Samsung Electronics Corp yesterday announced Taiwanese consumers could start pre-ordering the company’s new flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone from today, a little over a month after the company unveiled the Android-based product in New York.
Samsung has priced its new 5-inch, 16 gigabyte model at NT$21,900. Consumers can own the phone at zero cost by paying minimum monthly subscription fees ranging from NT$2,199 to NT$2,540 to local telecom carriers under a two-year contract.
The company plans to start selling the S4 in 155 countries on April 27 by collaborating with 327 telecom carriers around the world.
The new Galaxy S4 is an extension of Samsung’s Galaxy Android smartphone series that has underpinned the company’s dominance in the mobile phone market.
“Samsung Galaxy S4 features its ultra-sensory intelligence technology and advanced software and hardware. We are very confident that our new product, with promotion by telecoms carriers and other sales channels, will become consumers’ best choice this year,” said Andy Tu (杜偉昱), general manager of the Samsung Taiwan mobile communication team.
Meanwhile, the Fair Trade Commission is investigating whether Samsung hired people to spread negative reviews online about its rivals’ products, including HTC Corp’s (宏達電) new flagship product, the HTC One.
Tu played down the investigation’s impact on sales and said the company would focus on “experience marketing” to promote its new product.
Samsung was the world’s largest handset vendor last year, shipping 384.63 million mobile phones, with a market share of 22 percent, followed by Nokia’s 19.1 percent and Apple’s 7.5 percent, according to Gartner Inc’s statistics.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
coverage expansion: The industrial PC maker has proposed to acquire 3.938 million Aures shares to strengthen its global smart retail presence Leading industrial PC maker Advantech Co (研華) plans to acquire Aures Technologies SA, a French company known for its point-of-sale (POS) and kiosk equipment, to expand its global coverage in smart retail products and services. Advantech proposed to acquire 3.938 million Aures shares from the French firm’s major shareholder and through a public tender offer at up to 6.7 euros per share, the PC maker said in a statement after announcing the deal at the Taiwan Stock Exchange late on Friday. The company aims to acquire up to 100 percent equity of Aures, a well-known brand in the western market with a
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI