Earlier today in New York City, Samsung held an event to formally introduce their next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, to their American user base.
Kevin Packingham, Samsung's SVP of Product Development and Marketing, and Todd Pendleton, their Chief Marketing Officer, kicked things off by detailing various milestones that the South Korean tech company managed to achieve in the mobile space over the past decade: including 61 million total devices sold, and how they are currently the largest smartphone provider worldwide.
When addressing the star of the show, Pendleton described the Galaxy SIII as "arguably the most innovative smartphone ever."
What's more, it's also hailed to be "the best device for sharing." One primary focus of the Galaxy S3 is to pass content around, in both business or purely social contexts, with total ease.
One of the best examples provided was Share Shot, which lets upward of five other S3 users to share pictures after they are immediately taken.
Every person gets a copy of what the others have snapped in a special group album.
But sharing isn't limited to pictures; music, files, even HD video can migrate between devices by simply having both phones touch each other, back to back, via S Beam.
Pendleton also emphasized how media will be shared without tapping into data plans, which is the norm among comparable solutions offered by the competition.
Another clear stab at the competition is AllShare Cast. Basically Samsung's take on AirPlay for iOS, it allows media from the S3 to be viewable on a TV. Unlike Apple's current set-up for video, which requires an Apple TV, AllShare Cast only ask that the television be able to access the internet.
In case such connectivity is not possible, a hub is being prepared to launch alongside the S3, which connects to any monitor via HDMI.
Another intriguing feature is Pop Up Play, which is essentially picture in picture, the first time ever on any phone claims Samsung. For example: if text messages arrive while watching a video on the S3, instead of being interrupted, it will simply shrink and move to a lower portion of the screen.
The presentation wrapped up with details regarding Samsung's planned promotional blitz, their biggest ever. Included in the push will be posters that contain TechTiles, which will blast content to both potential and current SIII customers via NFC, and "the first mobile only magazine." How this will be different than something such as The Daily was not made clear.
There will also be a series of motion sensing games that will be playable among large audiences, primarily at movie theaters. Samsung will also partner with AT&T to "do something big" for the Olympics, and 1.5 million dollars will also be donated to the World Wildlife Fund.
Finally, there's the obligatory television campaign, starring one of the background characters from an earlier Galaxy S2 commercial curiously enough.