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The next big thing is here, as Samsung Electronics likes to say in its ads. But fewer people appear to be buying it.

Samsung, based in South Korea, published a financial earnings preview on Tuesday that forecast a profit of about 7.2 trillion won, or $7.1 billion, for the three months ended June 30, Brian X. Chen reports.

While that is still a substantial chunk of money, the overall profit represents a decline of 24 percent from the period a year earlier. The profit forecast also missed analysts’ expectations of about 8 trillion won.

Samsung, in a rare move, issued a lengthy statement explaining the disappointing forecast. It blamed a slowdown in growth of the overall smartphone market as well as increased competition in China and in some European markets. Read more »