Samsung Galaxy S4 - Software features

I am very impressed with the software features of Samsung Galaxy S4. I think Samsung really go all way out to win some new fans with this new phone. For me, the software will be the main pull factor for me to lay my hands on one when it is released.

Samsung believed in creating a richer, simpler and fuller life and hence the tagline for Samsung Galaxy S4 is Life Companion. So how are they going to do this? Simple, they created the phone based on 4 statements below, which makes the phone to be useful in your daily life.

1. Daily life is more convenient - Making your life easy and hassle free

a) Air View: Preview videos by hovering your finger above the screen, instant preview and speed dial your contacts

b) Samsung Smart Pause: Recognizes when to pause and play your video

c) Samsung WatchON: Making your living room experience more enjoyable with your smartphone

d) Optical Reader: Recognize information

e) Touch and use with gloves

2. Life becomes more fun - Making life’s everyday moments fun and memorable

a) Group Play: Share music: Use multiple phones as speakers

b) Group Play: Play Games: Play Games with your friends in real time

c) Sound and Shot: Give life to your photos by adding audio

d) Cinema Photo: Animate photos to make them fun and interesting

e) Dual shot: Double the joy with a front and rear camera that can be used simultaneously

f) Dual recording: Create a more personal and dynamic video

3. Relationships grow closer - True connections bringing people closer together

a) ChatON: Dual Video Chat: Simultaneously show surroundings during a video call using both front and rear cameras

b) ChatON: Share screen: Share your screen with friends and family

c) S Translator: Communicate globally anytime, anywhere

4. Wellbeing is cared for - Taking care of your health and quality of life

a) Samsung Adapt Display: View more comfortably with a display optimized for your eyes

b) S Health: Monitor your health, reach goals and share with friends

After previewing what the phone’s capabilities during the launch, most of the features appeal to me, the ones that appeals to me most are as follows:

Camera functions – Gives a new definition of taking group photo or video

Air view – Gives a quick preview

Smart Pause – No need to press pause any more, eye ball tracking technology.

S Translator – A great help when travelling, provided if able to use offline.

The feature that are the least appealing to me is S Health as there are currently a lot of apps which are available and has the same functions. There is a need to buy external devices in order to have full use of the feature. I am sure that this function would use up a lot of battery life like using a pedometer to track the number of steps taken. Can the app track while the phone in sleep mode? I do not think so. Hmm… This needs further testing when I have the phone.

So which is your favorite feature of the phone? Do you think Samsung created a Life Companion phone? I think they did manage to do it and set a pretty high bar for other phones to catch up.

For the full functions of the phone, you can just click on the link here.

A "so many functions in a phone" Polarbear

Samsung Galaxy S4 - Hardware features

Samsung Galaxy 4 is finally unveiled and I believed you have read a lot of reviews or discussions about the phone.

Below are some of my favorite hardware features of the phone:

The screen got larger. From 4.8” to 5”, as compared to S3, yet the size of phone still stayed the same.

It got a slimmer body with premium finish. Its back cover is still made from plastic though, available in 2 colors.

It has a Full HD Super AMOLED display to provide an immersive experience. With 1080 x 1920 pixels (441 ppi pixel density), it provides one of the brightest and clearest screen, bringing the vibrant colours alive.

The cameras got upgraded. The rear camera is a 13-megapixel camera, with flash and high shutter mode. The front camera is a 2-megapixel camera which can be used to control the phone as well. Both cameras will be able to capture video at 1080p@30fps.

In order to enable the phone to operate seamlessly, the phone is equipped with either Exynos 5 Octa 5410 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset. Which processor you will be getting, will depend on where you live in the world. 

The eight core unique design is actually a Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7. The more powerful Cortex-A15 cores will be used to handle the more hungry powered tasked where Cortex-A7 will be used to take care of the simpler task, thus extending the battery life.

The phone will comes with a Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery, 500 mAh bigger than the battery used in S3. This will come in handy with all the upgrades of the phone. As usual, the battery is removable, so you can always carry a spare battery around if you are unable to charge your phone.

In terms of hardware wise, it is comparable to S3 with a few upgrades. In fact, it does look like a S3 with a bigger sceen. So what you think of the hardware specifications for S4?

For the full specifications of the phone, you can just click on the link here.

A "want to lay my hands on this phone" Polarbear

Samsung UNPACKED 2013 Launch Event

The long awaited event finally happened on 14 Mar 2013 (Singapore time 15 Apr 13, 7am)! I watched the live streaming over You Tube, anticipating for the unveiling of the latest member of the Galaxy family, Galaxy S4.

Instead of talking of the phone here, I am going about the launch event itself first.

The event was hosted in New York, Radio City Music Hall. Prior to the event, Samsung had billboards all over New York Time Square to hype up the launch.

The event was carried out in a very Hollywood awards ceremony style. It looks more like an award ceremony than an event to launch a new phone.

The event started where the 2 Samsung teasers advertisement left off.  Jeremy Maxwell “the messager” walking onto the stage with the “Unpacked” box. The host, Will Chase, did a short introduction and introduced J.K Shin, President and Head IT and Mobile Communication Division, who introduced and unveiled the new Samsung Galaxy S4.

From left to right: Will Chase and “Jeremy Maxwell”, J.K Shin and Ryan Bidan

After the phone was unveiled, Shin handed the reins over to Ryan Bidan, Director Of Product Marketing to show what Samsung S4 can do. At this time, the presentation turns into a Broadway show and via singing and acting, it showed what the phone can do.

I will be talking the functions of the phone on a later posting.

Through four very different acts, it did managed to highlight the functions of the phone and how the normal users (like us) to use the phone on a daily basis.

After big fanfare, the show wrapped up and the front of the stage was turned into a big exhibition area for audience to view and play with the phone.

I liked the launch event. From the ad teaser leading the way to the actual launch event, it shows how much effort Samsung put into this launch. It was just not a boring presentation with 1 person talking away about how good the phone was but it showed the functions via an interesting way of song and dance.

After all, they went all the way to New York to do the launch rather than to do it in South Korea instead. I wonder why. Hmm…

So if you missed and want to watch the launch, you can always watch it on You Tube.

Please comment if you like the launch event.

Coming up next, I will be talking about the phone and what are my favorite functions of the phone.

Please note that the pictures are screen captures from the live streaming of the show.

A "excited to see the phone" Polarbear

Be Ready 4 The Next Galaxy

Today is a BIG day for all Samsung fans as they are ready to welcome the latest member of the Galaxy family.  I think all Samsung fans would do anything to get a ticket to the event in New York, so that they can be the first in the world to see, touch and play with the new product. I know I would!

This time round, Samsung is going all way out for this product launch with a BANG, based on the hype created and discussion everywhere about the event. To shed some light on this event, Samsung had created 2 advertisements to “explain” what the event would be about.

The story is based on a young boy named Jeremy Maxwell, who is the secret messenger of SAMSUNG UNPACKED 2013, collected a SPECIAL package from Samsung. Is he going to leak out what is in the box? Watch to find out!

Part  1: (Samsung UNPACKED) Be ready 4 The Next Galaxy

Part  2: (Samsung UNPACKED) Be ready 4 The Next Galaxy

So would you be watching the live streaming of the event at 7am, Singapore time? I know I am! Be sure to log into either Samsung Mobile’s official YouTube channel or Samsung’s official Facebook Live streaming to watch the event.

A "excited about Samsung S4" Polarbear