Jakarta Globe, Sophie
Estienne, March 15, 2013
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| A visitor checks out Samsung's new Galaxy S4 during its unveiling in New York, on March 14, 2013 |
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Samsung
unveiled a slim, feature-rich Galaxy S4 as its new champion to take on Apple in
the fiercely competitive smartphone arena.
The South
Korean consumer electronics giant introduced the Galaxy S4 on the stage of New
York City's Radio City Music Hall on Thursday and said the smartphones would
roll out in 155 countries in late April. Pricing was not disclosed.
"For
each of us, life is a journey," said Samsung mobile communications
division head, JK Shin.
"What
we want is a device that can join us on that journey; a companion that helps us
experience life in the fullest."
S4 features
include a high-definition, five-inch (12.7-centimeter) screen, enhanced
picture-taking capabilities and the capacity to translate to and from nine
languages.
"It is
now clearly Samsung's flagship device; jam-packed with technology," said
Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg.
"The
question is how many of these features will resonate with consumers."
Samsung
played up its online hub for music, books, and video and the ease with which
the S4 can share video with televisions made by the company.
"At
this point, smartphones are all about software and ecosystems; showing up with
compelling hardware is the expected starting point," Gartenberg said.
"This
is about a Samsung ecosystem that happens to be built on Android."
Samsung is
the biggest and most successful maker of smartphones powered by Android software
that Google makes available for free.
Samsung has
become the top smartphone maker worldwide with a 29 percent market share,
according to IDC, while in the US market Apple remains the king and sells more
than one of every three mobile phones.
The Galaxy
S3 has sold more than 40 million worldwide since its launch last May and has
some analysts debating which of the two firms is ahead in innovation.
"We
are always listening to learn from people around the world about what kind of
progress they really want," Shin said.
Samsung
stressed innovation as it continues to defend itself against charges made by
Apple in public and in lawsuits that the South Korean rival has copied the
California company's creations.
The S4 is
thinner than its predecessor and weighs just 130 grams despite having a bigger
screen and battery.
The
smartphone also boasts a "dual camera" function that lets the front
and rear-facing cameras be used simultaneously for pictures or videos that
combine images of subjects with that of the photographer.
A Group
Play function lets S4 handsets close to one another share music, photos,
documents or games, or even work in unison as a sound system for a song.
An S
Translator feature lets people speak or enter text in one tongue and have it
instantly converted to another.
Sensors in
the S4 detect when a person looks away from a video and then pauses play until
the distraction has passed and eyes are once again directed at the screen.
S4 sensors
combined with S Health software enable handsets to be used to track exercise,
eating, heart rate and other fitness factors.
The
handsets were also designed to measure temperature and humidity to help people
"understand what is going on around them."
Samsung also
took aim at the trend of people using their own smartphones for work with the
addition of new Knox software that builds a secure wall between personal and
business data on handsets.
"The
Samsung Galaxy S4 is very good, but looks like an evolution to the S3, not a
revolution," said technology analyst Jeff Kagan.
Apple,
which is known for keeping its plans private, is believed to be working on its
own upgrades, including a new version of the iconic iPhone. But Apple shares
have slumped some 40 percent from highs hit last year.
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