SXSW: Prince Plays Live and Samsung Announces the Galaxy S4

samsung galaxy s4
Samsung Galaxy S4

Prince closed out the South by Southwest festival on Saturday night, wrapping up the music portion of the festival. But big tech companies were there for music, and not just the interactive portion: Samsung sponsored Prince’s performance, and made tickets available to owners of the Galaxy Note who completed a scavenger hunt throughout Austin (using the Note, of course).

Prince’s show was the most talked about event of the week, and it was the hardest ticket to come by, so it’s hard not to respect Samsung’s ability to drive some serious buzz at the event. With hundreds of companies and brands competing for attention during the festival, that’s no small feat.

And it makes sense Samsung would want all eyes on them: the show corresponded with their announcement of the Galaxy S4 smartphone, the successor to the incredibly popular Galaxy S3. The Galaxy S3 represents a huge comeback for Samsung, which has managed to position the device as the top competitor to the iPhone over the last year and a half.

So what can expect from this new release of the flagship phone? Mostly enhancements: a larger 5 inch screen, 1080p resolution, a better battery, and faster processor. It remains to be seen whether these minor improvements will drive the sales Samsung is looking for, but given the S3’s popularity, it seems like it will be a hot seller.

Want to be the first to know when the Galaxy S4 will be available? ATT already has a page up to let you sign up to receive a notification once the phone is available. Go here to get on the Galaxy S4 notification list.