A Glance To Samsung's Galaxy S4

The brand-new flagship smartphone launched by Samsung lately, which runs the latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean ( the next version of Android, Key Lime Pie, is being launched on May 15th this year so Samsung will certainly provide updates for it) , has upgraded its hardware and also has added a lot of new and innovative features. With lots of more added features than its previous release Galaxy S3, which was also a buoyant product from Samsung, now is far off the Apple’s iPhone in terms of technology being used.

 Although it comes with the same design pattern as of Samsung galaxy S3, most of the features are just unbelievable. High battery life with 2,600 mAh battery, larger screen size of 5 inches and the resolution of 1080p, two choices of processor available one 1.9GHz quad-core or another 1.6GHz octa-core, 13 Megapixels main camera and 2 MP front facing camera.  Its ultrasensitive screen is so much sensitive that it can sense the touch over it even through a winter glove. After hearing about all these features of Galaxy S4, it seems like that Samsung has accomplished its mission of overtaking the lead from the Apple’s iPhone.

At the First look 

                       

S4 looks like its predecessor S3 in the build but little bit larger and slimmer. With the thickness of 7.9 mm, height if 136.6mm and width of 68.9 mm 130 g isn’t that heavy as you may have expected. Actually it’s a little lighter than the galaxy S3 compared to 133 Gms of S3 (I had said a little lighter). According to its dimensions, it just lays between S3 and Galaxy Note series.

As the rumors and leaks foretold, the GS4 has a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a 1,920x1,080 -pixel screen resolution. Above the display you'll find the usual array of sensors and the 2-megapixel front-facing camera lens. There's no front-facing flash on the GS4. Below the screen, you'll find the solitary physical home button, accompanied by capacitive menu and back buttons. On the top of the phone is where you'll find the IR blaster, which shoots out infrared light to control your TV directly from the handset and this works on all TVs, not only Samsung’s. This is one of the added features of the S4.Samsung uses TouchWiz to add a lot of software enhancements, like gestures, and a beefier notifications tray that offers a ton more toggling options to quickly turn settings on and off. In addition to your usual toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, you'll also see toggles for call-blocking mode and eye-tracking gestures. Now, when Samsung spots a trend, it pounces. Thus the birth of S Health, a calorie-counter/pedometer in one that uses phone sensors like the accelerometer and barometer to track your steps, jogs, hops, jolts, snacks, and perspiration. Combined with one of its new Samsung-branded fitness wrist bands, Samsung is attempting to replace specialized third-party apps that do these functions already.

 Smart Pause and Smart Scroll are two features that build off the Galaxy S3's optional Smart Stay feature, which kept the screen from dimming when you looked at it. In the GS4, tilting the screen up or down while looking at it scrolls you up or down. This could be a more convenient way to catch up with news while on the bus. The idea of Smart Pause is really smart, which halts a video you're watching when your eyes move away from the screen, then resumes when you start paying attention again. Hover your finger and you can preview a video clip or image from the photo gallery, glance at browser tab thumbnails, find your place on a video timeline, and check out an e-mail. You'll also be able to magnify calendar events and get a closer look in speed dial. Flipboard has built a customized app to work with Air View, which lets you hover over a tile to see which articles lie beneath.

In addition to hovering with a fingertip, you can wave or wipe your whole hand in front of the screen (and camera sensor) to navigate around. For example, enable this gesture and you can agitate your palm to pick up the phone or switch songs in a playlist. Steadily sliding your hand back and forth can advance photos in a gallery, or browser tabs. You can also scroll up and down in a list.

 In terms of storage and memory, the Galaxy S4 has 2GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, and another 64GB available through the microSD car slot. In today's market, you can't get more than that.

Samsung hasn't shared pricing yet, since it differs by region and by carrier, but you can expect comparable pricing structures to what you saw in your area for the GS3.

Here is a table that compares the recently launched Galaxy S4 and Apple’s iPhone5

Spec	Samsung Galaxy S4	Apple iPhone5
Operating system*	Android 4.2.2	iOS 6
Dimensions	5.38 x 2.71 x 0.31 inch; 4.6 ounces	4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inch; 3.95 ounces
Display	5-inch full HD Super AMOLED; 1,920x1,080 pixels, 441ppi	4-inch IPS LCD; 1,136x640 pixels, 326ppi
4G LTE	Yes	Yes
NFC	Yes	No
Rear camera and recording	13-megapixel, 1080p HD video	8-megapixel, 1080p HD video
Front-facing camera	2-megapixel	1.2-megapixel
Processor	1.9GHz, quad-core Snapdragon 600; or proprietary 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 5 Octa	Proprietary A6
Capacity	16GB, 32GB, 64GB	16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Expandable memory	Up to 64GB	No
Battery	2,600mAh	Not disclosed by Apple
Price	Not disclosed About the same price of S3	$199.99, $299.99, $399.99(US) About Rs.80000 in Nepal's market
Available colors	Black, white	Black, white

Sources: cnet.com