Samsung to Showcase Newest Galaxy Smartphone

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Its been two months shy of a year since Samsung came to New York to present a new Galaxy S smartphone. In that time, the Korean company's Galaxy S3 has become one of the top selling phones on the planet. The S3 has already sold more than 40 million units, according to Samsung.

But, ten months is a lifetime in smartphone years. So, tonight, Samsung returns to Manhattan's Radio City music Hall to trumpet its replacement, most likely to be called the Galaxy S4.

Samsung shares traded in Seoul fell 0.5%. Shares are little changed this year.

As might be expected, speculation is rife about what to expect from Samsung's newest phone. We can be sure that it will operate on the latest version of Google's (GOOG) Android operating system. Everything else is purely conjecture.

TheKorean website it168.com has published specifications of a dual-SIM variant that we won't see here in the United States. Nonetheless, they do cite some intriguing specs including an 8-core, 1.8 GHz processor with Samsung's brand Exynos (possibly sourced from Qualcomm (QCOM) or Skyworks (SWKS)), a PowerVR graphics chip made by Ericsson (ERIC), 2 GB of RAM, a 5-inch OLED touchscreen from Universal Display (PANL) and a 13 megapixel camera.

Samsung is also expected to unveil new software on the Galaxy S4, including a much rumored eye tracking feature that allows users to scroll without touching the screen, and a new means to allow your finger to mimic a stylus as it hovers over the screen.

There is also some guessing going on that Samsung could announce new features for its best-selling Galaxy S3 phones - possibly a new, higher-definition screen, a bigger battery and even wireless charging.

Back in January, Samsung said the Galaxy S3 had surpassed the 40 million mark in worldwide sales. At that time, Samsung also said total global sales of the Galaxy product line had exceeded 100 million units. And, that was three months ago.

Industry leader Apple (AAPL) is not expected to announce any refresh of their iPhone 5 until this summer. According to the latest sales numbers, Samsung and Apple accounted for 52% of global smartphones sales in the fourth quarter. Apple was gaining 0.8% to $431.58. shares have lost 19% this year.

We'll have more later at tonight's event at Radio City Music Hall.

--Written by Gary Krakow in New York.

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Gary Krakow is TheStreet's senior technology correspondent.