Samsung launches flagship Galaxy S 4 in UAE

South Korean smartphone market leader Samsung Electronics last night announced the availability of its fourth-generation Galaxy S smartphone, the Galaxy S 4, in the UAE, at a gala event in the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, Dubai.

Check out our image gallery of the UAE launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Check out iSkin's rugged protective case created for the Galaxy S4.

Consumers will be able to buy the Galaxy S4 from all major retail outlets from 27 April.

The S 4 was developed for the shrinking premium consumer market. Samsung hopes the gimmick-laden handset will attract enough consumers to take it to the next product cycle, which could see the smartphone maker abandon Android in favour of the open-source Tizen OS.

The new handset is crafted with a larger screen size and battery, and a minimised bezel, housed in a 130g, 7.9mm body. At launch, two colour options will be available - Black Mist and White Frost - with a variety of additional choices to follow later this year.

"With the launch of the Galaxy S 4, Samsung is continuing to enhance the way that people live by offering the best-in-class hardware and the most advanced software to provide a true life companion for consumers in the region," said Hayssam Yassine, head of Telecommunications Group at Samsung Gulf Electronics.

"Following the successful Galaxy S series, this phone is yet another great proof point of people-inspired innovation. At Samsung we'll never stop pursuing innovation conceived by people, so we can inspire them in return."

Check out our image gallery of the UAE launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Check out iSkin's rugged protective case created for the Galaxy S4.

While Samsung makes no mention of the S 4's onboard processor, online media sites report that the device will be powered by a Samsung-built eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor, running at 1.6GHz. According to the reports all markets outside the US market will have access to the eight-core S4 models, where the American market will have to make do with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S 4 Pro 1.9GHz chip.