Samsung Bringing S4 with 2x 4G Speeds

Here’s a welcome improvement to your Galaxy S4: Twice the current speeds on your 4G connection. Although you’ll have to buy a new handset for that. Samsung’s co-CEO, J K Shin, has said a new version of the company’s flagship Galaxy S4 phone will support LTE-Advanced – allowing for data transmission up to double the current speeds.

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In an interview to Reuters, Shin disclosed that the phone should hit South Korea this month itself, which means the phone is all ready and packaged, on the verge of a launch.

Samsung is in talks with carriers in other countries for the phone. However, these carriers have not been named. The new S4 will support LTE-Advanced, which is different from the currently used LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard adopted by 4G networks. LTE-Advanced can support data speeds up to twice as fast as the LTE standard.

That translates to a movie download in about ninety seconds, compared to three minutes on current technology.

We’ll be the first with the commercial launch of the advanced 4G version of the smartphone,  – Shin.

Shin said that the LTE-Advanced S4 would be priced slightly more than the current Galaxy S4. Shin also deflected criticism and concern regarding the company’s decision to launch multiple variants of the S4 family (Mini, Active & Zoom). Shin claimed that Samsung’s profit margins were ‘healthy’, and that the S4 was the company’s fastest selling handset yet.

S4 sales remain strong. It’s selling far stronger than the S3… and the new LTE-Advanced (4G) phone will be another addition to our high-end segment offerings that ensure healthy profit margins, –  Shin said.

Samsung also deals in 4G mobile equipment, which happens to be one of Samsung’s fastest growing businesses, growing at more than 30 percent a year since 2010. Coupled with 4G handsets, the rise of both sectors in tandem makes for a potentially very bright future for Samsung. The company will be looking for success in both markets.

The new phone would help this part of Samsung’s business – Shin.