Handset running on LTE networks to come next month


Samsung Electronics will release its new flagship smartphone Galaxy S3 in Seoul on Monday, about a month after it was released worldwide.

The world’s top smartphone maker said it will roll out the 4.8-inch display gadget running on the third-generation network technology through the nation’s No.1 mobile carrier SK Telecom.

With plans under way to introduce it through the country’s other two mobile carriers, KT and LG Uplus, it will first feature the model operating on 3G networks and then launch it on the faster, upgraded fourth-generation Long Term Evolution networks next month, its officials said.

Samsung will hold a media event on Monday as part of its Galaxy S3 world tour to showcase its new wireless gadget for the first time here.

Last month, the world’s No. 1 smartphone manufacturer launched the Galaxy S3 worldwide in 28 countries simultaneously.

Organizing a launch event in London, it shipped the gadget to countries including France, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other nations in Europe and the Middle East.

It also began rolling out the device in the U.S. last week, kicking off the largest U.S. marketing campaign for mobile devices.

The Korean information technology behemoth plans to ship the Galaxy S3 to 296 telecoms in 145 different countries by the end of next month.

The handset, available in pebble blue and marble white, is equipped with features like eye-tracking and direct calling functions, as well as a dual-core processor, in order to provide a unique user experience, company officials said.

Designed to compete with Apple’s next iPhone, the smartphone has been well-received across the world since its launch.

Touting technologies like near-field communication ― which allows for easy sharing of web pages, applications and video as well as making purchases ― and face recognition, critics said the handset could become the biggest threat to the iPhone.

“Pictures taken with the Galaxy were sharper and had better light balance than those with the iPhone, based on a handful of test shots I took. The Galaxy’s tool for measuring data usage ― for those of us no longer on unlimited plans ― surpasses what comes with the iPhone,” said the Associated Press in a June 21 article. “All that makes the Galaxy a strong contender to Apple’s popular device.”

Similarly, it was also found to be the handset that Japanese people want to most purchase this summer in a survey of 1,440 people by the Mobile Marketing Data Lab carried out in Japan from June 12-14.

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 received 20.4 percent of the votes, followed by Sony’s Xperia and Sharp’s Aquos with 15.2 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively, it said.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)