The South Korean giant, Samsung Electronics, has recently unveiled its flagship device Galaxy S4. This smartphone has a huge Full HD screen with an improved camera for better quality images. It is suggested as one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2013 and has set high competition for many high- end devices. In terms of physical appearance, it seems similar to its predecessor phone Samsung Galaxy S3 but has been introduced with numerous remarkable features that set it apart from many latest additions to the industry.
Display and Build:
In the build part, Samsung has kept it indifferent from its predecessor Galaxy S3. This smartphone is built using polycarbonate material with metal branding around the sides while plastic is still much stronger and also give a premium look. It has a 5 inch HD Super AMOLED screen giving 1920 X 1080 pixels resolution.
Although, this screen is not exactly edge to edge but the screen looks more expansive. The pixel density of 441 ppi looks rich and crispy at full brightness level. With dimensions measuring around 136.6 X 69.8 X 7.9 mm it becomes much larger in comparison to its predecessor phone. It uses a Corning Gorilla glass protection for keeping its screen resistant to dust and free from scratches.
Software and User Interface:
It runs on an android v4.2.2 operating system that is the latest addition to Jelly Bean series. It is expected that android will be updated to Key Lime Pie when it will be released at Google I/O in May. Galaxy S4 smartphone uses TouchWiz to add various software enhancements to it like gestures etc. There are the usual toggles like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS as well as many new one’s including call blocking mode and eye tracking technology.
Samsung also introduces S translator tool which is embedded in e-mail, ChatOn messenger app etc, letting it stand its own tool. The ChatOn is an in-built chat app that enables three way video calling, video calls and screen sharing that uses both rear and front facing camera. There is a feature called Group Play that allows users to enjoy music, photos, documents and multiplayer games in group using NFC technology and also share it.
Imaging Capability:
- It has 13 mega pixel camera clicking pictures with 4128 X 3096 pixels resolution and can make video recordings at 1080 pixels at 30 fps. Samsung has added many new camera features to this device including:
- Dual shot that can click picture and make recording simultaneously using both rear and secondary camera. The picture clicked can be overlapped on the recording to provide a real time work out.
- Sound & Shot is capable of taking a picture and recording an audio for 9 seconds.
Drama shot capable of combining all the actions made from burst shot into a single frame. - Camera Photo let user’s animate one portion of the video and keeps the rest part static.
- Eraser mode can erase an unwanted person from an image automatically.
- Story Album allows making a personalized photo album that gathers all your friends in a single album.
- Integration with trip advisor this allows adding more location based details and allows printing any album through its own publishing platform.
Power providing faster access:
- It is available in two versions depending on the availability of LTE technology. There will be a 1.9 GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 for phone’s supporting LTE while for devices without LTE Galaxy S4 will be powered with 1.6 GHz eight core chipset.
- Samsung Galaxy S4 has a large 2600 mAh battery but also has large screen and more features included which will lead to compromise in performance. There is Smart Stay and S Voice features that require more battery to give performance.
- In terms of memory storage, this device has an in-built 2 GB RAM and an internal storage capacity of 64 GB which is expandable up to 64 GB using micro SD card.
Final Verdict:
This smartphone is successful enough in setting competition for most high end smartphones that are already popular in the market. It is built as an answer of Samsung to its biggest rival Apple and has been able to stand aside it in many areas. Apple however started a promotional campaign on its website to defend itself against this smartphone but did not succeed.