Samsung Galaxy S4 landing at Mobile World Congress in Feb 2013?

Samsung Electronics plans to unveil the latest in its Galaxy line, the S4, at a European technology exhibition in February 2013, according to company officials and local parts suppliers for the technology giant.

The timetable was released just three days after rival Apple introduced the iPhone 5, which has received a mixed response from industry experts and consumers as it is seemingly lacking in innovative features.

``Samsung is ready to unveil the next Galaxy smartphone _ the Galaxy S4 _ at early next year’s mobile world congress (MWC) in the Spanish city of Barcelona,’’ said an official from the firm asking not to be identified, Sunday. The new device is expected to hit shelves globally in March at the latest.

MWC is the biggest exhibition in the world for telecom companies and Samsung, will exhibit the new Galaxy at its booth.

The new Galaxy, expected to be the firm’s most powerful handset yet in terms of hardware specifications and software advancement, will help the Suwon-based outfit further cement its leadership in the global smartphone market.

The official said that the smartphone, due out nine months after the May debut of the Galaxy S3, will be more than enough to curb Apple’s latest iPhone, compatible with long-term evolution (LTE) networks.

In Europe, Samsung is gaining a bigger share of the smartphone market. The Korean company was involved in patent disputes with Apple in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. A recent ruling in the U.K. said Samsung didn’t infringe on Apple’s design patents.

Executives from Samsung’s local parts suppliers said the company’s new flagship smartphone will ``definitely use’’ LTE networks. It will also sport its in-house Exynos-branded application processors and quad-core chips. The S3 is using both Samsung’s Exynos and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors depending on the country.

``Samsung is asking Apple to pay more to use its mobile application processors produced at its plant in Austin, Texas. The release of the S4 means more market share for Samsung as it is the only firm that can guarantee on-time delivery, output commitment and better pricing for mobile application processors,’’ said one executive.

The screen size of the S4 is expected to reach 5-inch from the the current 4.8 screen size of the S3, while it will use Google’s Android software and sport an OLED display, said the officials.

But Samsung has yet to decide whether it will use flexible display technology for the upcoming Galaxy due to production problems encountered by Samsung Display.

 

Samsung Display officials declined to comment on the new Samsung smartphone project.

``Samsung wants to keep its one-year product schedule and the Galaxy S4 will be the first to match that strategy. The S4 will see some external changes but retain its popular rectangular shape with rounded corner concept,’’ said an official from one of Samsung’s local partners.

Samsung is currently in talks with major American carriers to apply modified phone designs.

Market analysts and experts view the S4 as a ``clear message’’ to Apple. ``Samsung’s edges in manufacturing will further shine after the patent disputes go further on. In markets, Samsung is confident to widen its lead over Apple, though the legal fight is a totally separate issue,’’ said an industry executive who is familiar with the matter.

Samsung expects sales of the S3 to pass 30 million by the end of the year. It has already sold 20 million in just over three months.

The S4 will help Samsung take on Apple in the United States, according to officials. Market research firm IDC shows Samsung has a 30 percent share, globally, while Apple has 16 percent. But NPD’s recent data shows Apple controls 31 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, followed by Samsung on 24 percent.

The S4 plans come amid escalating patent disputes between the two technology giants in 50 different cases on four continents. Apple won a victory last month after a United States jury found the Korean firm copied key features of the iPhone and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.

Best Way to Keep Your Company Computers Safe

For years, antivirus software was the gold standard for securing your IT. But the cloud has changed the nature of the game.

Run a quick Google search for "Internet security protection" and you'll come across plenty of antivirus software solutions claiming to protect your company's devices against the multitude of nasty infections out there on the Web. Historically, antivirus software has been the foremost choice of protection for CIOs against these threats.


These days, as companies and consumers increasingly conduct their business in the cloud, securing virtual identities, browsing activity, and personal data arguably has become more important than securing physical devices. Now that we've added mobile to the mix--especially in the case of Apple's iPhone, a device that's fairly secure by default--the need to protect the device has been overshadowed by the increasing need to secure our online interactions.

So, should you still include antivirus software in your IT budget?


How the Cloud Is Changing Security

Until recently, I've been a big believer in the idea of securing both your device and your browsing activities. The general consensus amongst CIOs was to protect their teams with both an antivirus to secure their computers and mobile devices and a personal VPN to protect employees against online threats. However, I had coffee a couple weeks back with Monish Bhatia, a security expert over at MacNN who's been writing about these issues for years; he posed an interesting question that made me think twice about the need for antivirus: "Do we really need antivirus if we're using a personal VPN and thus securing all browsing, passwords, websites visited and our personal privacy in the cloud?"

To understand the answer to this question, we have to think about how viruses infect our devices. In the old days it was through installing floppy disks or thumb drives. Now that those are long gone, most viruses infect your device through the Web or via email exchanges. But if both the Web and your email are protected by cloud security, it's highly unlikely that viruses will ever make it as far as your device. If this is the case, will the need for antivirus software be less important in the future?


Think Beyond the Device

As more and more businesses and consumers entrust reams of precious, and highly confidential, data to the cloud, direct threats to devices become less relevant than the threat of compromising our identities or personal data--via Google docs, Dropbox files, passwords, search activities, or sites visited--online. Every week, stories of massive hacks, stolen data, and compromised security pepper the headlines. From Google and LinkedIn to Lockheed Martin and Citibank, giants in the tech, banking, and defense sectors--just to name a few--have been hacked in recent months. But it's not usually their devices that come under direct attack; it's a weakness in their security systems that make them vulnerable to hackers. (Identity theft affected 10 millions Americans last year, and your identity is a lot more likely to be stolen online than anywhere else.)


Enter cloud security players that protect the Web, rather than the device, and the role of antivirus companies is greatly diminished. When my company launched Hotspot Shield, an app that encrypts all pages visited and enables users to stay completely private when browsing the Web, we weren't sure how big the demand for secure browsing and identity protection online would be. But with the move to the cloud, we've experienced firsthand the need to secure not only the device, but all online interactions and browsing.


I'm certainly not encouraging businesses to scrap their antivirus protection, but it's essential that companies pay more attention to securing their online activities. By doing so, you'll eliminate many of the threats that antivirus companies try to solve, before these threats ever make it near your devices. Just the way a good highway patrolman secures the highways to protect the cities, properly securing your business in the cloud will keep your data and, in turn, your devices out of hackers' reach, before it's too late.