Samsung and Apple are involved in approximately 50 lawsuits against each other worldwide. The latest lawsuit sees Apple requesting courts in the USA to include the Samsung S III smartphone in a case set for hearing later this month — following an attempt to block sales of the Samsung S III.
Despite the legal battles, Samsung has launched its much anticipated flagship smartphone model, the S III, in 28 countries including South Africa.
The S III is seen as the smartphone poised to catapult Samsung firmly into the spot of “No. 1 Smartphone Maker.” It is expected to far outsell the Apple iPhone 4S and any future iPhone models.
Speaking at the launch in Johannesburg, Samsung South Africa Managing Director, Deon Liebenberg, said the SIII is on track to become the fastest-selling gadget in history and has already broken records with over 9 million pre-orders. Locally, Samsung SA received close to 50,000 pre-orders for the S III.
Liebenberg further stated the phone had received an estimated 50,000 pre-orders for the S III, and that it had sold out, further adding weight to expectations that it will be the best selling smartphone ever.
The S III features a 4,8-inch HD Super AmoLED display. An 8MP camera (rear) and a 1.9MP front camera offering users a variety of camera features as well as facial recognition related options. It runs Google’s Android 4.0 Operating System, popularly known as Ice Cream Sandwich.
It boasts of greatly enhanced usability and practicality that includes the innovative “Smart Stay” feature, which uses eye-tracking technology to make sure the device’s screen stays on and doesn’t go into sleep mode when the user is looking at it.
Also announced at the event was a new video streaming service from Samsung dubbed Video Hub that allows users to rent or buy High Definition (HD) movies. South Africa is one of the seven countries worldwide the service is available.
With the S III, Samsung has clearly indicated they are serious about becoming the best selling and best smartphone maker in the world. Consumers and technology analysts await to see what Apple’s next iPhone will do to counter the threat from Samsung.
