HTC: Samsung Galaxy S4 has nothing new

LONDON: Benjamin Ho, the
chief marketing officer for
smartphone maker HTC, has
slammed Samsung Galaxy S4,
saying the new mobile by the
Korean electronics giant 'offers
nothing new' to its users.
Ho said that with a
continuation of a plastic body
and a larger screen being the
most obvious physical change,
Samsung's new Galaxy pales in
comparison to the all-
aluminium unibody HTC One.
He stressed that HTC remains
the best option for those people
looking for the best technology
wrapped in premium design,
the Telegraph reports.
HTC's customers want original
cutting-edge technology, mouth-
watering design and a premium
feel from their mobiles, which
is why the firm created the HTC
One, he added.
The Galaxy S4 was unveiled at
a glamorous Samsung launch
event in New York yesterday.
The new phone can sense a
finger hovering over its screen
and has a device that follows
your eye movements and scrolls
the page down automatically.
According to the paper, these
advances, along with a 13MP
camera and a faster, eight-core
processor, have reassured
smartphone users that it marks
a significant step up from last
year's bestselling Galaxy S4.
       
           Samsung on Friday unveiled
Galaxy S4, its flagship
smartphone, at an event in New
York. The device - that boasts of
an 8-core processor, and is
capable of recognizing hand
and eye movements - will
compete against the Apple
iPhone 5, HTC One, Nokia
Lumia 920, BlackBerry Z10 and
other high-end smartphones
that will be launched later in
the year.
The phone will be available in
several markets across the
world by the end of April. And
while there is no official word
from Samsung about its India
launch or its pricing here, it is
expected that the device should
hit the local market in the
second quarter this year.
While hardware has always
been a focus of Samsung, on
this occasion the company has
also worked on adding software
features (see box).
Anshul Gupta, principal analyst
of Gartner India, terms the
device as a step in the right
direction. "The device has some
features comparable to what
other flagship phones already
have, but bits like smart
gestures are unique," Gupta
said. "There are limits to what
you can do with hardware. The
early stages of revolutionary
leaps are over. Samsung is wise
to focus on software and
improving the ecosystem
around its phones."
For Samsung, the Galaxy S4 is
a crucial launch in its battle
against Apple and to maintain
its lead among other Android
handset manufacturers.
According to data revealed by
the South Korean company in
January, Galaxy S III sold over
40 million units in six months.
Collectively, over 100 million
Galaxy S series phones have
been sold so far. Apple had sold
135 million iPhones in 2012.
According to IDC, Samsung was
the biggest smartphone maker
in 2012 in the global market
with a market share of around
30%. Apple was second with the
market share of around 19%.
But in terms of profit, Apple
remains the leader. According
to research by Canaccord
Genuity, an investment bank,
Apple had a 69% share in the
profit generated within the
smartphone industry in 2012.