Number of models really only matters in terms of product development and scaling cost, and the costs of platform fragmentation. Keeping costs down is important, but that doesn't mean product segmentation isn't a valid strategy for increasing market power.
It's true that Samsung has been steadily growing in America, but the rate at which Apple has been converting dumbphone users into smartphone users in the US is much higher. That means that in the time that Apple has gone from rounding error to leading the market in just this last quarter, Samsung has gone from leading the market with 20% of phones to leading it with 32% for 2012.
Just look at the annual change on the original Strategy Analytics release. In 2012, Samsung added 4% of the market. Apple seized 10% more. Apple is gobbling up that remaining 35% a lot faster than Samsung.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
