Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Technology
Technology

Samsung Unveils Galaxy S4 With Odd Radio City Show

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S4 smartphone Thursday. It has eye-tracking capabilities, gesture control, a 5-inch full HD screen and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera.

That’s not all there was to see.

In one of the most head-scratching, bizarre tech product launches ever, Samsung staged an elaborate Broadway-esque show at Radio City Music Hall, where the S4 event was held, to debut the smartphone.

There was a tap-dancing kid. A ballerina. A bored housewife. A hot gardener.

The spectacle was so over the top that it seemed to eclipse news of the device itself on Twitter and other social media.

“What in the name of jebus are my eyes seeing at this car crash of an event. #samsung #s4” tweeted @julescoleman.

“Oh thank god it’s over. I’m going to go bash my head into something hard over and over until I can feel feelings again,” tweeted @SteveStreza.

And  Chris O’Brien tweeted: “Right now, if you are in Radio City Music Hall, there is no escape. None.”

Samsung kicked off the 45-minute event with a rundown of the new phone’s specs.

The phone, which comes in black and in white, is 0.31-inch thick and weighs 4.6 ounces. Wireless carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon will offer it; and 327 mobile operators in 155 countries will carry the phone, which becomes available  in late April.

“We have taken technology and innovation further to help us get closer to what matters in life,” Samsung executive J.K. Shin said from the stage. “We will imagine the possibilities, explore new directions and listen to you to understand what a smartphone should provide to us in our lives.”

Then things got weird. To demonstrate the phone’s new features, Samsung brought out a slew of performers.

One of them, named DeeDee, represented an older, bored housewife who was watching a video on her Galaxy S4 while sipping a glass of wine. Then a sexy gardener strolls onto the stage. DeeDee stops watching to gawk at the gardener. As she lifts her eyes away from the screen, the video pauses. When she finally turns her attention back to the screen, the video automatically restarts where it left off.

Read more: Andrea Chang, LATimes

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top