The list of phones in the Galaxy S4 range is mind-boggling in itself. Following from the original international Galaxy S4 and the quad-core SnapDragon versions, we got the S4 mini and then the water-proof S Active and now, for the cameraphone fans, the S4 Zoom with a 16-megapixel sensor, a 10x optical zoom, and a Xenon flash.
Galaxy S4 Zoom is targeted specifically towards people who use their phone cameras as their primary photo-taking tools.
Weighing at 208g, Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom sports a 4.3-inch Super
AMOLED qHD super AMOLED display with a resolution of 540×960 pixels
covered with a sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
Running on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system, the phone is
powered by a 1.5GHz dual core processor (which will vary to markets
according to Samsung) along with 8GB of internal storage and 1.5GB of
RAM that’s expandable via microSD card slot.
Connectivity options include WiFi a/b/g/n as well as Bluetooth 4.0
and NFC along with A-GPS and GLONASS, an accelerometer, digital compass,
proximity sensor, gyroscope, and light sensor. The battery is a 2,330
mAh pack, even though Samsung is not saying how long it will last.
At back, there is a full-fledged camera of 16-megapixel CMOS sensor
with optical image stabilization, 24-240mm 10x optical zoom, with an
F3.1-F6.3 lens along with 1.9-megapixel camera for video calls.
The smartphone camera hybrid comes with a fanatical shutter button
.There’s a Xenon flash, rather than the usual LED, allowing up to 4fps
burst photography with autofocus and support for recording up to 1080p30
HD video.
On the software front, as well as TouchWiz on top of Android 4.2
Jelly Bean, Samsung has added quite a few new camera-specific features
including up to 25 smart mode options. These smart modes are namely
Beauty face, Best photo, Continuous shot, Best face, Kids shot,
Landscape, Dawn, Snow, Macro, Food, Party/Indoor, Action freeze, Rich
tone (HDR), Panorama, Waterfall, Animated photo, Drama, Eraser, Sound
& Shot, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, Light trace and Smart
mode suggest.
Another novel feature embedded in this device is Samsung Zoom Ring,
which, if twisted when in a call, automatically kicks into camera mode
allowing you snap a photo as well as sending it via MMS to whoever you
are talking to.
However, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom will go on sale this summer in
United Kingdom and then will move to other regions, though the company
is yet to confirm pricing.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom key specifications
- Android 4.2.2 with Samsung’s Nature UX
- 15.4mm thick
- Weight: 208g
- Voice calling capability and 4G LTE supported
- 24mm wide lens with 10X Optical Zoom
- 16 megapixel camera with Xenon Flash
- Full HD 1080p video recording at 30fps
- HDR mode and Optical Image Stabilization
- 1.9 megapixel front camera
- 4.3 inch Super AMOLED display with qHD resolution
- Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- 1.5 Ghz dual-core processor
- 1.5 GB RAM with 8 GB internal expandable storage
- microUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Infrared, GPS, Wifi Hotspot
- 2330 mAh battery
The S4 Zoom will be available in Q3 of 2013. The price is unknown right now though.