Queue jump Kiwis beat the world to Galaxy S4

As the world waited patiently for Samsung's hotly anticipated smartphone, three New Zealanders got their hands on the Galaxy S4 first.

Jumping the queue through the company's online promotion, the Kiwi trio saw off the challenge of 11,000 other hopefuls who joined the virtual line.

With the device scheduled for sale across the country on Saturday at 9am, Aucklanders Krisha Santos, Darmaine Cruz & Jeca Golbin each picked up their new devices a good 14 hours before.

Joining the line through social networks on either Twitter of Facebook, progress towards the front was made when people in users’ networks interacted with shared content from the competition website.

The more unique people they got liking, commenting and re-tweeting, the more they jumped up the cyber-queue.

“Congratulations to Krisha, Darmaine and Jeca – they really worked hard to promote their places in the queue," says Mike Cornwell, marketing director, Samsung New Zealand.

"It’s a fun campaign and the integration between social media and its real-time representation on a big screen is something new and innovative."

While people managed their places in the line online, there was also a tangible, real time presence on display in Aotea Square, through a 50m x 3.2m LED billboard broadcast.

Winning a Galaxy S4 and VIP weekend in Auckland, a further 620 people in line won a prize – ranging from $50, $250 and $500 vouchers.

Speaking at the launch, Stefan Lecchi, Samsung's head of telecommunications said "the idea for the Galaxy S4 is that it's a life companion."

Unveiled on March 15 at the Samsung Unpacked event in New York, the South Korean company plans to challenge industry rival Apple, who look set to release a new iPhone within months.

For first impressions of the new Galaxy S4 - check out the May issue of NetGuide where we will be offering an exclusive review of the product.

What do you think? Have Samsung produced a beauty in the Galaxy S4? Tell us your initial thoughts below