SAMSUNG UNVEILS GALAXY S4 SMARTPHONE IN BID TO TOPPLE APPLE

JK Shin, President and Head of
IT and Mobile Communications
for Samsung Electronics,
 presents the new Samsung Galaxy S 4
during the Samsung Unpacked event
at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday,
 March 14, 2013 in
New York.
 (AP Photo)

Samsung’s first iPhone-beating smartphone will be replaced with a model that tracks your eyes and fingertips, lets you control it with the wave of a hand, reports on your exercise, and uses eight computing brains for a speed boost.

The South Korean company revealed its highly anticipated Galaxy S IV in one of the world’s biggest phone launches this morning in New York, broadcasting its unveiling to Times Square and hundreds gathered at Radio City Music Hall.

More than 300,000 people tuned in to watch the live stream on YouTube.

The handset, which looks similar to the Galaxy S III it replaces, also features a larger and significantly crisper 5-inch screen, a slimmer body and a larger battery, and sources say it will be available in Australia by late April.

Samsung Australia marketing director Arno Lenior said while the new phone featured a significantly better 5-inch screen, many of its innovations were only evident inside.

“As much as the phone features new hardware enhancements, there’s been a lot of software additions to this smartphone,’’ Mr Lenior said.

New hardware in the Galaxy S IV includes a full high-definition Super AMOLED screen for the first time with a greater resolution than the iPhone 5, an eight-core 1.6GHz processor for increased speed, a larger battery and an infra-red “blaster” so the phone could be used as a TV remote control.

New software features in the phone include eye-tracking technology that determines whether you’re looking at the screen and automatically pauses video when you’re not paying attention, or lets you tilt the phone to scroll up and down websites when your eyes are looking them.

A raft of new Air Gestures will let users control the phone without touching its screen, including waving to right to left to accept a phone call, and waving up and down to move the screen in the same direction.

New sensors combine with a health-tracking app to count how many steps users take, how hot or humid it is near them, and lets users track their caloric intake.

A movement-tracking bracelet, weight scales and heart-rate monitor will also be available for use with the phone.

Rumours of wireless charging and an internet-connected watch proved false, however.

The new smartphone has big expectations to fill after Samsung sold more than 43 million of its predecessor, making it the biggest-selling smartphone in the third quarter of 2012, beating Apple’s iPhone 4S. The title has since been taken out by the iPhone 5.

Together, Samsung and Apple controlled 52 per cent of smartphone sales in the final three months of 2012, Gartner said, setting up a fierce battle between the technology giants.

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller this week launched a rare attack on Samsung and Google Android phones, saying the handsets often host old software and are difficult to use.

“At Apple we know that it’s not just enough to have products pumped out in large numbers,” he said. “You have to love and use them. There is a lot of data showing a big disparity there.”

Despite the comments, Samsung laid claim to being the world’s biggest smartphone maker at the end of 2012, according to Gartner, though the Apple iPhone 5 claimed the title of the world’s best selling smartphone, Strategy Analytics reported. - Heruld Sun