The latest Galaxy phone from Samsung was announced last week, and Cityline.ca was on hand to take a look the device first hand.
The phone sports a five-inch high-resolution Super-AMOLED display, weighs in at 130 grams (lighter than the current Galaxy S III), and one of the most tweeted-about features from fans is the device’s 13-megapixel camera on the back.
“The really interesting aspect of this device is that it becomes a life companion for you,” Paul Brannen, vice-president of Samsung Mobile said.
Software was a large focus of Thursday’s event. Samsung played with the Radio City Theater theme, putting on a talent show featuring students from a New York City school. They applied the phone’s new features into real-life situations, demonstrating “S Translator,” an app that allows you to use voice to verbally translate phrases—perfect for world travelers.
Samsung’s “Dual Camera” feature will enable users to use both front and rear cameras to capture a photo from both cameras simultaneously. The app will superimpose the image from the front camera with the image from the back camera so that everyone can be in the shot—even if Mom is taking all of the photos at the beach.
Smartphone users know that phones are powerful—now they want to know what exactly they can do with that power.
Other features include “Smart Pause,” the ability for the phone to sense when you are—and aren’t—looking at the phone. The Galaxy will play and pause the video accordingly, so you don’t miss a moment of your favourite flick.
If health is something you’re trying to buckle down on for 2013, “S Health” turns your phone into a full-fledged fitness tracker. It will keep you up to date by measuring a variety of factors including your heart rate, weight, blood pressure, glucose levels, and graph it visually so you can get a better idea of your overall health.
“I go to the doctors quite often, and having the ability to go back and show him my health trends over the past few days, weeks, or months is really powerful,” Brannen said.
Specific pricing and availability for the Galaxy S4 have not been announced, but it is confirmed to launch on the Rogers Wireless network at the end of April.
Watch my video overview of the Galaxy S4 below: