Samsung boosts smartphone clout

Tech giant to unveil Galaxy Nexus in Hong Kong this Wednesday


Samsung Electronics is moving to further expand its market share in smartphones, while continuing its patent fight against rival Apple Inc.

On Wednesday Samsung is to unveil a new smartphone dubbed the “Galaxy Nexus,” which will run on the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system, at an event in Hong Kong on the sidelines of the AsiaD Conference.

This is seen as a move from Samsung and Google to take on Apple’s new iPhone 4S, which has been soaring in sales since its release last week. Apple said it sold over 4 million iPhone 4S devices in the first three since release.

Galaxy Nexus, which will feature the Android 4.0 mobile platform, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, is the first reference phone for the system ― indicating it is the first to use Google’s most recent mobile OS. Galaxy Nexus will be the mobile phone that will be shown to other mobile manufacturers and developers in the field.

As an improved version of Samsung’s previous Galaxy S2, the Galaxy Nexus, which is a Long Term Evolution phone that operates on the fourth generation communication network, is equipped with a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display and a 1.2 gigahertz processor.

The gadget was expected to be unveiled at an event synchronized with the CTIA 2011 in San Diego earlier this month. However, Samsung deferred the event to honor the memory of Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs.

On a related front, Samsung Electronics said Monday that the sales of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S2 and previous model Galaxy S recorded over 30 million units.

The company said that the sales of Galaxy S2 exceeded 20 million units in less than six months after its launch.

The Galaxy series led Samsung to become the world’s No. 2 smartphone manufacturer.

However, Samsung’s smartphones, which mostly run on Android’s mobile platform, will face a major obstacle if its flagship Galaxy line is slapped with a sales ban in the U.S.

A court in California is expected to rule on the sales ban of four different items from Samsung, including the Galaxy S, sometime this week.

The Seoul-based company’s latest tablet PC ― Galaxy Tab 10.1 ― was prohibited from being sold at stores in countries including Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.

There are currently more than 20 patent cases that are being examined across nine countries.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)