The Samsung Galaxy S3 — my screen is bigger than yours, Apple

Samsung’s third-generation Galaxy smartphone expected to keep company ahead of nearest rival Apple

Samsung  ramped up the pressure on Apple today with the launch of the latest Galaxy S smartphone in Europe. The third-generation model is expected to be even more successful than its predecessor, the S2, which in 2011 helped the South Korean company topple Apple as the world’s top smartphone maker.

The Suwon, South Korea-based company sold 44.5 million smartphones in the January-March quarter, compared with Apple’s 35.1 million iPhone sales.

While Apple has kept the screen size of the iPhone the same in every upgrade since 2007, Samsung increased the screen size of its highest-end smartphone in its two major updates. The latest Galaxy phone screen, running on Google’s Android platform, is nearly twice as big as the iPhone screen.

The 4.8-inch S III also features more computing power that supports voice commands and an eye-movement tracking feature to keep the screen from dimming.

In the kind of anticipation that has become the norm for new Apple gadget releases, hopeful customers began queuing outside an electronics retail store in Berlin on Monday night eager to be the first to lay their hands on the phone.

Samsung said that it has had 9 million pre-orders worldwide, though it is not clear if those are from carriers or directly from customers.

“In the two years that we’ve been offering pre-orders, it’s the most pre-ordered Android device we’ve had in our lineup,”  a spokesman for Vodafone UK told Reuters, declining to disclose exact numbers.

“It’s on track to meet, if not exceed, the level of pre-orders we expected by the time it actually launches.”

Samsung introduced its first Galaxy in 2010, three years after the iPhone’s debut, to counter Apple’s stunning success in smartphones at a time when other rivals such as Nokia were struggling to make much impact.

Tech writers expect that Apple may use its annual World Wide Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco in a couple of weeks time to announce the yearly upgrade to the iPhone, which then may go on sale as early as July.

Aside from being big rivals in the smartphone market, Samsung and Apple have also a close business relationship. Samsung supplies mobile chips and display panels for iPhones and iPad tablet computers, counting Apple among its biggest clients.

“The Galaxy S3 is a real challenger to the upcoming iPhone,” said Francisco Jeronimo, smartphones analyst for the research company IDC. “This is likely be one of the most sold smartphones this year, though the real test will come when the next iPhone is launched.”

Samsung’s third-generation Galaxy smartphone expected to keep company ahead of nearest rival Apple Samsung  ramped up the pressure on Apple today with the launch of the latest Galaxy S smartphone in Europe. The third-generation model is expected to be even...