The levels of expectations were sky high as soon as the South Korean giant Samsung announced the Galaxy S4, since the S4 had to be better than the Galaxy S III, which was a huge hit and was already on the list of best-selling smartphones. The company launched its S4 phone in India on 26th April, 2013. Let’s review the phone and see how its better or worst compared to other offering in the same price range.
Samsung Galaxy S4 has not been a disappoint in terms of the hardware specifications, which includes octa-core processor and a big bright HD screen, Apart from the great hardware Samsung has introduced some unique and cool features with the S4 series. The phone has got really good sensors and motion detection which gives an edge to the S4.
The Look & Design:
The feel and look of the S4 is pretty much similar to its predecessor however S4 has a bigger screen. Though S4 and SIII are look pretty much similar from distance but when you take a close look S4 is thinner and has much more sleek design. If you compare the body of S4 with likes of iPhone 5 and HTC it doesn’t look that alluring. The phone is available in 2 colors Black mist & White Frost.
Apart from front camera the front of the phone has 3 buttons which are Home button and 2 captive buttons for Menu and Back control. The back of the phone has 13-megapixel LED flash camera.
The back is removable and SIM card, microSD card slot, NFC module and battery are hidden inside once you remove the back cover.
Display:
Like its counterparts Samsung S4 too has a 5inch full HD Super Amoled display. The resolution of the S4 is 1080×1920 pixels packing 441 pixels per inch. The quality of the display is amazing. Samsung S4 allows you to choose manual modes modes (Dynamic, Standard, Professional Photo and Movie) and seven automatic modes if you select the Adapt Display option.
Camera
The Galaxy S4 has a 13-megapixel rear camera which takes amazing pictures in both day light as well as in artificial light.
User Interface:
Galaxy S4 has the latest version of the Android 4.2.2 Jeally Bean. The UI of the S4 is very user friendly. The main attraction of S4 is its motion sensing & gesture driven controls. You can get a quick glance to your missed calls, unread messages by just a blow of air. Motion gestures allow you to zoom in while looking at an image or to mute the phone while taking a call. Apart from the gesture sensing the pone also offers voice commands to accept or reject a call, click a picture or to control music. Among the 3 best smart phones S4 is definitely above HTC One and at par with iPhone5 when it comes to shots in Daylight. The phone has lot of new camera tricks like Animated photo mode, it also allows to erase any moving object from 5 consecutive photos, likewise there are many more new tools to play around with to do creative and trick photography. The front camera of S4 is a decent one and has better clarity compared to most of its counterparts.
Battery:
The phone is powered with a 2600mAh battery, which lasted 12 hrs with heavy usage. While testing the battery we took few pictures, sent emails, chatted on Whats App, checking Facebook, using wifi etc.
Verdict:
The motion sensing technology of the phone is not that impressive but it definitely helps them to get the eyeballs and to lure the customers. Samsung Galaxy S4 is no doubt one of the most powerful smartphone option available in the market. With really great hardware and amazing camera and the kind of features that it has to offer Galaxy S4 is a great smart phone to have it with you.
Specifications
Network/Bearer and Wireless Connectivity
2G
- 850/900/1,800/1,900MHz
3G
- 850/900/1,900/2,100MHz
Wi-Fi Direct
- Yes
Display
Color Depth
- 16M
Size
- 12.7cm
Resolution
- 1920 x 1080
Camera
Camera Resolution(Rear)
- CMOS, 13MP
Camera Resolution(Front)
- CMOS, 2MP
Flash
- Power LED (1EA)
Auto Focus
- Yes
Physical Specification
Dimension(HxWxD)
- 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm
Weight
- 130g
Battery
Standard Battery
- 2,600mAh
Internet Usage Time(3G)
- Up to 8 hours
Internet Usage Time(WI-FI)
- Up to 10 hours
Video Playback Time
- Up to 11 hours
Audio Playback Time
- Up to 62 hours
USB Chargeable
- Yes
Talk Time(W-CDMA)
- Up to 17 hours
Standby Time(W-CDMA)
- Up to 370 hours
OS
- Android
Chipset
Type (Dual, Quad)
- 1.6GHz Quad Core + 1.2GHz Quad Core Processor
Sensors
- Accelerometer, Geo-magnetic, Gyro-sensor, Light Sensor, Pressure sensor, Proximity Sensor, Gesture Sensor
Connectors
Earjack
- 3.5mm
External Memory Slot
- MicroSD Slot (up to 64GB)
Connector
- Micro USB (5V, 2A)
Services and Applications
Samsung Apps
- Yes
ActiveSync
- Yes
