Galaxy S4: Samsung launch excites New York It takes a lot to arouse the excitement of a New York immigration official. But arriving at JFK airport for the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch, all the passport checker was interested in was when I thought the latest superphone would launch, and how it would compare to the competition. If ever there was a phone that demonstrated consumer enthusiasm for technology, it's the new Galaxy S4. Timed perfectly for users with a Samsung Galaxy S2 to upgrade, this is the device that has already proved that Apple is not the only game in town when it comes to cool. A flashmob in New York's Times Square was just part of the programme to build up to the launch at Radio City. Some users may say they don't like Samsung's plastic design, but it's what's inside that counts. Indeed, while journalists are likely to criticise the S4 for offering only relatively minor upgrades to the S3, it's worth noting that 71 per cent of UK Samsung owners say they will stick with the brand for their next phone. Around 1.8million Britons own an S2, so sales in the UK are likely to be substantial - but tonight is all about America. If Samsung can crack this crucial market, it will validate its strategy of using the UK as a test bed for the strategy it used for the S3 - a huge marketing budget bolstering a solid device with top-line features, such as eye tracking, that grabbed headlines. So the buzz in New York in the hours running up to the launch is on LG's shameless launch of eye-tracking just hours before Samsung is expected to announced its own version, and on the key basics that Samsung must get right to continue to lead the field: if, as is reported, it will use an eight-core processor it must emphasise what that means for users, rather than falling into the old trap of marketing the device only to geeks. It's that focus on functions that has built Apple's brand, and the emphasis on being waterproof that garnered Sony such huge amounts of attention for its new Xperia Z. Key to the success of the new S4 will, however, be the very prosaic matter of battery life: with talk of a 440 pixel-per-inch screen and that eight-core processor, it's likely to be a delicate balancing act. But these are features that have been on Samsung's road map for several years now. While final details of the phone are still being adjusted - as they were with the S3 last year - Samsung has long known that the S4 is an even more important device than its predecessor. And while the immigration official at the airport wanted to know the headline features, it will be solid basics - battery life and speed - that will play a bigger part than ever for the S4. After all, If his new phone can't get through a shift, then clearly it's not fit for the mass market.