Apple iPhone sales are set to come under serious threat today as Samsung Australia launches a new version of its hot-selling Galaxy S smartphone; one day after the new Galaxy S III went on sale in Europe – and well ahead of rival Apple’s expected launch of a new iPhone model sometime in Q3.The Galaxy S3, which tracks the user’s eye movements to keep the screen from dimming or turning off while in use, yesterday hit stores in 28 European and Middle East countries, including Germany.
Some Europeans queued all night, Apple style, eager to be the first to lay their hands on the new Samsung. In Berlin about 50 customers queued all night outside a mobile phone shop; in Frankfurt there were around 100 people in the queue when a Deutsche Telekom shop on the city’s busiest shopping street the Zeil opened.
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In Australia the new phone will be introduced show-biz style at a media and analyst event at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, with telecommunications VP Tyler McGee as master of ceremonies.
Some European observers claim that what’s special about the Samsung Galaxy S3 is that it may be the first Android smartphone with the ability to even convert iPhone users over to Google’s operating system.
The Financial Times said that with iPhone users being notoriously loyal, there is unlikely to be a huge deterioration in iPhone sales, but there is the feeling that demand for the Galaxy S3, along with the upcoming rumoured launch of an Android 5.0 Jellybean tablet by Google, will lead to a slightly more equal market share between Android and Apple iOS devices.
One the main benefits being tipped is the screen size of the S3. Android screens go up to 5.3 inches (Galaxy Note) as opposed to the iPhone’s standard 3.5 inches. The Samsung Galaxy S3 sits at comfortable 4.8-inches.
