Samsung went from a very distant 7th place in overall digital camera sales in 2005 to almost beating 3rd-place Kodak in 2007. (First is Canon, second is Sony.) Most of that is in compact cameras, but they seem poised to make a big dSLR push too, with hints that they're going to branch out this year and make models that differ significantly from rebadged Pentaxes. They're a gigantic company (more total revenue than Hoya, Canon, Sony, Nikon, and Olympus combined), so, although your point about fickle corporations and quarterly results is well-taken, they've certainly got the resources for the long haul.
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