Samsung Officially Announces the Galaxy S4 Active

[dgstorm]

It looks like Samsung was finally ready to put all the rumors and speculation to rest regarding the new Galaxy S4 Active smartphone. They just officially announced the "active-lifestyle-style" phone and it should work very well for its intended audience. Here's a quick rundown of specs followed by their presser,

• 5" 1080x1920 pixels Full HD LCD display
• 9mm thin
• Quad-core 1.9 GHz processor
• 2 GB of RAM
• 8 MP camera on the back
• LTE/HSPA+ radio
• Infrared beamer
• 16 GB of internal storage
• A microSD slot
• 2600 mAh battery
• Android 4.2.2 including the latest TouchWiz Nature UX
• IP67 certification - dust- and water-proof in up to three feet of water up to 30 minutes
• "Glove Touch" mode - lets you operate the display with mittens on
• "Aqua Mode" in the camera app interface - for taking better underwater pictures and video
• Also, you can Long-press the volume key up, and a powerful LED light becomes a flashlight
• The same volume rocker can be pushed down to use as a camera shutter key directly from locked mode

So far we know it is coming to AT&T in the U.S., and possibly other carriers. It will initially launch sometime after a June 20th event in London and will go to the U.S. and Sweden first. Pricing has not yet been announced. Here's that press release:

Samsung Introduces the GALAXY S4 Active : The Perfect Companion for Exploration, Activity and Adventure

June 5, 2013

GALAXY S4 Active lets users focus on living life to the fullest by providing a rich experience without the fear of damage from outdoor elements



SEOUL, Korea 17:00 KST - June 5, 2013 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in mobile technology and digital solutions, today announced the GALAXY S4 Active, designed to enhance life experiences of the active user who wants to stay connected while exploring environments from the most rugged mountain trails to the roughest rivers.

“The GALAXY S4 Active is the newest addition to the GALAXY series and is purposefully designed for active users who love the outdoors,” said JK Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung has taken the innovative features of the GALAXY S4 and added breakthrough protective design elements to create a device that thrives in an active environment and is built for a lifestyle of travel and exploration.”


Maximizing Durability

Recognizing the demands of a dynamic lifestyle, the GALAXY S4 Active was engineered to keep active users connected as they explore and experience the world around them.

The GALAXY S4 Active has qualified protection from dust and water (IP67＊), so you never have to leave the device at home during a long day at the beach or dusty hike. The fully sealed design keeps dust particles out and protects against water damage for up to 30 minutes of submergence at a depth of one meter. Equipped with a water-resistant earphone jack, the GALAXY S4 Active frees you to use earphones in more adventurous conditions, in the same way you’ve used them in normal ones. Whether capturing every moment of a wild rafting trip or taking a great underwater photo in the pool, the device’s unique construction lets users capture amazing moments previously impossible using a normal smartphone.

(＊ IP stands for International Protection against ingress of solid foreign objects and harmful ingress of water. The highest level is IP68,)


Explore Longer with Powerful Performance

An active lifestyle requires plenty of energy, and the GALAXY S4 Active offers a long-lasting and powerful user experience.

Featuring a 1.9 GHZ Quad-Core processor and 2,600mAh battery, the GALAXY S4 Active can handle the most intensive tasks with ease and precision. Striking color and stunning resolution on the device’s beautiful 5.0’’ Full HD TFT LCD screen (443 PPI) makes playing the newest games or watching hours of video easy on the eyes. And with ‘Glove Touch’, cold weather is no longer a problem since the touchscreen can be fully operated while wearing gloves.

With an 8-megapixel rear camera, users can easily share their vivid experiences while on the go. Unique to the GALAXY S4 Active camera, ‘Aqua Mode’ can be used to increase visual quality and clarity for enhanced underwater images and video. The volume key located on the side of the device can be used as a camera key, allowing users to easily and quickly open the camera application to capture photo and video the moment it happens. Additionally, the camera transforms into a powerful LED flash light to assist in low-light and nighttime activities with a simple long press of the volume key.


Richer & Fuller Life Experience

The GALAXY S4 Active is designed with a seamless interface that incorporates popular features of the GALAXY S4.

‘S Travel (Trip Advisor)’ offers travel assistance, local information, and recommendations to provide a more seamless experience in an unfamiliar environment. ‘S Translator’ makes international travel easy by providing instant text or voice translation for emails and text messages.

The camera interface is designed to make capturing and sharing meaningful moments intuitive and more engaging with multiple shooting modes including ‘Drama Shot’, which allows users to see all the action in one continuous time-lapse, and ‘Sound & Shot’, which uniquely stores sound and voice together with the image to capture the moment in an immersive visual/audio format. With ‘Story Album’, photos taken with the GALAXY S4 Active are collected and sorted according to a user’s timeline, geo-tagging information or a specific event to instantly create an organized photo album. To help facilitate sharing, users can also use the ‘Group Play’ function to enjoy music, photos, documents and games together and across various devices including GALAXY S4, GALAXY S4 mini, GALAXY Mega 6.3 and GALAXY Mega 5.8.

‘Samsung Smart Pause’ enables users to control of the screen using optical cues. While watching a video, the video pauses when you look away and starts right up again when returning to view, saving vital battery life and time spent rewinding. ‘Air View’ lets you preview the content of an email by simply hovering your fingers over the screen, which saves time and data. With ‘Air Gesture’, you can change the music track, scroll up and down on a web page, or accept a call with a simple wave of the hand. Additionally, ‘S Health’ helps you keep track of your personal health statistics. When paired with the S Health Accessory, you can monitor your heart rate, weight, sleep pattern and other personal measurements to assist in a healthy lifestyle.


Enhanced Content and Services

The GALAXY S4 Active also offers competitive content and services to provide a seamless mobile experience anytime and anywhere.

Using the ‘Samsung Hub’, users can access music, videos, books, games and engaging educational content. With a beautiful magazine-style interface, users can browse a variety of content across services, as well as purchase and manage their content easily with a single Samsung Account. Users can also control their TV through Samsung WatchON’s IR remote, which transforms the GALAXY S4 Active into a remote control for TVs, set-top boxes, and DVD players. Through ‘Samsung WatchON’, the GALAXY S4 Active also offers a broad selection of entertainment content including live TV, cable TV and video on demand, facilitated by the rich digital context provided by Samsung’s EPG (Electronic Program Guide) system. ‘ChatON’, another unique feature, connects and facilitates group chats, media sharing and interacting in creative new ways using pictures, hand drawings or figures across mobile devices. Further enhancing the device’s sharing capabilities, users can use ‘Samsung Link’ to share and sync content across multiple Samsung digital devices.

The GALAXY S4 Active will be available for purchase beginning this summer, with initial retail in the U.S. and Sweden. It will be offered in three different color options: Urban Grey, Dive Blue and Orange Flare. Specific availability will vary depending on the market.

Media requests and invited partners will be offered hands-on demonstrations with the GALAXY S4 Active at the Samsung Premiere 2013 GALAXY & ATIV in London on Thursday, June 20th.

Source: Samsung Tomorrow

 

[gadgetrants]

Geez, those specs compare REALLY favorably to the S4. Camera's not as good, but otherwise I'm impressed.

-Matt

 

[WestOkid]

I wonder if it is impact resistant. I would consider it if that's the case. No pun intended.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[PereDroid]

I just don't get this company. Why didn't they announce this and the Mini all at once?
Personally I would MYCH prefer this one over the standard S4... and if I had already pre-ordered, and received my S4... I'd be PISSED.

 

[_33]

Now, can I get this on VZW? This is the phone I've been waiting for.

 

[dgstorm]

Now, can I get this on VZW? This is the phone I've been waiting for.

No word on that yet. Stay tuned!

 

[jspradling7]

But does it float!? : )

I wonder if they went with the 8mp camera because it takes better pics underwater. Or is it a lot cheaper than the 13 and they're trying to offset some cost.

 

[gadgetrants]

Now, can I get this on VZW? This is the phone I've been waiting for.

Yes, but is this the Droid you were looking for?

-Matt

 

[combatmedic870]

Looks good

 

[hotice]

I don't think we can determine from this if the camera is better or worse. 8MP vs 13MP isn't enough information. Things like f/2.0, f/2.2, f/2.4 and how does it actually perform in real use are more important than the MPs. Of course I have a moto camera so what would I know... If it's not made out of metal I would take the Active over the standard GS4 just because of the LCD! It's brighter and that's much more valuable than a high contrast ratio on a mobile device if you ever go outside on a sunny day.

 

[WestOkid]

I don't think we can determine from this if the camera is better or worse. 8MP vs 13MP isn't enough information. Things like f/2.0, f/2.2, f/2.4 and how does it actually perform in real use are more important than the MPs. Of course I have a moto camera so what would I know... If it's not made out of metal I would take the Active over the standard GS4 just because of the LCD! It's brighter and that's much more valuable than a high contrast ratio on a mobile device if you ever go outside on a sunny day.

I would agree the LCD is a + too except this is the older and cheaper Tft variety; not IPS. Tft is only used on low end devices these days. This will have washed out colors and bad viewing angles. I doubt it will be better than a modern AMOLED display.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[hotice]

I would agree the LCD is a + too except this is the older and cheaper Tft variety; not IPS. Tft is only used on low end devices these days. This will have washed out colors and bad viewing angles. I doubt it will be better than a modern AMOLED display.

All LCDs are Thin Film Transistor. Single scan and dual scan LCDs (which are not TFT which is also known as Active Matrix, single and dual scan are passive matrix) haven't been used for many years. IPS is just a specific type that's designed to let more light through, making it brighter that the older LCDs you're referring to at the same power consumption. Pre-IPS LCD are most definitely much brighter than any OLED display on any phone. Compare a Droid X with any current OLED based phone and you'll see what I mean. Without In Plane Switching it's much brighter than OLED (yeah, I know AMOLED - but it doesn't matter if it's Super or even Plus). As far as colors go, OLEDs don't have a clear advantage over LCD. Some LCDs have more accurate color reproduction than some OLEDs and vice-versa. Actually OLEDs have a bit of a reputation for over-saturation. I don't think that's as much the case now but it was a year ago I think. As far as the GS4 Active goes, I can almost promise it will be using a PLS LCD display which is a technology developed by Samsung that's comparable to IPS. It's too bad Samsung doesn't do that for all their phones in my opinion.