Samsung galaxy s4 amazing

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is here. One of the most anticipated handsets in a while, Samsung took the wraps off the device at a glittering event at New York's famous Radio City Music Hall.
*. Check out our full Hands on: Galaxy S4 review for our first impressions of the device. For those who weren't lucky enough to get into Radio City Music Hall, Samsung also gave fans a chance to join the live stream from Times Square . Needless to say the likes of the HTC One , Sony Xperia Z and thenow aging iPhone 5 have some pretty meaty competition, so here's our complete lowdown on the new handset. But if you're more interested in checking out how the S4 runs against the competition, here's our fist fight between the devices: Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z vs HTC One vs iPhone 5 vs Lumia 920 Samsung Galaxy S4 release date and price The Samsung Galaxy S4 will roll out with a staggering 327 operators across 155 countriesand the Galaxy S4 release dateis April 26. Want to know where to pick one up in the U.K.? Check out this list of retailers that will be selling the Galaxy S4 . Additionally, here are the full details on the Samsung GalaxyS4 U.S. carriers . For those in Australia, here's a full list of carriers selling the S4 . We expect the Samsung Galaxy S4 price to be about £480(US$725/AUD$695) SIM-free, although the Galaxy SIV price is yet to be confirmed. Samsung Galaxy S4 dimensions and weight The S4 is somehow smaller than the Galaxy S3 at 136.1 x 69.8mm. It's a 5-inch handset, which is exactly the same height as its predecessor (5.38x 2.34 x 0.5 inches). It also appears to be unbelievably thin - considering the amount of tech stuffed inside - with the Samsung Galaxy S4 measuring a svelte 7.9mm. It's a whole gram lighter than its predecessor too, at 130g. Samsung Galaxy S4 design The polycarbonate chassis is still in use, although the metallic banding around the side, is much sturdier and feels more premium - though it's still plastic. Color-wise, there's the choice of 'White Frost' and 'Black Mist', although Samsung says "a variety of additional color options will be available later this year". Samsung Galaxy S4 processor and memory With the S4, forget dual-core and quad-core. The Samsung Exynos 1.6GHz processor has a whopping eight cores! Amazing. But while you'll get that Octo-core Exynos 5 in some territories there will be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 in others. You also get 2GB of RAM, which is twice the amount in the iPhone 5 . But, the Sony Xperia Z also has 2GB. In terms of storage it's available in 16, 32 and 64GB variants. Samsung Galaxy S4 display The Super OLED screen has a stunning 441ppi, which is more than the iPhone 5 but less than the HTC One. It's extremely sharp for a Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 display. Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE and Wi-Fi The S4 apparently supports both LTE variants - "all frequencies and standards covered" says Samsung. 802.11ac Wi-Fi is also supported, alongside the more usual 802.11b/g/n. Samsung Galaxy S4 OS Android Jelly Bean 4.2.1 is the software on board the Galaxy S4, with Samsung's TouchWiz user interface having been given a spruce up before being slapped on top. Building on the Smart Stay feature found in the Galaxy S3and Galaxy Note 2 , Samsung equipped the Galaxy S4 with smarter eye tracking software. Smart Pause will know to hold things when you look away and Smart Scroll checks when you're looking at the screen and will move the page as youtilt the phone back and forth. Air Gestures mean you'll be able to jump to the top of lists, skip music and flick through pictures/answer calls without even touching the screen. There's also Samsung's Knox security feature for separatingwork and play. Samsung also unveiled S VoiceDrive for the driver who loves to multitask. This feature will activate when you start your car and will read incoming text messages aloud, let you dictate text messages, or use navigation features with your voice so you don't have to take your eyes off the road. Some features that are new tothe S4 include: *. "Dual Camera": so you cantake simultaneous photosand videos using both the rear and front cameras, then blend the pictures together *. "Story Album": curates content, such as SNS posts, memos, location and weather information,as well as photos and videos, to create a photo album which is personalised around yourtimeline of special occasions and events *. "Group Play": means you can enjoy music, photos and games with those around you, without requiring a Wi-Fi AP or cellular signal *. "Samsung Smart Pause": so you can control the screen using your eyes *. "Air View": allows you to hover with your fingers to preview the content ofan email, S Planner, image gallery or video without having to open it *. "Air Gesture": so you can change a music track, scroll up and down a web page, or accept a call witha wave of your hand *. " S Health " software: empowers your life by keeping you up-to-date with health and wellbeing information through a range of accessories Samsung Galaxy S4 battery The S4 packs a fairly huge 2,600MAH pack, up from the 2,100 offering we got on the S3. It will surely need it with such a powerful processor on board. Samsung Galaxy S4 specifications *. Network 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz, 4G (LTE Cat 3 100/50Mbps): up to six different band sets (Dependent on market) *. Display 5 inch Full HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) display, 441 ppi *. Processor 1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor *. OS Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) *. Camera Main (Rear): 13 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BIS, Sub (Front): 2 Mega pixel camera, Full HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BIS *. Video Codec MPEG4, H.264, H.263, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson Spark, HEVC *. Recording & Playback Full HD (1080p) *. Audio Codec MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X *. Dual Camera Dual Shot / Dual Recording/ Dual Video Call, Drama Shot, Sound & Shot, 360 Photo, Cinema Photo, Eraser, Night, Best Photo, Best Face, Beauty Face, HDR (High Dynamic Range), Panorama, Sports *. Additional Features Group Play: Share Music, Share Picture, Share Document, Play Games, Story Album, S Translator, Optical Reader, Samsung Smart Scroll, Samsung Smart Pause, Air Gesture, Air View, Samsung Hub, ChatON (Voice/Video Call, Share screen, 3-way calling), Samsung WatchON, S Travel (Trip Advisor), S Voice™ Drive, SHealth, Samsung Adapt Display, Samsung Adapt Sound, Auto adjust touch sensitivity (Glove friendly), Safety Assistance, Samsung Link, Screen Mirroring, Samsung KNOX (B2B only),Google Mobile Services Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Play Store, Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads, Voice Search *. Connectivity WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (HT80), GPS / GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth®4.0 (LE), IR LED (Remote Control), MHL 2.0, Sensor Accelerometer, RGB light, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer, Temperature & Humidity, Gesture *. Memory 16/ 32/ 64 GB User memory + microSD slot (up to 64GB) *. RAM 2GB *. Dimensions 136.6 x 69.8 x7.9 mm, 130g *. Battery 2,600 mAh Samsung stepping up their game Unlike most product launches, Samsung's NY event didn't show off the S4's graphics processing or the quality of the screen. But that doesn't mean they've left gamers out in the cold. Samsung is working on gamepad for its phones and tablets that will communicate with devices over bluetooth and is compatible with recent Samsung devices like the S4 and Galaxy Note 2 . Samsung Galaxy S4: all the earlier rumours Here are all the rumours we were running earlier about the Samsung Galaxy S4: The fervour associated with the new Galaxy S4 is already outstripping that of the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S3 , both of which nabbed "phone of the year" titles in recent times. If you needed a barometer of this, just look at how the Galaxy S3 was unveiled. Not atMWC like lots of others, but its own event, proving the Galaxy line has reached the level where it can guarantee hoards will come just for an unveiling, the Samsung GalaxyS4 is going to land at its own event. It's an event that hasn'tgone unnoticed by Apple - it seems to be making Phil Schiller rather nervous . The Galaxy S4 name was even"confirmed" at a recent event by a researcher, and now we even have this lovely video that sets the scene for today's launch: The trickle of "sources" talkingabout the Galaxy SIV (if you're being all Roman numeral about it) is building to a roaring crescendo, so we're onhand to help let you know which whispers have a notion of truth about them - as well as providing our wishlist of what we want Samsung to improve on the new handset. Don't forget to look out for our hands on: Samsung GalaxyS4 review which will be popping up online once we'vemanaged to spend some time with the device. Samsung Galaxy S4 release date The Unpacked event which will bring the announcement of the S4 is today in New York, with proceedings kicking off at 7pm EDT (sadly for the UK, this means it will be 11PM before you can see what's going on). And if you're in New York then head on down to Times Square , as Samsung will be live streaming the event and may even have some stuff to play with as well. However, possibly in retaliation to the HTC One buzz that Samsung predicted might pop up, the launch is earlier than last year, which means some S3 owners might feel aggrieved that Samsung is already making their handset outdated. But it does catch the old Galaxy S2 owners nicely as they come to the end of their contract cycles, so Samsung could be playing an ace (no, not that one ) by launching now. The rumour mill seems to be pointing towards an April, or possible May release date for the Galaxy S4 and Samsung will be keen to get it in shops as soon as possible, as there's string competition from the HTC One and Sony Xperia Z. As the clock counts down we're hearing demand has apparently been 'overwhelming' for Samsung's new flagship handset with huge numbers of pre-registrations for the Galaxy S4 already taking place. Analysts are also predicting a much smoother roll out of handsets this time around, with lessons learnt from the major issues which occurred with the Galaxy S3 - although minor delays may still happen if demand is as high as expected. An all-new screen From the various leaks and reports the Samsung Galaxy S4is looking pretty likely to sporta 4.99-inch full HD display, although there are some sources still claiming the Galaxy SIV will rock up with a 5-inch display , or even a highly unlikely 4.6-inch offering . While we all dream of edge-to-edge displays on our smartphones, the reality is that the Galaxy S4 is probably going to still keep a slender bezel down either side of its screen, with more sizeable chunks above and below to accommodate the menu keys, ear piece, front facing camera and various sensors. The Galaxy S2 had an amazing Super AMOLED Plus display – and boy, was it vibrant. The S3upped the screen size from 4.3-inches to 4.8-inches and the pixel density went from 217 to 306 to take a run at theiPhone's Retina Display. But, Samsung also opted for a PenTile approach, to the chagrin of geeks. What does that mean for the end user? Well, the screen looks great but you can make out pixels if you really, really strain. And some of the vivacity and colour saturation is lost. On the plus side, Samsung reckons the screen will last longer – but we'd rather see a much more S2-like screen witha sharper resolution - and given that's now appeared on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, we're pretty hopeful we'll get it on the Samsung Galaxy S4 too. And on top of that, here's the good stuff: whatever the resolution or size of the screen on the Galaxy S4, rumours suggest that you'll beable to control it with your eyes . Yes you read that correctly, your eyes! Screenshots apparently showing the various settings for the eye tracking tech popped up online - but we fear battery life may take a hit. This was later proven to be the Galaxy S3; new screenshots then appeared , but thanks to an eagle-eyed TechRadar reader, these could also be faked, as a display with 1080 x 1920 pixels wouldneed to be 4.6 inches across toachieve the claimed PPI. Bloomberg reported that the eye tracking tech would feature in the S4, but it wouldn't be as advanced as the rumours suggested , instead simply doing stuff like pausing a video when you look away from the screen. Samsung Galaxy S4 specs The main spec aside from the screen is the processor which will be housed inside the Samsung Galaxy S4, and this isstill very much open for debate. In one corner is the tried and tested quad-core processor ( possibly the Exynos 5440 ) which is the chip of choice at the moment for most manufacturers in their flagship handsets and we certainly wouldn't be disappointed with four beefedup cores in the Galaxy S4, rumoured to be clocked at around 1.8GHz or 1.9GHz . However in the other corner isthe ugly cries of an octo-core processor - yep that's right power fans, eight cores! It could be the Exynos Octa which debuted at CES 2013 and sports ARM's big.LITTLE architecture for improved efficiency and battery life. More support for the eight-core model materialised in theform on benchmark results claiming to be for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4, saying it will sport a 1.8GHz Octa processor which will run Android 4.2.1. The other big news that we think should be on our wish list is the fact that Samsung's internal storage bods have been hard at work bringing the flash memory down in sizeand up in speed ... so think even thinner phones with higher capacity that can be written to up to 10x faster. The Galaxy SIV could follow in the footsteps of the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 as it brings wireless charging to the table . The Galaxy S3 also apparently has this, but it's never been properly realised - and further 'insiders' have stated that the Galaxy S4 is deffo coming with some Qi - the wireless charging standard. Also Samsung's S Health app could well make its way onto the Galaxy S4, allowing you to monitor things such as blood pressure, blood sugar, BMI andweight with the aid of a separate pad. And let's not forget about NFC - this is key to the firm's plans in the future, so will definitelybe embedded within the S4. Combine that with the new Samsung Wallet application for cards, loyalty, plane ticketsand such and you can see that Samsung is looking to take even more things from your pocket. Will it run Jelly Bean 4.1 or 4.2? Android 4.2. There we said it. What are you going to do about? Okay so we can't be 100 per cent sure that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will come running version 4.2 of Jelly Bean, but that's the most sensible option and we can rule out reports that claim it will pack Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie or Tizen - because that's just ridiculous. There's a chance the Galaxy S4may ship with Android 4.1, with an upgrade to Android 4.2 coming soon after but we find this unlikely and various benchmark leaks seem to point towards Android 4.2.1 Expect Samsung to slap an updated version of its TouchWiz user interface on top of Android for the Galaxy S4, which will no doubt bring some useful features as well as some unnecessary bloatware. Battery life is key - obviously Ok, we admit we always want more. The S2's 1,650mAh was manageable and the S3's 2,100mAh blows that out of the water. But it's still only OK. You can get by on a day of moderate use but if you use this phone heavily (and we're talking watching TV shows on the morning and evening commute alongside your normal tinkering), this handset will still want a plug in at some point. Motorola has proven it can be done by whacking a 3,300mAhpower pack into the RAZR Maxx which can still be considered a skinny Minnie. Something of that size – alongwith ICS and Samsung's power management abilities – wouldreally be the icing on the Ice Cream Sandwich. Samsung Galaxy S4 camera What's that? You're bored of an 8MP camera on the Samsung Galaxy S3 since you've seen the likes of the Sony Xperia Z popping up witha 13MP snapper attached? Well, good news everyone: a picture supposedly captured from the S4 hints at an at least 10MP camera, according a snap shown on Picasa. Remember, EXIF data can be faked though, so there's everychance this amazingly well-framed photo is just the work of a chancer hoping to jump on the S4 bandwagon. In a separate report blurry shots showing the rear of a computer tower made their way online and while hardly awe-inspiring the EXIF data suggests the Samsung Galaxy S4 is packing a 13MP camera, but we can't be sure. And apparently it's not just the sensor size that Samsung is working on, with the Korean firm also developing its own version of Photo Sphere called Samsung Orb , allowing you to take 360 degree snaps with the Galaxy S4 camera. Will polycarbonate make a return? We've lost count of the amount of people we've shown our device off to who've replied with the words: "Yeah, it's great but looks like a bit of a toy." It's a double-edged sword: the plastic is used to keep this handset nice and light, but does detract from what shouldbe a premium device. Forget what your mum told you – it's what's on the outside that counts too, so theSamsung Galaxy S4 needs to step it up in the design stakes.Some reports state that the 'Pebble Blue' colour that caused so much consternation with the S3 is on its way out - black and white are the only way to go these days, apparently. Rumours suggest the Galaxy S4 has been in production since late last year, and thankfully (or sadly, depending on your stance on front furniture) there will be aphysical home button . There won't be any room for an S-Pen though, which makes sense as this won't be part of the Note range. And hopes for a brushed aluminium Samsung Galaxy S4 may have been dashed after aSamsung executive talked up the use of plastic in the firm's flagship devices. Samsung has provided us with what we think is the first glimpse of the Galaxy S4 after it posted a photo on its Twitter page showing a handset mainly in shadow, but revealing just enough to show a design similar to its predecessors. A new raft of images have appeared straight out of China, apparently showing theSamsung Galaxy S4 in all its glory, as well as "confirming" that it will sport a 4.99-inch Full HD display, crazy 1.8GHz octo-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a slender 7.7mm plastic chassis. The brushed effect found on the plastic of the Galaxy S3 looks to be out, replaced with a more mosaic effect for the Galaxy SIV. Round the back things seem to be pretty similar to the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, but we can't be sure these leaked images are the real deal. These images fall in line with a previous set of leaks which shows a Samsung Galaxy S4 that looks very much like its predecessors . A video appeared along with the above shots, showing the handset in question being turned on and used, although it does seem very chunky. Thishas now been joined by four more clips apparently showingoff various new features on the Samsung Galaxy S4. Early on it seemed 'confirmed' that the famous home button may be here to stay in an image claiming to show the Samsung Galaxy S4 next to theGalaxy S3 - although it could well be Photoshop job. Credit: BGR Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and smartwatch Here's something interesting from the rumour mill: Samsung's Project J, which waswhat we all assumed was the codename for the new S4, will actually yield a Galaxy S4 mini and a Galaxy Smartwatch . The Galaxy S4 Mini would be an odd choice to launch at thesame time as the S4 'proper', simply because the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini has only recently gone on sale in the last few months - surely the brand wouldn't cannibalise sales that quickly? And as for the other device: Inthe last few month the smartwatch, a device that connects your phone to a small screen on your wrist, hasgained massive traction, with the likes of Apple even havinga 100-strong design team working on the concept. Word is that the Project J Active (or Fortius, if you prefer) which appears to be a slightly different device with accessories such as an arm band, bike mount and pouch listed, so could easily be a transferable piece of technology - and smartwatches are what everyone is talking about, despite the fact it sounds more like another tough phone to follow on from the Galaxy XCover. Samsung Galaxy S3 reboot? There may be another handsetready to jump on the SamsungGalaxy S4 bandwagon on March 14, with fresh rumours suggestion the Korean firm will also give a reboot to the Galaxy S3 . Noted phone leaker Eldar Murtazin claims the rebooted S3 will come with an updated display, a battery boost to 2,400mAh and proper wirelesscharging. It seems pretty unlikely as it would see the S3 pitted against the new Galaxy S4 which makes no sense at all. Samsung Galaxy S4 wishlist It's not all about what's rumoured... we're still allowedto dream about a perfect phone. So here are the things we hope get improved when the Galaxy S4 finally launches: Better S-Voice S-Voice just isn't there. At leastSiri had the nous to call itself aBETA so that it could be excused for not getting thingsright at times. The problem we have with S-Voice is it just doesn't seem to be able to do much. Sure, it can tell you what the weather is like if you really can't be bothered to look out the window. And it'll save you 10 seconds by setting an alarm. But it's just not powerful enough - and is, frankly, awfulfor something that's supposedto be a headline feature on one of the world's best smartphones. We've actually been using Speak To It Assistant far more often because it's superior. Samsung could do worse than buy a company like this to give the Galaxy S4 a real chance of being the best voice-controlled mobile out there. Better Mac support Yep, we know many consumers believe Mac users account for only 0.000001% ofAndroid owners (why wouldn't they just buy an iPhone, right?) But there are lots who like Apple computers as well as Android devices. And up until the S3, they got on famously. But Android has changed the rules and how storage works so that it follows the MTP Protocol which plays along brilliantly with Windows but can't stand Macs. Yes, we know this is a Google issue and not something that Samsung can be blamed for. But having said that, the HTC One X also runs Ice Cream Sandwich and it has managed to tweak the code enough for there to not be a problem. Please Samsung – don't shut them out. Ice Cream Sandwich may be frozen – but we shouldn't be, so when you bring out the Jelly Bean or KeyLime Pie-powered Galaxy S4, let's get some support. Samsung Galaxy S4 accessories Samsung unveiled the SIII alongside a raft of accessories – the usual things like cases were complimented by the C-Pen (like the Note 2's S-Pen but smaller) and the dongle for connecting to your TV to stream stuff. The problem is, they're all so expensive: £20 for the C-Pen and the best part of £70 for the AllShare Dongle. They're not mainstream accessories – and little wonder. If Samsung made these cheaper – or even threw them into the box for the Galaxy S4 (highly unlikely, but we can dream) then it would make fora much happier customer. Perhaps a premium package where you spend a little more but get the accessories at the same time would work... people like to get the most out of things when they get their shiny new device. Better charging Plug it in and charge until it's full. That's always been the way. But we'd love to see a more advanced version of charging - ditching the wires should be more prevalent. Maybe something similar to the conductive methods used by Palm in the Pre which never really caught on. The idea being that you don't have to plug the phone in to charge, just place it on a particular mat or place and it does it automatically.The S3 has that functionality, but it's hardly been well-publicised since launch. The likes of Nokia with the Lumia 920 have been bangingon about the amazing world of wireless charging for ages now, with a range of accessories too. Given that it will all be based on the Qi wireless charging standard, we'll soon see reams of coffee shops and airports with these charging stations littered around - just don't forget to watch your phone. Or how about something really radical – like a battery that can also charge kinetically on the S4. Sure, it would be slow but wouldn't it be great if you could go for a run and manage to gain an extra 10 or 20% just by doing so to get you through the day? Radical – yes. But Samsung is known for its innovation. Improved speakers As beautiful and wonderful as the S3 is, the speaker still sounds tinny. Ringtones soundcheap and when it is on its back, they're also muffled. At least the iPhone has a bit of bass. But what about going a bit further? Have three or four powerful but small speakers around the rim so when you play music, it comes out loud and with a bit of bass. go on the beach.That'd be a real selling point.