or Nokia, they continue to innovate.
But that’s what makes the world such an interesting (and sometimes difficult) place to be: choices…