Samsung to unveil Note4 in September

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Electronics plans to unveil the Galaxy Note4 at this year's technology exhibition in Berlin, Germany, in September, according to company officials Wednesday.

"Samsung is considering holding a launch event of the Note4 at the IFA trade fair. It is in the middle of finalizing specification details for the upcoming phablet," said an official by telephone.

Samsung has used the annual IFA fair as the venue for the Note series.

The Note4 will have either a 32-bit or a 64-bit processing technology depending on the market situation.

The new Note will support faster LTE-A wireless technology, while 3G and LTE will also be available for emerging markets, said the official.

He added that for viewing quality, the Note4 will have variants that both support high-definition and ultra high-definition.

"As Qualcomm just introduced a 64-bit processing technology, Samsung needs time to apply it to the Note4. For a litmus-test, some variants will have that Qualcomm tech with Samsung's own application processor," said an official at one of Samsung's local parts suppliers.

On the question of whether the Note4 will have a curved screen, the Samsung official said, "That is one possible option."

He said that the company's consumer market division plans to revise its earlier sales target for tablets beyond 100 million to reflect solid demand for the devices.

"Samsung opened a new smart mobile device category back in 2011 with the introduction of the first Note. Since then, smartphones with an expanded screen have emerged as key trend. As the leader in this category, it's fair to say that Samsung aims to satisfy our customers with improved specifications," an executive said.

A spokesman declined to comment about details of the Note3 successor.

Samsung Electronics is heavily pushing to grow its tablet business including phablets as it believes it can beat Apple in tablets as it did in smartphones.

Samsung's market share in tablets was 22 percent at the end of the first quarter of this year, shipping some 14 million during the period, according to officials and data from market research firms.

"From developed to emerging markets, Samsung is promoting tablets. We see more business chances in emerging markets. We will diversify our tablet lineup from budget to premium models," said the Samsung official.

yckim@koreatimes.co.kr,