Samsung S4 goes to the opera

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: The sails of one of the world's most iconic buildings, the Sydney Opera House, were lit up with images shot by ordinary Australians on Tuesday (23 April) for the glitzy "blue-carpet" launch of Samsung's new phone.

Samsung announced that Australia would be among the first countries to get the new Galaxy S4, which goes on sale globally this weekend in the latest high-tech salvo of its smartphone battle with Apple. It will cost Aus$899

The cutting-edge touchscreen device, which boasts an array of technological advances including eye-motion sensors that will pause a video when the user looks away, was unveiled last month at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

Samsung is taking the device to 11 cities around the world including Sydney in a series of glamorous events aimed at boosting the hype ahead of this weekend's first sales. In Sydney, costumed performers lined a blue carpet leading into the famous Opera House.

Yoon Seung-Ro, Australian managing director of the South Korean consumer electronics giant, said Samsung was particularly proud to launch its latest gadget at the Opera House under a new tie-up with the world-famous venue.

"Samsung was the best selling smartphone in 2012 and we continue to be the number one smartphone brand in the world," Yoon told the Sydney launch event, describing the brand's "incredible success" in Australia.

"This is the new benchmark in terms of innovation in smartphones," he added.

Samsung ran a contest among users ahead of the Sydney event asking them to submit photos for projection onto the Opera House sails, with hundreds of images being screened throughout the six-hour event.

Samsung, the world's largest technology firm by revenue hopes the S4 will cement its dominance in the lucrative smartphone market, where it holds 29% of the market. It remains in a fierce battle with Apple to dominate the smartphone sector.

In Australia, Android devices, where Samsung is the major supplier, outsell Apple's phones with Samsung holding 58% and Apple about 36% of the local market. Apple dominates the tablet market with a huge 77% market share while Samsung has just 7% according to the government's communications regulator.

So intense is their rivalry that Apple took Samsung to court in Australia in 2011 accusing it of patent infringements with its touchscreen technology, part of a broader global tussle in the US$100bn tablet and smartphone market.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge