Samsung shows off S4 in Turkey as its eyes more global shares

SEOUL - Agence France-Presse

Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, Galaxy S4, has been presented to Turkish customers yesterday in a press meeting before it goes on sale this week, as the South Korean giant seeks to cement its lead over faltering rival Apple, which reported its lowest quarterly profit of a decade.

“We’re excited to introduce Turkish users with this smart phone that have been curiosly-awaited and will accopany thier living,” Samansung Elctronics Turkey President SungYong Hong said during yesterday’s inaguration event in Istanbul.

Unveiled last month at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the touchscreen device goes on sale in South Korea on April 27 and will roll out globally over the weekend.

The release of the Galaxy S4 comes as Samsung finds itself at something of a crossroads in a market that was once dominated by Apple’s iPhone.

After years of following and refining the iPhone’s pioneering innovations Samsung has dethroned its California-based rival to become the world’s top smartphone maker.

Samsung - the world’s largest technology firm by value and also the top handset maker - has boasted stellar sales growth, setting new records for operating profit in every single quarter of last year.

Apple profit falls

Apple by contrast, reported April 23 that its quarterly profit had dipped for the first time in nearly a decade. The California-based company posted a profit of $9.5 billion on revenue of $43.6 billion in the first three months of this year, compared to a profit of $11.6 billion on $39.2 billion in the same quarter in 2012.The number of iPhones sold in the quarter rose to 37.4 million from 35.1 million during the same quarter last year.