Corner Geeks 22: Samsung Galaxy S4 – Life Companion?

Samsung Galaxy S4

After much fanfare there S4 was finally revealed and it seems more of an upgrade to the S3 itself but with the latest version of Android and a lot of Samsung software tweaks (some of which should be coming to the S3 as well), The S4 is bigger (screen-wise and feature wise) yet physically smaller and lighter when compared to the S3 (130g vs 133g).

Upgraded specs:

  • Processor (new quad core / an octa-core vs dual core / older quad core – market dependent
  • Screen (5” vs 4.8”)
  • Cameras (13MP vs 8MP)
  • Battery (2600mAh vs 2100mAh)

Specifications

  • 5″ (4.99”) Full HD Super AMOLED 1080p screen (1080×1920, 441ppi)
  • Android 4.2.2
  • 16 / 32 / 64 GB storage with microSD card slot
  • 2GB RAM
  • Similar dimensions to S3 but thinner narrower, lighter
  • 13MP rear camera, 1080p video
  • 2MP front camera, 720p video
  • 2600mAh (removable)
  • 3G & LTE (all LTE frequencies – global roaming)
  • New/Notable features
    • 802.11ac (Typical WiFi, NFC)
    • IR LED for remote control functions
  • Still has microSD & removable battery
  • Extra Sensors: IR Gesture, Temperature, Humidity (in addition to Accelerometer, RGB light, Compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer)
  • Available starting end of April and will be available in 155 Countries

Software Tweaks

  • Dual Camera: uses rear and front photos & videos (front video can be toggled as an overlay during the video which recording)
  • Sound & Shot: 5 seconds of audio before/after photo
  • Drama Shot: composite multiple shots (over 100/ second – choose which ones to composite)
  • Eraser: remove unwanted bits in the photo
  • Cinema Photo: make cinegraphs
  • Air view: hover over items to reveal more info (like stylus hover in Note II / mouse hover). Use front camera.
  • S Translator: text to speech and speech to text
    • 9 langauges: English, French, German, Italian, Latin-Amera, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portugese
    • Offline support
    • Integrated into Samsung apps
    • Optical reader app –  so you can take a photo of signs and menus to translate them.
  • Adapt Display: adjust brightness, saturation, contrast depending on what is being used
  • Story Album: automatic photo album creation (e.g. uses location to detect holiday). In-app purchase of physical albums
  • Samsung Home Sync support
    • Home Sync is a physical device with 1TB personal
    • Phone, TV, tablet, PC connectivity
    • NFC tap to connect
  • S Voice Drive: S Voice with interface for driving
  • Samsung Smart Switch: for migrating data from ‘any’ smartphone to the S4
  • Glove support
  • Samsung Hubs: video, book, games store
  • Samsung Knox: separates work and personal space
  • Group play: sync devices to play music together. Games support it.
  • ChatOn
    • Dual Video Call: uses front and rear cameras for video chat
    • Screen share
  • Air Gesture: navigate by swiping hand over camera: scrolling, previous/next photo (S3 had something like this)
  • Smart Pause: pauses video when you look away and resumes when resume looking
  • Smart Scroll: tilt device to scroll
  • S Health: health monitoring
    • Keeps and tracks different data with the help of accessories
      • S band, Body Scale, Heart Rate Monitor
    • Tracks
      • Calorie Consumption / Burned
      • Sleep Pattern
      • Heart Rate
      • Exercise
      • Weight
      • Blood Sugar & Blood pressure

Accessories

  • Pouch
  • Flip Cover
  • Protective Case
  • S View Cover: transparent section to view things like caller ID

Links