Samsung has announced its worst kept secret, but nonetheless exciting Galaxy S4.The Galaxy S4 will take the mantle of the Galaxy S III as Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, sporting a massive 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 441ppi — a significant leap over the Galaxy S III‘s 306ppi display and the iPhone 5‘s 326ppi retina display.On the inside, it has a processor setup that we’re told will be either an Exynos 5 or Snapdragon depending on the region, along with 2GB of RAM, 16, 32 or 64GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2,600mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Review
Design
If you’re looking for a radical redesign in the Galaxy S4, you’re going to be disappointed. The overall look and feel of the GS4 is pretty much like the GS3. In fact, the phones have nearly identical footprints. The GS4 is a tad more narrow and ever so slightly slimmer. It’s also lost a bit of its curve on the back. It’s squarish, but not blocky.The volume rocker and power button are in their usual places on the sides of the phone. At the bottom you have a slightly redesigned physical home button — it’s a little bigger — that’s flanked by disappearing back and menu buttons. Functionality of the home button also is familiar — long press for multitasking and Google Now, double press for S Voice.
Display
As with the Samsung Galaxy S3, the gigantic 5-inch screen is probably the phone’s most striking feature. It trumps the HTC One (4.7 inches), iPhone 5 (4 inches) and Nokia Lumia 920 (4.5 inches).Along with the size, the quality of the screen has been upped too.The Galaxy S 4 display is 5 inches of unadulterated Super AMOLED 1080p brilliance. Surrounding it, the Galaxy S 4 takes a hybrid shape, something between the straight lines of the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II with the curved tops, bottoms, and corners of the Galaxy S III. The elongated home button is unmistakably GSIII-style.
Performance
Its operating system, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean is slicker than slugs on ice.The device will ship with two different region-specific CPU setups: an Exynos 5 Octa clocked at 1.6GHz and a 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon (likely the 600 based on speed and availability). Further, the company was unable to specify which arrangement lies inside the pre-production model we demoed. But based on our brief interaction with the device, we’re willing to bet it wasn’t of the Exynos 5 Octa variety. Navigation and UI actions were fluid and responsive, just not as blistering as you’d expect on an eight-core device. Whatever the eventual market reality, you can count on the GS 4 to pack radios for HSPA+ (850/900/1900/2100MHz) and LTE (six different bands in total), all according to regional demands.The internals have increased accordingly, as well. Depending on your region.You’ll also get 2GB of RAM plus a choice of 16, 32 or 64GB onboard storage with the option of micro SD up to 64GB.
Camera
The Galaxy S 4 camera saw an improvement on both the hardware and software side of things. The phone has a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 2-megapixel forward-facing camera.The handset sports some of the same features at Samsung’s Galaxy Camera, including several of the scene modes as well as the on-screen mode dial. All in all, the phone has 12 different shooting modes.This has been updated to allow you to record video and pictures with the front and back cameras simultaneously, which doesn’t really make much sense in the grand scheme of things, but at least you can put some clever frames around your face to make it more relevant.
Software
We had recently heard that the GS4′s “wow” factor would be all in the software, and that’s exactly right. Most of TouchWiz is the same, though it seems to get lighter and lighter as the phones get faster.Samsung said that using tilt-gestures as well as “head-tracking” technology to streamline browsing a page was “the most intuitive and natural to the end-consumer.As far as NFC is concerned, the GS4 includes S Beam and TecTile integration, but Samsung also lets you pair with up to eight other NFC-devices to run a feature called GroupPlay, which lets you play the same song across eight different devices… to create a party on the go.Samsung also included an IR blaster on the Galaxy S 4 so that you can use it as a remote for just about any modern television. Called WatchON, it also includes rich information proved by an electronic programming guide.
Eye-tracking gestures
Conflicting rumors painted a scenario where you’d scroll the screen with your eyes using eye-tracking software within the GS4.Turns out, that’s somewhat true. Smart Pause and Smart Scroll are two features that build off the Galaxy S3′s optional Smart Stay feature, which kept the screen from dimming when you looked at it.As a daily commuter with one hand on the phone and one on a hand strap, this could be a more convenient way to catch up with news while on the train or bus. A minor delay makes sense. You wouldn’t want to start and stop again every time you’re distracted for a second. Instead, the software seems to track longer periods when you’re away, like if you stop what you’re doing to order a cup of coffee, talk to a friend, or climb a set of stairs.
Air View and gestures
While you can make googly eyes at the GS4, most gestures are still reserved for your fingertips.Hover your finger and you can preview a video clip or image from the photo gallery, glance at browser tab thumbnails, find your place on a video timeline, and check out an e-mail. You’ll also be able to magnify calendar events and get a closer look in speed dial. Flipboard has built a customized app to work with Air View, which lets you hover over a tile to see which articles lie beneath.In addition to hovering with a fingertip, you can wave or wipe your whole hand in front of the screen (and camera sensor) to navigate around.For example, enable this gesture and you can agitate your palm to pick up the phone or switch songs in a playlist.You can also scroll up and down in a list.The feature was a little jerky and jumpy when I tried it, but it did work. As with eye-tracking, you’ll have to wait a half-second to see results.
Samsung galaxy S4 HEALTH
With fitness accessories apps being big business, Samsung clearly doesn’t want to miss out and has launched S Health with the Galaxy S4. Using your phone a variety of accessories, you’ll be able to measure your weight and health.
New Apps
Along with an updated camera and Story Album, the Galaxy S 4 brings a handful of brand new applications to the Galaxy S family. The first, and possibly most important, is S Translator.It is a standalone app that automatically translates information that is typed or copy/pasted into it.The Galaxy S 4 also has an optical reader which turns analog information into digital, by reading business cards and turning them into address book contacts.Samsung has been making a big push in the health department with the new Galaxy S 4, and has thus preloaded the S Health app on the device. The app originally made its debut last July and seemed to focus mainly on linking up with existing health gadgets like fancy scales and blood glucose monitors.The S Health app also lets you input your consumption activities to track caloric intake and get suggestions.
Other Features
If all of that wasn’t enough, the Galaxy S4 also has an IR transmitter, which you can use to control your home entertainment kit via the WatchOn app. There’s also S Voice Drive, which puts up a simpler interface for when you’re driving and recognises voice prompts. Finally, when you’re abroad the translation services let you type in a message and have the phone read it out in a different language; the spoken reply is then converted back into your language on the screen.
Battery Life
Speaking of battery life, the new handset will use a 2,600mAh battery. That’s 500mAh bigger than the one in the S3 and should be big enough to cope with the slightly-enlarged screen, and the greater demands of 4G, while still running all day.The battery is also removable, so you can carry a charged spare if you’re going to be out for a long time. It also means that a failing battery can easily be replaced.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Specification
General | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 | |
4G Network | LTE | |
Sim | Micro-SIM | |
Announced | 2013, March | |
Status | Coming soon. Exp. release 2013, April 26th | |
Body | Dimensions | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 in) |
Weight | 130 g (4.59 oz) | |
Colors | White Frost, Black Mist | |
Display | Type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
Resolution | 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density) | |
Multitouch | Yes | |
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 - TouchWiz UI |
|
Software | OS | Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) |
Chipset | Qualcomm APQ8064T Snapdragon 600 | |
CPU | Quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 | |
GPU | Adreno 320 | |
Sensor | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, temperature, humidity, gesture | |
Camera | Primary | 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash |
Features | Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR | |
Video | Yes, 1080p@30fps, dual-video rec. | |
Secondary | Yes, 2 MP,1080p@30fps, dual video call | |
Sound | Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
Loudspeaker | Yes | |
3.5mm jack | Yes | |
Memory | Card slot | up to 64 GB |
Internal | 16/32/64 GB storage, 2 GB RAM | |
Data | GPRS | Yes |
EDGE | Yes | |
WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot | |
Bluetooth | Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR, LE | |
USB | Yes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL 2), USB On-the-go, USB Host | |
NFC | Yes | |
Infrared port | Yes | |
Configuration | Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS |
Browser | HTML5, Adobe Flash | |
Radio | No | |
GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS | |
Java | Yes, via Java MIDP emulator | |
Battery | Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery |
Did you enjoy this article? If so, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It would be great if you subscribed to our RSS feed or signed up for email updates to get more goodness. There’s lots more where this came from!
The post Samsung Galaxy S4 Specification with Review and Price appeared first on Electronics Products Gallery.