The Galaxy S4 Mini and the Ativ Q tablet were among the smartphones and tablet PCs that Samsung Electronics unveiled in London on Thursday, the company said.
The main attraction was the new 13.3-inch convertible laptop Ativ Q with dual-booting technology allowing users to operate on both Windows 8 and Android 4.2.2 operating systems. Data can be synced and shared between the two, while the flexible hinge allows users to convert the Ativ Q from tablet mode to laptop mode and position the screen at different angles.
Fitted with the fourth-generation Intel Core i5 Haswell processor, the Ativ Q weighs 1.29 kilograms and measures 13.9 millimeters at its thinnest point. Resolution is nearly three times crisper than a full HD display.
At the event, Samsung also unveiled the new Galaxy S4 Mini, which became 20 percent lighter than the original S4, adopting a smaller 4.3-inch screen and operating on 1.7 GHz dual-core processor.
First time to incorporate a 10x optical zoom lens in a smartphone, the new Galaxy S4 Zoom, as well as the Android-powered mirrorless camera, Galaxy NX were also showcased.
“Developing new products with diverse lifestyles and consumer demands in mind has created increased synergy,” said Lee Don-joo, keynote speaker and head of strategic marketing for Samsung Electronics’ mobile business unit.
Samsung officials said the venue for the launch was apt, as British consumers for the past three years picked Samsung as No. 1 brand in the electronics field.
On Wednesday, Samsung was awarded the “Best Computing Brand” of 2013 by “Which?” ― the U.K.’s largest consumer group ― for its level of product innovation and the highest customer satisfaction with its products.
The new devices are expected to go on sale between July and September in Korea and worldwide.
By Kwon Bum-joon (
bjkwon@heraldcorp.com)
