Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd has launched the much-anticipated GALAXY S III to the Kenyan market today. The Kenya launch is part of Samsung’s bid to maintain market leadership. Kenya is the second African country after South Africa to host the launch of the smart Samsung Galaxy S III.

“The GALAXY S III enables the most seamless and human-centric mobile experience. We are very excited to finally bring this highly anticipated handset to Kenya”, said Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader Robert Ngeru, speaking during the launch event.

The innovative smartphone is powered by Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, which greatly enhances usability and practicality. The Galaxy SIII builds in maximum consumer benefits which integrate superior hardware with enhanced Smartphone usability.

The high end Galaxy S III which competes favorably with the likes of HTC One X, Apple’s  iPhone 4S and Nokia’s Lumia 900 has been introduced to the Kenyan market at a launch price of Ksh. 59,999.

The phone has these features among others:

The Near Field Communication Technology - The phone will revolutionize modes of transaction through a mobile payment application, accessible through its advanced Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This enables the user to make payments by placing the phone near or on a payment pad.

Smart Stay - With the innovative smart stay feature, the GALAXY S III recognizes how the user utilizes the phone – reading an e-book or browsing the web for instance – by having the front camera identify your eyes; the phone maintains a bright display for continued viewing, until the user moves the eyes away from the screen.

S-Beam - The S-beam feature allows users to instantly share of photos, music, videos, by placing the back of the two phones together. This is enabled through the near Field Communication technology.