Samsung unveils Galaxy S IV

MANILA, Philippines - In a highly anticipated and widely watched online unveiling, Samsung Electronics unboxed last week in New York the fourth-generation Galaxy S, the S IV, the company’s flagship smartphone which boasts a highly crafted design encompassing a larger screen size and minimized bezel, all housed in a shape that’s lighter (130 grams) and slimmer (7.9 mm) than its predecessor, the Galaxy S III. At launch, two color options will be available  black mist and white frost, with a variety of additional color options to follow later this year.

“With the Galaxy S IV, Samsung is again going to enhance the way we live,” said JK Shin, president and head of the IT and Mobile Communications Division at Samsung.

“All the innovative features of Galaxy S IV were developed based on the insights and needs we found from our consumers all around the world. Following the successful Galaxy S series, this phone is yet another great proof of people-inspired innovation. At Samsung we will never stop pursuing innovation conceived by people, so we can inspire them in return,” Shin added.

The Galaxy S IV has the world’s first Full HD Super AMOLED display to showcase images at their very best. Its five-inch large screen has 441 ppi for stunning viewing quality.

The Galaxy S IV also utilizes Corning’s new Gorilla Glass 3, making it a durable travel companion for all of life’s adventures. 

Equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera, the Galaxy S IV also boasts a “Dual Camera” function that allows simultaneous use of both front and rear cameras. When capturing moments, you can choose from a variety of frame effects that blend the two pictures naturally and also adjust the size of the small picture inside the big one. You can select eight different ways to combine the two photos taken by the front and rear cameras.

At the same time, the “Dual Video Call” function enables you to make and receive a video call with friends and family while showing what you are looking at during the call. 

The camera functionality extends beyond Dual Camera, as the device is also equipped with 12 shooting modes including “Drama Shot,” which allows you to see all the action in one continuous time-lapse, and “Sound & Shot,” which uniquely stores sound and voice together as the picture is taken so those special moments are captured in the truest form imaginable, exactly as they happened. 

These meaningful moments can also now automatically be stored in a photo album with the new “Story Album” function. Photos taken by the Galaxy S IV are automatically gathered and sorted out according to your timeline, geo-tagging information, or a specific event to create a photo album. These unique story albums can be ordered and delivered as an offline photo album through a new partnership with Blurb.

With the S IV’s “Group Play” function, you can enjoy music, photos, documents and games with those around you without even requiring a Wi-Fi access point or cellular signal. This innovative feature enables you to connect directly with others to share, play and co-create content and entertainment instantly. Its “Share Music” option allows you to have the same song playing on multiple phones in sync to create the best party atmosphere. 

The Galaxy S IV makes international travel a joy, with the “S Translator” which provides instant translation, using text or voice translation on applications including e-mail, text message and ChatON. This instant translation is possible both from speech to text and text to speech and ensures that you can rely on the correct information while abroad.

The Galaxy S IV supports HSPA 42Mbps and 4G LTE. The LTE version supports up to six different band sets, allowing it to function in most LTE coverage areas as well as enabling global LTE roaming. TDD/FDD LTE Dual Mode version will be introduced later this year. 

The Galaxy S IV ensures that tasks are effortless with innovative features that detect your face, voice and motions to enable screen control with no need for finger touch activation. “Samsung Smart Pause” enables you to control the screen by where you look. When you are watching a video, the video pauses when you look away then it starts right up again when you are back. 

“Samsung Smart Scroll” allows you to scroll the browser or e-mails up and down without touching the screen. It recognizes your face looking at the screen and movement of your wrist and then scroll the pages up or down accordingly. 

“Air View” allows you to hover with their fingers to preview the content of an e-mail, S Planner, image gallery or video without having to open it. You can even see a magnified view on the Internet browser, or a phone number saved in the speed dial on the keypad. With “Air Gesture,” you can change the music track, scroll up and down a webpage, or accept a call with a wave of your hand.  

With the “S Voice Drive” you can activate commands via voice control for optimization when driving. Once connected with a car Bluetooth, the phone automatically turns into driving mode, converting text to speech so you can easily and safely check messages with no need to look at the screen. 

The “Samsung Optical Reader” automatically recognizes text, a business card or QR code information, and provides useful functions such as translation, call, text message and search.

At home, using “Samsung WatchON,” the Galaxy S IV will transform into an IR remote to control your home entertainment system, including TV, set-top box, DVD player and even air conditioner. In addition, you can enjoy various content, including live TV, cable TV and VOD, based on the rich information provided by the Electronic Program Guide (EPG). 

The Galaxy S IV’s combination of sensors built within the device systematically and automatically monitors your health, surroundings and so much more to help improve your quality of life. Also, users can easily check their health conditions using food diary, exercise diary and sleep monitor to stay fit and healthy.

The Samsung Galaxy S IV will start rolling out globally in the second quarter, with an April 26 Philippine launch date. Pricing is expected to be between P35,000 and P40,000.