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Live from New York, it's the Samsung (SSNLF.PK) Galaxy S IV. Mobile chief JK Shin has unveiled...

  • Thursday, March 14, 7:36 PM ET
    Live from New York, it's the Samsung (SSNLF.PK) Galaxy S IV. Mobile chief JK Shin has unveiled Samsung's new flagship device, which happens to look a lot like its predecessor. The S IV, said to support every 4G LTE band, will go on sale in late April (U.S. availability might take longer). The expected 5" 1080p display and 13MP camera are there, the next-gen 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard is supported (could be a positive for BRCM), and infrared, temperature, and humidity sensors are thrown in. A variety of camera tricks/gimmicks are provided, including the ability to simultaneously record video from both cameras. (live blog) (previous)
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This news story has 33 comments:

  •  
    Wow, looks like Samsung is branching into the standup comedy business?

    Is it a product launch or a variety show?
    14 Mar, 07:44 PM Reply Like
  •  
    What a terribly bad infomercial that product reveal was.

    If Apple pulled that kind of crap I'd be a seller instantly.
    15 Mar, 12:53 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Maybe that stuff goes over better in Korea? Like Gangnam style?
    15 Mar, 02:09 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Starting to pick up some good reviews though:

    http://bit.ly/15QvsTf#
    15 Mar, 09:06 AM Reply Like
  •  
    I'm not so sure that ever larger smartphones is a good trend, though the success of the Samsung Galaxy Note likely prompted some of the move. As the Galaxy S 4 moves beyond the Apple (AAPL) iPhone Retina display, the real thing of note is the Full HD screen, though much more of a marketing factor than a practical change. I'm sure they will find buyers, but it seems smartphones are reaching a limit where tablets should be taking over. The next evolution may be more capable tablets, like the Surface Pro, but in slightly smaller form factors.
    14 Mar, 07:48 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Good point Herr. Keep in mind though the screen size of the S4 is larger than the S3, but the phone size hasn't changed. The trend with Samsung is bigger though, but how much bigger can a phone get without making it too big. I don't find the S3 phone size to be too big and therefore the S4, but the Note is pushing it!
    14 Mar, 11:04 PM Reply Like
  •  
    .2" larger and will hardly be noticed - although I tend to agree on sizes of phones. I want them to comfortably fit in my pocket.
    14 Mar, 08:26 PM Reply Like
  •  
    A bunch of very nice features! Full HD is incredible. That was a premium feature on TVs not too long ago. It will be very nice for cabling a hotel TV to use the phone as a laptop. ~3X more pixels than the iPhone 5? Wow. Huge battery is nice...almost 100% more than the iP5. I'd bet battery life is still terrible, though. We'll see. If the sensors work well, I will be shocked. It has as many sensors as an airplane! The guts appear to be unequalled...especially the octa-core SOC. Reviewers' one consistent complaint? It feels much cheaper than the iPhone! Same old Sammy plastic feel. Apple had better have a lot of tricks up their sleeve and waiting to be unveiled, or they may get their lunch eaten in late Spring. I will be surprised if Apple doesn't have a counter-punch waiting.
    14 Mar, 09:02 PM Reply Like
  •  
    "It feels much cheaper than the iPhone! Same old Sammy plastic feel." i know exactly what you mean. i love my chrome toaster from 1952, and it weights more then my LCD.
    16 Mar, 07:38 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Doesn't look like much thought was put into the new features.
    Threw in a bunch of gizmos, let the app developers come up with innovation they can take credit for.
    14 Mar, 09:06 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Sounds like an upgrade or lack there of that everyone on the street has been knocking Apple for we'll see if Samsung gets knocked or pumped. I bet there's enough Apple haters right now it'll be a pump and more Apple knocking.
    14 Mar, 09:14 PM Reply Like
  •  
    The presentation was so bizarre, I had to keep looking away. Really - CREEPY!!

    The phone seems full of rather annoying gimmicks like air gestures which if gestures on a physical level are any indication will produce a lot of mistakes.

    Camera a lot of resolution, nothing new otherwise, which does not already exist in apps on all platforms.

    They made a big deal about translation however Jibbigo on iPhone and Android already works like a charm -- without an internet connection.

    Samsung seems to have taken a great leap forward into no inovation, who were they going to copy? The iPhone 6 is not yet available.

    Sad that this company is taking market share from more innovative companies including Google. Google may finally wake up and freeze them out, and take the profits themselves.
    14 Mar, 09:57 PM Reply Like
  •  
    "Sad that this company is taking market share from more innovative companies including Google."

    2 companies with opposing income streams, Google gets its part from all the hardware companies, licensing fees (perhaps wrong word) of its software.
    14 Mar, 10:15 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Google (GOOG) mostly through data mining. Microsoft (MSFT) gets license fees from most of the companies that implement Android.
    14 Mar, 10:19 PM Reply Like
  •  
    As we all know Google produces the DROID RAZR and half a dozen other phones, all running Google Android. Google seems frustrated with Android and appears to be trying a new tactic to rein it in -- thus Android plus Chrome OS?

    Any thoughts on the future of Android and Samsung? Will Google support Samsung at the expense of Google shareholders?
    15 Mar, 12:29 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Samsung are hedging their Android bets through Tizen and Windows Phone. Increasingly it appears that Windows Phone is languishing, though Nokia may do well with it. Mobile web is really where it is at moving into the future. App development is becoming a commodity to sell hardware, and few app developers are happy at the lack of revenues. Mobile commerce is the next big phase, with smartphones able to replace credit and debit cards. As Visa and Mastercard push NFC and mobile payments, we should see some uptick there; both companies may be better long term investments than any smartphone vendor. Losing a smartphone will be like losing a wallet, so at some point in the future security will become more important, as end users will experience the detriment of losing a smartphone. Google need to refresh the Motorola brand and get some of that cool factor into future devices.
    15 Mar, 04:59 PM Reply Like
  •  
    The Korean copycat sweatshop now has to innovate on its own, and this creepy show is the best thing they could come up with?

    Smartphone features are now saturated, it will be all about price and apps in the future. Handset makers are entering the realm of pain.
    14 Mar, 10:50 PM Reply Like
  •  
    My feeling is that Samsung with "innovate" itself into a corner, of huge video phones, while not addressing the issue of real-world usefulness.

    Right now the fashion outside of the US seems to be big screens, but when that becomes saturated -- the fashion could become smaller and smaller screens (like the Apple watch), fashion is a very dangerous road, ask Sony.
    15 Mar, 06:35 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Today, Samsung releases the SG3s! The SG3 now has gimmicks! DO these people even consider use cases that need resolving. Thank god for blackberry!
    15 Mar, 02:12 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Yeah that was my primary conclusion.

    They have no idea how, what or why people do the things they do with their phones so they took what they had, made the numbers bigger and stuck on some more gimmicks. They might as well have gone the whole hog and added "phoneballs" (google it).
    15 Mar, 08:33 AM Reply Like
  •  
    The S IV will sell. The only place in the world that Samsungdoes not lead is in the USA, AAPLs home territory. I also am surprised at all the hate on this site. It seems to me that the rest of the world has moved on. Android is a very good OS and the reason why its is so popular is that it is so versatile and personal...a user can tweak it to run exactly the way they want it to.
    Back to the phones...
    The S III had the best battery life for surfing the net of ALL the smartphones available to date! What makes you think the S IV will not be similar. (google it). Samsungs quality and reputation are not figments of the imagination. They are based on facts.
    16 Mar, 11:52 AM Reply Like
  •  
    The bigger issue is can the battery support this and how is the battery life in general. The one that gets a longer lasting battery gets my vote, not the camera.
    15 Mar, 04:10 AM Reply Like
  •  
    If a smartphone cannot fit comfortably in one hand then its not really convenient is it ?
    15 Mar, 04:36 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Surprise!!!!

    Its a S3.
    15 Mar, 04:40 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Wow a lot of haters on these posts! Either way watch the S4 outsell anything else previously available, too bad there's no direct way to invest in samsung shares here in the US.
    15 Mar, 10:38 AM Reply Like
  •  
    the same way the Honda Accord outsells BMW
    15 Mar, 11:28 AM Reply Like
  •  
    Best way frankly is the south korean ETF -- EWY which is about 22% samsung.

    Or you can buy on the pink sheets.
    15 Mar, 01:53 PM Reply Like
  •  
    The smartphone innovation era ended last year. New features are very small increments if anything.

    The commodization cycle is well underway
    15 Mar, 01:03 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Samsun Galaxy IV,
    The World Wide Yawn.

    When Apple launched the iPhone 5, I remember months of anticipation, daily news reports on the radio, local TV, and in the local papers tracking the progress to the launch date. There were massive pre-orders organized to avoid conflicts breaking out at the Apple Stores. There were reports of worker riots at the factory where the iPhone 5 was being produced because of the overtime schedule needed to supply the anticipated demand. When the iPhone 5 finally came out there were line at the Apple Store even though you could get it on line.

    Now that the Galaxy IV is out where is all the hysteria? Where are the lines at the phone stores? Where are the factory riots? Is this really an iPhone killer or a World Wide Yawn?

    I predict that by next week nobody will be talking about the Galaxy IV.
    15 Mar, 01:26 PM Reply Like
  •  
    The S4 isn't even on sale yet. Why would there be lines at phone stores for the S4 at this point?! S4 will sell very well (certainly better than S3), but won't be an iPhone killer. I think it has the potential to be on par with the iPhone.
    15 Mar, 01:44 PM Reply Like
  •  
    I think they are going into hiding after that embarrassing spectacle at Radio City Music. Worse than Steve Balmer dancing.


    Made me realized Apple coiuld just use a CGI Steve Jobs, from about 2000.
    15 Mar, 01:56 PM Reply Like
  •  
    It will sell.

    But no matter what -- Samsung has defined themselves as the plastic cartoon-sized phone, for those who want to watch show tunes.
    15 Mar, 02:05 PM Reply Like
  •  
    Samsung does appear to make great smartphones for watching videos. It would be interesting to see a usage study of how end users use their Samsung smartphones.
    16 Mar, 12:57 PM Reply Like
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