Should Apple Be Worried About The Samsung i9500 S4 1:1 Smartphone-Priceangels.com

With Samsung’s much-anticipated Samsung i9500 S4 phone finally launched, here’s the key question: Will you want it instead of an iPhone?Maybe. How’s that for a firm answer? If you’re already in Apple’s orbit, you likely won’t be swayed much. If you use a lot of Google services, you probably will.But the fact that it appears attractive enough even to raise the question is significant.

And if Google GOOG +1.83% spends anywhere close to the $500 million it’s rumored to have budgeted for marketing the flagship smartphone, you can be sure that consumers ready for a new phone–especially the 44% of Americans who don’t yet have a smartphone–will be writing the Samsung into their shortlist.

Aside from its Android mobile software that powers this and many other phones, the Samsung is its biggest bet yet that it can provide a mainstream mobile technology platform to keep its services–and its ads–in front of as many consumers as possible.

Huge caveat here: I have not held the phone in my hands and tried it out, so I’m depending solely on reports from colleagues and others. There’s nothing like hands-on use to seal (or queer) the deal. This is extremely subjective, but the phone appears to go for an iPhone-like elegance while offering an entirely new look. The unique curved back and edges look quite unlike the iPhone’s only slightly rounded sturdy rectangle, and a far cry from even Samsung’s somewhat utilitarian Galaxy models.

Is the Samsung the game-changer that will finally challenge Apple not only in sales numbers but in design and experience as well? Will it catapult Google and Samsung into contention with what has become largely Apple’s and Samsung’s duopoly in smartphones?Ced2dxdS

Honestly, it’s way too soon to tell. If the initial reviews are generally positive, some say it’s not a phone you’ll lust after. And it doesn’t appear to blow away other high-end phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy S4. Not least, at least one analyst, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, says the Samsung is likely to compete more with other Android phones than with iPhones.

Users can choose from 18 different back covers – wood is an upcoming option, Google said – and they can choose black or white for their phone's front cover. Additionally, users can also choose the colour they want for smaller parts on their i9500 S4 1:1 phones, such as the volume buttons and the rings around the camera lens. Users can also choose between 16 and 32 gigabytes of storage, and they can also put an engraving on their device. It is the phone maker's first flagship device since Google bought the company in 2012, and is its latest attempt to break into a smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung.The Samsung will go on sale in the US at the end of August or the beginning of September for a suggested retail price of $US199.99 to customers who sign a two-year contract at five of the biggest US mobile telcos. There is currently no word on an Australian release date and price.

Google faces a steep climb in its effort to revive the mobile phone pioneer. By emphasising the ability to personalise the device, Samsung is taking a different tack than many of its smartphone competitors, which battle over specifications such as screen resolution and processor speed."They're not playing the 'mine is bigger than yours game,'" said Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis. "Their approach is that this is what consumers actually need."

"I have no doubt there are people who want to customise their cheap unlocked smartphones. The question is how many of them," Greengart added.Once the global No. 2 phone maker, Samsung's market share was down to 2 per cent in the second quarter, ranking it 12th among smartphone makers, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.