As a fashionable mobile phone maker known for cute designs and innovative products, Samsung has had some heady days of high prices and healthy profits.

The company has announced it will now enter the low end of the market where phones are priced under 1,000 yuan which may disappoint its more fad-driven fans.

Related readings:  Samsung profit rose on strong memory chip demand  China reports sale of 120m mobile phones in 2006  Phone makers continue slide

But in the eyes of industry experts it was inevitable.

Behind the move is the reality that the mobile phone market has entered a mature stage.

To market and sell a mature product, manufacturers must compete in three areas. One is improvement in products such as the quality and features shown on Sony Ericsson's music mobile and Philips phones with a super-long battery life.

The second is an improvement in the overall market, such as a growing user population or increasing frequency of use.

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