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Samsung announce the Galaxy S4 Active

GS4Active

 

The rumours were plenty, in fact Samsung had almost confirmed this device themselves a little while back. So it comes as no surprise that today Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, their answer to the Xperia Z, as it adds water resistant and dust resistant properties up to IP67, giving you the ability to keep the device submerged into 1m deep water for up to 30 minutes. While it adds a bit of bulk, and takes away some of the Megapixels from the camera, this is pretty much the same phone as the Samsung Galaxy S4, but the Active stands for a great life outdoors.

It compares with the Galaxy S4 in the following ways:

  • The IP67 protection
  • Extra physical buttons on the device instead of touch buttons.
  • 8MP camera with the same lens as the 13MP of the GS4. This means that while you get fewer pixels, the quality should be the same
  • The camera does offer Aqua Mode, which means that it has a specially adapted filter for underwater capture.
  • A TFT screen instead of AMOLED
  • Slightly thicker by 1.2mm
  • Most other specs are similar, including processor, etc.

As far as our thoughts are concerned:

  • The name Active is probably misleading, as the GS4 packs in a lot of health features, and the GS4 Active almost sounds like an accessory for the GS4
  • Great to see more devices going down the water protection root. Peace of mind is a great feature to have these days
  • While it adds a bit of bulk, it does look very different , but not in a bad way. I like a device that shows off ruggedness.
  • It offers Aqua Mode to record/capture photos under water. This is what the internet would refer to as a ‘SERIOUS WIN!’.

From various sources, it seems to be hitting the shops early next month, as soon as the 1st of July!

[toggle title=”Click to read the press release:”]

SAMSUNG INTRODUCES THE GALAXY S4 ACTIVE:

THE PERFECT COMPANION FOR EXPLORATION AND ADVENTURE

The Galaxy S4 Active lets users focus on living life to the fullest by providing a rich experience without the worry of damaging the device

London, UK – June 5th, 2013 – Samsung Electronics today announced the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, designed to enhance the life experiences of actives users who want to stay connected even when they’re out exploring the most rugged mountain trails or the roughest rivers.

Simon Stanford, Vice President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland said: “The Galaxy S4 Active offers all the great features of the original Galaxy S4, but with added innovative protective design elements to suit our most active customers. Built for an outdoors lifestyle, the Galaxy S4 Active is a life companion for all environments.”

Durability

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active has been engineered to survive the demands of an active lifestyle, with features such as qualified protection from dust and water (IP67*) so users 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 at a depth of one meter, withstanding up to 30 minutes of submersion. Equipped with a water-resistant earphone jack, the Galaxy S4 Active allows users to keep listening to their music in even the most adventurous conditions. Whether capturing every moment of a wild rafting trip or taking a great underwater photos in the pool, the unique construction lets users capture amazing pictures which would have been 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 Further and Last Longer

Featuring a 1.9 GHZ Quad-Core processor and 2,600mAh battery, the device can handle the most intensive of tasks with ease and precision. The striking colour and resolution on the 5.0’’ Full HD TFT LCD screen (443 PPI) brings an optimum quality to playing games and watching videos, and with ‘Glove Touch’, cold weather and cold fingers no longer cause problems as the touch screen on the Galaxy S4 Active is fully operational when wearing gloves. With an 8-megapixel rear camera, users can easily share images of their experiences on the go. Unique to the S4 Galaxy Active camera system is ‘Aqua Mode’, used to increase the quality and clarity for enhanced underwater images and videos. The volume key on the side of phone can also be used as a camera key, allowing users to open the camera application quickly to capture the moment. In addition, the camera transforms into a powerful LED flash light to assist in low-light and at night time by simply using a long press of volume key.

Fuller Life Experiences

The Galaxy S4 Active has been designed to incorporate the most popular features of the Galaxy S4 to act as an ideal travel companion.

‘S Travel (Trip Advisor)’ assists users by providing travel assistance, local information and recommendations to ensure the ideal experience even in unfamiliar environments. ‘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 meaningful moments easy with multiple shooting modes including ‘Drama Shot,’ which allows users to see all the action in one continuous time-lapse, and ‘Sound & Shot,’ which stores sound and voice together with the picture to capture the moment in an audio/visual format. With ‘Story Album’, photos taken with the Galaxy S4 Active are instantly collected and sorted according to a user’s timeline, geo-tagging information or a specific event, to create a photo album. To help facilitate sharing, the ‘Group Play’ function enables music, photos, documents and games to be enjoyed together across various devices including the Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 Mini and Galaxy Mega 6.3.

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

Content and Services

The Galaxy S4 Active offers a variety of content and services to provide a seamless mobile experience anytime and anywhere. Using the ‘Samsung Hub,’ users can access music, videos, books, games and learning. With a magazine-style interface, users can browse through a variety of content as well as purchase and manage applications easily, from a single Samsung Account. Users can also control their TVs 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 ‘WatchON’, The Galaxy S4 Active also offers a broad selection of entertainment content including live TV, cable TV and video on demand, all facilitated by Samsung’s EPG (Electronic Program Guide) system. ‘ChatON’ is another unique feature that connects all mobile users together to group chat, share media across devices, and interact in creative new ways using pictures, drawings or figures. ‘Samsung Link’ also enables users to share content across multiple Samsung digital devices.

The Galaxy S4 Active will be available to buy in the UK this summer.

It will come in three colours, Urban Grey, Dive Blue and Orange Flare. Media guests and invited partners will be provided with hands-on product experiences of the Galaxy S4 Active at the 2013 Samsung Premiere for Galaxy & ATIV, in London, on Thursday, June 20th.[/toggle]

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