Samsung Galaxy SIV is here, what are we expecting?

It is that time of the year again. Grief for the early adopters that are yet to have the best out their Samsung Galaxy SIII and the late adopters who have to play catch up again. A lot has been said about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy SIV and as usual countable leaks that cannot be verified by Samsung.

AT the start of all this phone business, Samsung had to play catch up and knick a few patents with pride. The point of reference was Apples iPhone, but who says there is any need to reinvent the wheel when all is done.

They say you learn from the best and that is exactly what Samsung has done. Gone are the days when the firm had to wait for Consumer Electronics Show (CES) or the Mobile World Congress (MWC) to unveil its flagship phone and any accompanying products. Samsung now has a key note event that it spends millions of dollars just to create hype about it. We might be far from the Time Square but the internet is awash with the talk of how much Samsung has put in the promotion of the Galaxy SIV D day.

All the major tech blogs as well as techies and business analysts are talking about it. Where do you see this phone in the in the product growth curve?

Samsung ended last year with a leading 30.3% share of the world-wide smartphone market, up from 19% at the end of 2011, according to technology research firm IDC. Meanwhile, despite strong sales, Apple's market share was essentially flat, as the company held on to the No. 2 spot with a 19.1% share, up from 18.8% in 2011.

The company has set so much of expectations that it is now in the same situation as Apple. What more wow effect can we get? The 4th generation is highly anticipated and the stakes are high. This is as a result of the company getting itself with early a bigger fan base that just like for any other product are demanding. The Galaxy S smartphone line is one of the most important products for the South Korean electronics conglomerate's most profitable division. Its current Galaxy S III model helped give Samsung the lead in smartphone market share, while moving the company's brand from a solid and efficient—albeit unexciting—maker of mobile phones to a trendsetter and legitimate Apple rival.

The challenge for the Galaxy S IV, Samsung's fourth-generation flagship smartphone, is to wow consumers who have grown accustomed to the annual leaps in technology that deliver bigger, clearer screens, faster processors, and sharper cameras—all packed into thinner and lighter handsets.

Even Apple's launch of the iPhone 5 last year failed to match the cult-like enthusiasm generated by its earlier models.

"It's much harder to impress the consumer," said Carolina Milanesi, a consumer-devices analyst based in San Francisco for research firm Gartner. "Samsung has positioned itself as the only alternative to Apple for high-end phones. With that comes expectations and responsibility."

"Given the success of their previous smartphone, there are expectations this will be the device of the year," Mr. Reynolds said. "They really need to deliver something special."