Samsung to Unveil New Galaxy Phone in New York

Samsung Electronics will unveil its new smartphone at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Thursday. The Korean electronics giant has chosen the U.S. to show it is unafraid to take on rival Apple on its home turf, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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The Galaxy S4 remains under wraps until then. At the Mobile World Congress in Spain last month, Samsung allowed only the top executives of major telecoms to catch a glimpse of the Galaxy S4. Based on their accounts, it features significantly improved design and functions compared to the Galaxy S3 that came out last year.

The biggest difference is the size of the screen, with thinner borders than the previous model. "I thought there were no borders surrounding the screen", said one telecom executive. The screens on the Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 are surrounded by borders between 3 and 4 mm wide.

The Galaxy S4 comes with a slightly bigger screen than the iPhone's.

The new phone also has a function that automatically causes a page to scroll up once the viewer finishes reading the end of the displayed text. Another function causes a video to pause automatically if the viewer's gaze is directed away from the screen. And unlike any other smartphone so far, the Galaxy S4 can be operated even with gloved hands.

Users can also jot down notes and draw pictures on without touching the screen. Another function is the phone's ability to gauge a user's pulse or weight and keep tabs on his or her physical condition.

The Galaxy S4 is also the world's first smartphone to be equipped with an octa-core processor. The iPhone 5 is powered by a dual-core processor, while the Galaxy S3 has a quad-core processor. The higher the core number, the faster and more stable the smartphone in handling programs. Samsung plans to sell cheaper quad-core versions in some countries.

The Galaxy S4 comes with a full-HD AMOLED screen. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas early this year, Samsung unveiled a power-saving AMOLED screen that it claims is 25-percent more energy-efficient than existing products, and this will be used for the Galaxy S4.

Samsung plans to start selling the Galaxy S4 in the U.S. in April and in Korea, Europe and other markets in May and June.