A sizeable majority have given a thumb up to the Samsung Galaxy S IV after it’s unveiling at New York on Thursday. Samsung has made sure that the Galaxy S IV could never be dubbed less than unique because of the customized Android experience it offers. With the addition of a plethora of features, Samsung has ensured that innovation reaches the consumers and has also managed to create a sizeable hype before the phone hits store shelves.
The Samsung Galaxy S III is available for a reduced sale price now starting at $9.99.
The introduction of iOS 6 saw the deployment of embryonic software (called Passbook) to facilitate financial transactions from the phone. The feature never actually caught on in comparison to the system followed in Japan, but this is bound to change with the introduction of the S IV. With the introduction of a new Samsung wallet app at the MWC last month, the Korean vendor hopes to match, if not surpass, a similar function on the iPhone.
Samsung raised the bar even further at the unveiling, claiming that the S IV will be the first phone to integrate with technology from a little known company called Mobeam which allows mobile devices to beam barcodes to ordinary POS scanners. This, unlike NFC, doesn’t require another device and thus enables consumers to leverage what they already have. Thanks to Mobeam’s patented technology, barcodes can be scanned directly from mobile phones, which eliminates the need for physical packaging or coupons.
Samsung was shrewd with the inclusion of Mobeam, among other features that include multi-lingual voice recognition, compatibility with hand gestures and the use of eye tracking to stop/pause a video and scroll pages. Given the growth of commerce, this inclusion is sure to make a lasting impact and may even increase the vendor’s consumer base. Since the concept is being implemented for the first time, details are still awaited.
There are lessons that other vendors can learn from Samsung’s implementation of Mobeam’s software. First, the Korean vendor has proved that improvement in hardware is not the only way forward. The right combination of software with hardware can achieve the same result. Second, it pinned its hopes on POS barcode scanners, rather than relying on new technology. Third, it has lived up to the expectations surrounding a high profile smartphone and piggybacked off the S III’s slipstream.
You can purchase the Galaxy S III at a discounted price tag now starting at $9.99.
