Samsung spanking Apple in sales

As Apple sales dip, Samsung continues to climb In first three months of 2013, Apple sales dipped for first time in a decade During same period, Samsung's sales were up 42 percent Apple has resisted bigger, and cheaper phones; Samsung makes a variety

(CNN) -- Apple has elicited a lot of hand-wringing by investors and fans alike lately, even as its chief competition Samsung seems to be prompting nothing but applause. Turns out selling a wider variety of phones and tablets is a good strategy after all.

While Apple was on its way to the company's first profit decline in almost a decade during the first three months of the year, Samsung's net profit grew 42 percent in the same period to 7.2 trillion won -- about $6.5 billion U.S. -- from 5 trillion won a year earlier. It was a record-setting quarter for the Korean consumer electronics maker.

"Our business earnings grew from the previous quarter driven by an increase in smartphone sales and decreased marketing expenses," Hyun Joon Kim, Samsung's vice president of mobile planning told analysts.

In other words, Samsung sold more phones while pumping less money into marketing. Kim further pinned the quarter's success on sales of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, and its oversized Galaxy Note 2 handset.

Tilt Samsung Galaxy SIV to scroll Samsung takes aim at Apple

Research firms underscored the two companies' divergent financial performance with units shipped. "Samsung shipped almost two times more smartphones and grew nine times faster than Apple during the quarter," said Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston in a report digging into the first quarter.

Another research firm, Juniper Analytics, estimates Samsung shipped 68 million smartphones during the first quarter, accounting for approximately 34% of the 200 million smartphones sold. Apple in contrast, sold north of 37 million iPhones during the same quarter.

The quarter met with the guidance Samsung had earlier provided, but it was all the more impressive because the company pulled it off despite being forced to pay out an estimated $600 million to Apple, and even before it dropped its next-generation smartphone, the S4, (which just went on sale in the United States over the weekend). The S4 is expected to keep the Samsung streak going, and one would think ought to light a fire beneath Apple.

Apple has stubbornly resisted offering a lower-priced iPhone, or a handset with a significantly larger screen-size (older, discounted models don't count as a true lower price effort). In the tablet space it has been more willing to experiment, and has had great success with its smaller, and lower priced iPad Mini.

But with Samsung on a roll, and showing no signs of letting up on its variety of offerings, Apple may be forced to rethink its strategy. The pressure will be on for Apple to come up with its own plan to expand into new markets, and beyond the premium category that it has dominated for so long.

Until it does, you can expect the applause for Samsung to continue.

Dierks Bentley: My hero, George Jones

Dierks Bentley: His friend and inspiration, country music legend George Jones has died He says listening to Jones means "hearing" him; his words filtered through a broken heart He says in Jones' catalog you can hear what great country does: reaches out, consoles Bentley: Jones part of country's "greatest generation." Thank them while you can

Editor's note: Country singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley's sixth studio album, "Home," was released in 2012, debuting at No.1 on Billboard's country album chart. His five previous studio albums have sold more than 5 million copies, garnered 11 Grammy nominations and earned him an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.

(CNN) -- "Damn it, I knew I needed to get in touch with George when I'd heard he was ill, that he had been admitted to the hospital for respiratory ailments. How did I let this happen?"

Those where my initial thoughts sitting on the tarmac at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reading the texts and e-mails about George Jones's death Friday morning.

George was a friend, a country music legend, an influence to me and to countless other musicians.

Dierks Bentley

If you aren't able to fully hear and appreciate George Jones' voice, you really can't fully appreciate country music. His voice opens up country music's depth and power. You feel it or you don't. It helps to have done some living and to have had your heart broken, like George did. And it really helps if you can hang around one of its greatest singers, which I was fortunate enough to do over the years.

During a show at the Ryman Auditorium in the mid-'90s, I heard the great bluegrass singer Peter Rowan say that if you have a musical hero, you should do anything you can to be near that person. For him that meant driving Bill Monroe's tour bus. For me, it meant hanging around Terry Eldredge, my hero when I moved to Nashville, and the lead singer of a band called "The Sidemen," which played Tuesdays at the Station Inn.

Terry idolized George Jones. It was through him that i began to "hear" George, not just listen to him. There is a big difference between listening and hearing. I had listened to George growing up with my dad, a big country fan. I had listened to him in high school again, when I discovered Hank Williams Jr. and found out Hank also loved George. But it wasn't until I was in Nashville and hanging out with Terry that I finally heard George Jones. I finally got it. The tone and the ache of his voice clicked. I heard how every word George sang was first filtered through a broken heart.

1993: George Jones never 'phony'

We became friends eventually. From time spent together backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, visits at the home of George and his wife, Nancy, dinner at his favorite O'Charley's or Logan's Roadhouse, I cherished every moment in his presence, getting to hear firsthand accounts of stories I had read, the jokes and the laughter, the love between him and Nancy.

Having the opportunity to sing to George from the Opry stage for his 75th birthday in 2006 and to record in the studio together are unforgettable highlights of this crazy honky tonk dream.

People will always say that "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was George's best song and perhaps the greatest country song of all time. I certainly wouldn't disagree. But do yourself a favor and dig a little deeper. One of those nights when you are feeling down or lonesome, instead of going to the usual modern day distractions, grab some whiskey and listen to "A Picture of Me (Without You)," "The Cold Hard Truth," "A Good Year For The Roses," or my favorite, "The Door." Put your heart in George's hands and trust that he will take care of it.

That is what great country music (at least my favorite kind) and great country singers do; that is what country is all about: consoling the lonely, letting you know someone else has been there and has felt the way you do. It's about walking you through the hard times.

My dad was a member of this country's greatest generation. He grew up in The Depression and fought in WWII. There aren't many left. George is a member of country music's greatest generation. And there are only a handful of those men and women left. Go to their shows, talk to them if you can. Let them know how much you appreciate their music and if you are lucky enough, their friendship. Let them know the impact their singing or songwriting has had on your life. But don't do it for their sake, do it for your own.

So that when they are no longer with us, you might feel just a little less sad.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

Bentley: What great country singers do

Dierks Bentley: His friend and inspiration, country music legend George Jones has died He says listening to Jones means "hearing" him; his words filtered through a broken heart He says in Jones' catalog you can hear what great country does: reaches out, consoles Bentley: Jones part of country's "greatest generation." Thank them while you can

Editor's note: Country singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley's sixth studio album, "Home," was released in 2012, debuting at No.1 on Billboard's country album chart. His five previous studio albums have sold more than 5 million copies, garnered 11 Grammy nominations and earned him an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.

(CNN) -- "Damn it, I knew I needed to get in touch with George when I'd heard he was ill, that he had been admitted to the hospital for respiratory ailments. How did I let this happen?"

Those where my initial thoughts sitting on the tarmac at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reading the texts and e-mails about George Jones's death Friday morning.

George was a friend, a country music legend, an influence to me and to countless other musicians.

Dierks Bentley

If you aren't able to fully hear and appreciate George Jones' voice, you really can't fully appreciate country music. His voice opens up country music's depth and power. You feel it or you don't. It helps to have done some living and to have had your heart broken, like George did. And it really helps if you can hang around one of its greatest singers, which I was fortunate enough to do over the years.

During a show at the Ryman Auditorium in the mid-'90s, I heard the great bluegrass singer Peter Rowan say that if you have a musical hero, you should do anything you can to be near that person. For him that meant driving Bill Monroe's tour bus. For me, it meant hanging around Terry Eldredge, my hero when I moved to Nashville, and the lead singer of a band called "The Sidemen," which played Tuesdays at the Station Inn.

Terry idolized George Jones. It was through him that i began to "hear" George, not just listen to him. There is a big difference between listening and hearing. I had listened to George growing up with my dad, a big country fan. I had listened to him in high school again, when I discovered Hank Williams Jr. and found out Hank also loved George. But it wasn't until I was in Nashville and hanging out with Terry that I finally heard George Jones. I finally got it. The tone and the ache of his voice clicked. I heard how every word George sang was first filtered through a broken heart.

1993: George Jones never 'phony'

We became friends eventually. From time spent together backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, visits at the home of George and his wife, Nancy, dinner at his favorite O'Charley's or Logan's Roadhouse, I cherished every moment in his presence, getting to hear firsthand accounts of stories I had read, the jokes and the laughter, the love between him and Nancy.

Having the opportunity to sing to George from the Opry stage for his 75th birthday in 2006 and to record in the studio together are unforgettable highlights of this crazy honky tonk dream.

People will always say that "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was George's best song and perhaps the greatest country song of all time. I certainly wouldn't disagree. But do yourself a favor and dig a little deeper. One of those nights when you are feeling down or lonesome, instead of going to the usual modern day distractions, grab some whiskey and listen to "A Picture of Me (Without You)," "The Cold Hard Truth," "A Good Year For The Roses," or my favorite, "The Door." Put your heart in George's hands and trust that he will take care of it.

That is what great country music (at least my favorite kind) and great country singers do; that is what country is all about: consoling the lonely, letting you know someone else has been there and has felt the way you do. It's about walking you through the hard times.

My dad was a member of this country's greatest generation. He grew up in The Depression and fought in WWII. There aren't many left. George is a member of country music's greatest generation. And there are only a handful of those men and women left. Go to their shows, talk to them if you can. Let them know how much you appreciate their music and if you are lucky enough, their friendship. Let them know the impact their singing or songwriting has had on your life. But don't do it for their sake, do it for your own.

So that when they are no longer with us, you might feel just a little less sad.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

Reality star helps town after blast

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Homelessness declines -- thank Bush

David Frum: Despite the Great Recession, fewer people are living on the street Frum: Why isn't homelessness getting worse? Because of the policies of George W. Bush He says under Bush the simple solution of providing a home ("housing first") worked Frum: Abolition of homelessness has become a real possibility, thanks to Bush

Editor's note: David Frum, a CNN contributor, is a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He is the author of eight books, including a new novel, "Patriots," and a post-election e-book, "Why Romney Lost." Frum was a special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002.

(CNN) -- Have you noticed that homelessness isn't worse? Here we are, living through the most protracted joblessness crisis since the Great Depression -- and surprisingly, fewer people are living on the street.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that the number of the chronically homeless declined by 30% between 2005 and 2007. You might have expected the numbers to spike again when the financial crisis hit but no. Since 2007, the number of chronic homeless has dropped another 19%.

A broader measure of the number of homeless counts the number of people living out of doors on one randomly chosen night. That broader measure has also improved through the economic crisis. Between January 2011 and January 2012, homelessness among veterans dropped by 7%.

David Frum

To what or whom do we owe this good news?

In very large part, we owe it to the president whose library opened in Dallas last week: George W. Bush.

For three decades, we have debated what causes homelessness and how to deal with it. Is homelessness a mental health problem? A substance abuse problem? A problem caused by gentrification and urban redevelopment? Or something else again?

The Bush administration substituted a much simpler idea -- an idea that happened to work. Whatever the cause of homelessness, the solution is ... a home.

In 2002, Bush appointed a new national homeless policy czar, Philip Mangano. A former music agent imbued with the religious philosophy of St. Francis of Assisi, Mangano was seized by an idea pioneered by New York University psychiatrist Sam Tsemberis: "housing first."

The "housing first" concept urges authorities to concentrate resources on the hardest cases -- to move them into housing immediately -- and only to worry about the other problems of the homeless after they first have a roof over their heads. A 2004 profile in The Atlantic nicely summarized Tsemberis' ideas: "Offer them (the homeless) the apartment first, he believes, and you don't need to spend years, and service dollars, winning their trust."

Many old school homeless advocates resisted Mangano's approach. They were impelled by two main objections:

1. They believed that homelessness was just the most extreme form of a problem faced by low-income people generally -- a lack of affordable housing for low-income people. Focusing resources on the nation's hardest cases would (these advocates feared) distract the federal government from the bigger project of subsidizing better housing for millions of people who did not literally live in the streets.

2. By 2002, the nation had been worrying about homelessness for several decades. Countless programs from state and local agencies responded to some separate part of the problem; tens of thousands of people earned their livings in those state and local agencies, disposing of massive budgets. "Housing first" threatened to disrupt this vast industry. "Housing first" was comparatively cheap, for one thing: a homeless shelter might look squalid, but it cost a great deal to operate -- more, oftentimes, than a proper apartment with kitchen and bath. The transition to "housing first" threatened jobs and budgets across the country.

There was only one counterargument to these objections: "Housing first" worked. It worked from the start, and it worked fast. It worked so well that the Obama administration has now claimed the approach as its own, even keeping Mangano on the job for the first weeks of the new administration.

Bush remains one of the more controversial and less popular ex-presidents. But if in the next days you happen to walk down a city street, take a moment to notice how many men or women are sleeping there. Results will vary from place to place, but on average, there are probably fewer than half as many as a decade ago. The job is not completed yet. But for the first time since the 1970s, the abolition of homelessness has become a real and near possibility. Whatever else you think of the 43rd president, that achievement is part of Bush's legacy, too.

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