Samsung heralds 'premiere' event for new products

Samsung on Monday announced a "premiere" event set for next month in London, along with a set of cryptic images suggesting new devices for its Galaxy and Windows-based lines.

The event is set for Thursday, June 20, at the Earls Court exhibition center in London.

The announcement specifically mentions the Korean electronics maker's Galaxy and ATIV lines.

Galaxy is the company's trademark line of Android-based mobile products -- chief among them the Galaxy S4 smartphone, which has emerged as the chief rival to Apple's iPhone. It also includes the Galaxy Tab tablets and the Galaxy Note phone.

ATIV is the company's lesser-known Windows line. The line includes tablets and laptops, but with a focus on mobile, the event could include the launch of a new smartphone running Microsoft's operating system.

Samsung's ATIV S phone was unveiled last year and was one of the first devices designed to run the Windows 8 operating system. Its hardware is similar to the popular Galaxy S III, but the phone failed to make much of an impression on buyers.

So far, only Nokia has had much luck capturing sales in the relatively slender portion of the smartphone market owned by Microsoft. (But analysts say Windows Phone devices have moved into third place in the market, passing BlackBerry while still trailing Android and Apple by a wide margin.)

The Samsung event announcement suggests there may be three devices introduced. It features three stylized images that appear to be closeups of parts of sleek, shiny electronic gadgets.

Supply-line leaks, and what appeared to be an accidental post on Samsung's apps page, suggest that a smaller S4 smartphone might be one of them. A Chinese site posted images of what appear to be two S4's side-by-side, with one visibly smaller than the other. Unconfirmed reports have suggested the "Galaxy S4 Mini" would have a 4.3-inch screen, compared to the 5-inch screen on the phone released earlier this year.

On June 20, the Samsung event will fall between Apple's WWDC developers conference, which runs June 10-14, and Microsoft's own developers conference, Build, which begins June 26.

The event will be broadcast live on Samsung's YouTube account, beginning at 6 p.m. London time (1 p.m. ET).


/CNN/