Korean electronics giant Samsung is all set to roll out its latest entry of the flagship galaxy smart phone series, the Galaxy s4, to Indian Markets over this weekend. In the eve of the launch of this much awaited phablet, we bring you a sneak peak of its awesome features with its price tag. Have a look.
The new Samsung Galaxy S4, is yet another high end phablet with high-end hardware specs and premium price tag. But the device promises to give you a worth of your hard earned bucks. The Galaxy S4 runs on the latest Android series “Jelly Bean” version 4.2, and is also scheduled to receive the update for the next release of Android, “key Lime Pie”. The device is available in two variants i.e. the GT-I9500 and the GT-I9505. The GT-I9500 doesn’t come with LTE and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 SoC equipped with a quad-core Krait 300 CPU clocked at 1.9 GHz and an Adreno 320 GPU. The Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa (octa-core) system on a chip (SoC) chip containing the first ARM “big.LITTLE heterogeneous architecture central processing unit” (CPU). The octa-core CPU is an amalgam of a quad-core Cortex-A15 cluster clocked at 1.6 GHz and a quad-core Cortex-A7 cluster clocked at 1.2 GHz.
Well, you might ask what the advantage of such a complex architecture is? And the answer is simple enough – to provide maximum power savings along with delivering extreme performance. At any given time, either the “big” cluster is activated (for maximum performance) or the “LITTLE” cluster (for maximum power efficiency). The switching is performed on demand by the chip firmware. Thus, the CPU emulates a single quad-core processor at any given time to the operating system and/or applications. Apart from a hybrid CPU, the SoC also contains an IT tri-core PowerVR SGX 544 graphics processing unit (GPU) for delivering stunning graphics. The 4.99-inch (127 mm) PenTile RGBG Full HD Super AMOLED screen features a display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels with 441.46 pixels per inch. The device is also equipped with 2 GiB of RAM for running all your smart apps. For storing your data, the S4 comes with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, however since a huge chunk is consumed by the operating system and pre-installed apps, you can supplement it with up to an additional 64GB via the micro SD card slot as per your needs.
The Galaxy S4 (both models) is compatible with 2G networks operating at 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz GSM with GPRS / EDGE and 3G networks operating at 850, 900 MHz, PCS, IMT with UMTS / HSPA+. The S4 GT-I9505 includes a multiband LTE transceiver compatible with 700 MHz (Band 17), CLR, AWS, PCS, IMT, and IMT-E. For networking, the S4 includes support for GPRS with a max speed of 86 kbps and EDGE with a max speed of 256 kbps over 2G networks, UTMS with a max seed of 384 kbps and DC-HSPA+ with a max speed of 42 mbps over 3G networks. The GT-I9505 includes LTE support with a max speed of 100 mbps. Other connectivity options include NFC, Bluetooth with A2DP, PAN and DUN, Wi-Fi operating at 802.11 b/g/n specification, microUSB port both data connections and charging, supporting USB host, MHL 2.0 and USB tethering and an Infrared (Irda) that can even serve as a universal remote control.
The S4 has a 13 megapixel primary camera with LED flash, BIS and Zero Shutter Lag to assist you in capturing the precious movements in your life, and a 2 megapixel secondary camera for seamless video chatting over video calling or Skype and in controlling your device with the new AirGestures. The camera is also capable of Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) video recording at 30 fps. For gamers, it comes with a high performance graphics as well as sensors like Accelerometer, Gesture sensor and Gyroscope to aid in controlling in cars in Burnout of Need for Speed. Others great sensors like Hall effect sensor, Hygrometer, Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, RGB light sensor and Thermometer, greatly enhance your productivity. And for power needs, it comes with a 2600 mAh battery that is expected to power the device for quite a while.
In software stack, the phablet packs some awesome unique features. To start with the operating system, the Galaxy S4 uses Google’s Android mobile operating system with Samsung’s home grown TouchWiz “Nature UX” graphical user interface (GUI). Along with it the phone features, smart stay, multi window that allows you to keep multiple app windows open; a great aid for multi-tasking, air gestures to control your phone without the need of any touch or tap and eye tracking in which a video can be paused by simply looking away from the screen or a page can be scrolled by tilting the screen up or down while looking at it or by swiping a hand over the screen without touching it, and previews of photos or messages can be obtained by hovering with a finger above the corresponding location of the screen.
Video and photo captures can done using the front and rear cameras simultaneously to produce picture-in-the-picture views. The Samsung Galaxy S4 supports the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) video format along with other popular formats like H.264, h.263, MP4, MP3, AAC, AVC etc. The camera software features: HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Panorama to combine a sequence of photos into one. Additional included software and features include Group Play, Share Music, Share Picture, Share Document, Play Games, Story Album, S Translator, Optical Reader, Samsung Smart Scroll, Samsung Smart Pause, Samsung Hub, ChatON (Voice/Video Call, Share screen, 3-way calling), Samsung WatchON, S Travel, S Voice Drive, S Health, Samsung Adapt Display, Samsung Adapt Sound, Samsung Link, Screen Mirroring, and Samsung KNOX (Business mode only). In addition, the software stack also includes the standard suite of Google applications.
The S4, which will be launched across 50 markets all over the world in the upcoming days, is expected to get a tough competition from its arch-rival Apple. Both the giants are currently engaged in a decisive price-war to gain supremacy among the premium buyers. The Galaxy S4 is currently priced at Rs. 41,500 which is not coincidentally cheaper than Apple’s iPhone 5 which is available for Rs. 45000 in Indian Markets. Apart from Apple, the new HTC One, LG Optimus G and Xperia Z are also tough competitors in the same segment.
Stay tuned to BlogZamana for some more latest news on gadgets and technology.