On March 14, the long awaited Samsung Galaxy S4 was unveiled in New York. This date has been long awaited by both Android enthusiasts and by those who own last year’s Galaxy S3.
The Galaxy series has been a major hit since the Galaxy S2 came out in 2011. The year after, the Galaxy S3 was an even bigger success all throughout the world, and has proved to be a major competitor against Apple’s Iphone5.
As for specifications, the Galaxy S4 does not disappoint. The display size is rather large, but very spacious at a spectacular 5 inch Full HD Super AMOLED Screen (meaning that the display is very crisp and clear). The S4 is also a little slimmer than its predecessor at 7.9 mm thick, and is also lighter at 130g. As for the camera, the phone boasts an amazing 13 megapixel main camera, and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera. The storage sizes come in a 16, 32, and 64 gigabyte version, and it also comes with an expandable memory slot allowing for an additional 64 gigabytes. The battery has gotten bigger than the S3 with a size of 2600 mAh.
The phone also comes with a barrage of new features. Starting it off, the phone features something called “Hover Technology.” This allows you to answer phone calls, slide through pictures or tracks, etcetera without having to touch your phone. Where would this come in handy you might ask? Well if your hands are sticky from working on the car all day, then you can still answer a phone call without having to smudge your phone. The S4 also features NFC which allows you to simply tap your phone to another phone with NFC to exchange songs, pictures, and so forth. Also, you can use NFC in a new feature that Samsung created called “Group Play” which allows you to turn any other Galaxy S4 into connected speakers playing the same song for additional volume and surround sound.
Another wonderful feature is called Smart Pause. Smart Pause utilizes the front-facing camera to watch your eyes as you are watching a video. If you look away while watching a video, the phone will pause the video, and start it again when you look back at the video. The phone also has a unique IR transmitter, which can copy your remote codes so you can use your phone as a remote control to regulate your TV.
The Galaxy S4 isn’t out yet, but Samsung says it will be released for sale at the end of April. This phone will prove to be a worthy contender against the other cell phone giant, Apple. Who knows? Maybe this phone will convert loyal iPhone customers into Android lovers.
The Galaxy S4 is Out of this World
Tommy Moreno, Sports Editor (12)
March 22, 2013