Samsung Trains Its Eye on the iPhone - Wall Street Journal

By YUN-HEE KIM Samsung plans to release its Galaxy S4 in New York on March 14. The WSJ's Yun-Hee Kim explains the smartphone's newer features and upgrades. The technology industry will be paying close attention to Samsung Electronics Co. this week when it lifts the curtains on a new high-end smartphone at an event in New York on Thursday. A lot is riding on the new device as Samsung aims to maintain its lead and boost profits in the increasingly crowded smartphone market. Samsung executives declined to comment on the new device ahead of its launch, but analysts say the new smartphone will likely have a faster chip and an improved camera. It also will have a slightly bigger and higher-resolution five-inch AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen and longer battery life than the previous Galaxy S III model. Pep Montserrat Samsung's U.S. trademark filing in February for the "Samsung Eye Scroll," a feature that allows mobile devices to sense eye movements while scrolling through pages, has also raised speculation of the feature being used in the new smartphone, called Galaxy S IV. But a Samsung spokeswoman said that the trademark can be used on any device, including a smartphone or tablet, and declined to comment on whether it would be available on the new model. Related Video Scams have been prevalent in emails but now they're branching out to cellphones, offering everything from free prizes to cheap mortgages if users simply click on a site. MarketWatch's Christopher Noble reports. (Photo: Getty Images) The South Korean company's surprise choice of the U.S. as a launch pad for its new phone signals it is taking the battle for mobile dominance to Apple Inc.'s home turf. The relationship between the two companies has been complicated by their duopoly in the mobile-device market, with Samsung still supplying components to Apple, but also competing against it in many markets, including the U.S. The two firms are also embroiled in lawsuits globally, accusing one another of patent infringement. "Samsung is facing strong pressure from Apple in the U.S., and Samsung needs to strike back with a competitive flagship smartphone," said Neil Mawston, executive director at research firm Strategy Analytics. Samsung has been working for the past few years to beef up its software capabilities, a weakness the company's president of the mobile business, J.K. Shin, acknowledges in interviews. It has embraced acquisitions and in January purchased a stake in interactive pen display maker Wacom Co. It has also hired foreign software engineers to develop new features so it can catch up with the likes of Apple in software. The company, the world's biggest maker of memory chips, TVs and mobile handsets, unveiled the Galaxy S III smartphone in May last year. The emphasis on software took on new urgency at Samsung after Google Inc., maker of the Android operating system prevalent in smartphones including many of Samsung's, acquired Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. Nokia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. also unveiled a partnership in 2011 to jointly develop smartphones based on Microsoft's Windows Phone software. While Samsung has been internally developing its own mobile software for many years, its platform, called Bada, has proved to be unpopular among consumers. Most of its smartphones now run predominantly on Android software, but Samsung's growing might in smartphones has also caused concern inside Google. "The new S IV model will need standout designs for hardware, software or services if Samsung wants to wow global consumers," said Mr. Mawston. Samsung is pouring billions of dollars into marketing and has come up with clever commercials poking fun at its competitors, including Apple. The move is an effort to improve its brand image in markets like the U.S., executives say. It is taking a similar approach to Apple with product launches, sending out teases ahead of the official launch. For the New York event taking place at Radio City Music Hall, it is asking consumers to "be ready 4 the next Galaxy." Both Apple and Samsung are contending with stiff competition as PC makers diversify into the smartphone market, while low-cost manufacturers such as ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. also move into the high end, targeting the U.S. market as they expand. Research firm IDC said more smartphones are forecast to be shipped globally this year than feature phones, indicating that smartphones are already becoming mainstream. The key, analysts say, is for Samsung to show that it is able to continue to differentiate and innovate just as much in software as it can in hardware. —The Week Ahead looks at coming corporate events. Write to Yun-Hee Kim at yun-hee.kim@wsj.com A version of this article appeared March 11, 2013, on page B2 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Samsung Trains Its Eye on the iPhone. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHrN-jNTuzAexe7615i9gYte9JncA&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324582804578346384123264920.html

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