Samsung Galaxy SIII ‘official Olympics phone’
Samsung’s new Galaxy device is to be unveiled in London because it is to be the official phone of the Olympics, according to reports.
Although Samsung has refused to officially confirm whether the announcement relates to a much anticipated forthcoming phone or to a range of new devices, the launch at London’s Earl’s Court will, nonetheless, be the closest Google’s Android operating system comes to an event on the scale of an Apple launch.
The expectation is that the evening event on 3 May will at least include the successor to the popular SII phone, although the name has not been confirmed, but that it could also include a range of other products that build on the success of popular Samsung devices such as the Galaxy Note small tablet.
Unconfirmed rumours include a slight increase to the screen size of the product, enlarging the SII’s 4.3” screen to 4.6” and using HD in 1080p. Such an increase could be due to an “edgeless” design, rather than to an enlarged overall device. An improved camera, possibly up to 16megapixels, is also a possibility, and wireless charging has also been mentioned as a possibility.
The invitation for the event reads simply “Come and meet the next Galaxy”, and gives details of the location of the next “Samsung Unpacked” event.
Samsung has not, however, hosted a recent Samsung Unpacked event recently at which it has unveiled a single product.
Samsung’s Galaxy range however also includes the popular miniature tablet, the Galaxy Note, which includes a stylus and handwriting recognition, as well as two ‘Tab’ models, that use either 7” or 10.1” form factors in a bid to produce and Android rival to the iPad.
A number of ‘leaks’ of the Samsung Galaxy SIII phone have already emerged online, but none of these devices, which are usually slim and tapered, has been confirmed as genuine.
Specifications for the new mobile phone’s processor remain unclear as well; many manufacturers are now producing “quad core devices”, using improved processors that provide improved performance but have been criticised in some instances, such as the HTC One X, for compromising battery life. If Samsung’s new devices are not keeping pace with their rivals, however, the manufacturer is likely to face criticism.
The Samsung Galaxy SII has been the most popular Android handset by search terms for approximately six months, and a successor had been expected to launch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier in the year.
Prior to the February show, however, Samsung announced that “Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012.The successor to the Galaxy SII smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.”
The SII was released in April 2011, and is still in the process of being upgraded by mobile operators to the latest version of Android. Any new version is expected to run Ice Cream Sandwich, Google’s codename for the software.
While rival operators including HTC have attracted positive reviews for their latest round of products, manufacturers such as Sony have struggled to recapture their past success. New entrants to the market including Huawei and ZTE are piling increasing pressure on other mobile phone makers.
Samsung recently announced improved profits, while its rivals have struggled to maintain performance in a “cutthroat” mobile phone sector described by analysts as “dominated by Apple and Samsung”.
