Galaxy S4 is the latest superstar on the block
Thanks to the Carphone Warehouse, I got the chance to play with the latest, hottest smartphone before most other people.
The Galaxy S4 went on sale from midnight last night in the Carphone Warehouse on Patrick St in Cork and in Dundrum in Dublin. The retailer was given special permission to sell the handset ahead of the European launch today.
And lucky competition winners got to try the phone even earlier at a special ‘Lockdown’ event in both stores last night.
It looks great — slick, stylish, lightweight and packed with features. Although smaller and thinner than the S3, the S4 packs a larger battery, always good news for those of us used to struggling with an iPhone’s battery life. I am an avid iPhone fan but I loved the Galaxy S4.
Some commentators have hit out at the plasticky feel but it has such a great screen. You are instantly drawn to the 5-inch, SuperAMOLED, 1080p screen, which gives a staggeringly clear and crisp image.
The screen is bigger and wider than an iPhone 5 but still it’s remarkably light.
Some of the more “gimmicky” aspects are also some of the most fun. We now have a smartphone with a touchscreen you don’t even have to touch.
Using an infrared sensor and software, Samsung has added features like AirGesture. This allows you to wave your hand in front of the screen and move through your photos or through webpages.
You can also hover your finger over the screen when in certain apps and see additional information. There is also a Smart Scroll feature which when you tilt the phone up or down, it will scroll in that direction.
The Smart Pause feature lets the user control the device with their eyes, as crazy as that sounds. The phone will pause clips when no one is looking.
What really brings the Galaxy S4 to life is its camera. It has 13-megapixels — up from the 8-megapixels on the Galaxy S3.
The phone comes with 13 camera modes which allow you to shoot a video and take a picture at the same time. You can also use the front and rear cameras simultaneously to combine two images into one video or image. You can create animated photos and GIFs.
The real question is would a few hours playing with the Samsung Galaxy S4 enough to tempt me away from being an iPhone customer? Absolutely.
- Vodafone: Pay monthly: from free; Prepay €599;
- Meteor: Pay monthly: from €129; Prepay €659;
- Three: Pay monthly: from free; Prepay: €629;
- EMobile: Pay monthly: from €99; Prepay €659;
- O2: TBC.
- Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating system, 5in screen.
- Lighter and thinner than its older brother, the SIII, but still packs a battery that’s almost 25% larger.
- More energy-efficient processor and a new improved Super AMOLED display that requires less power.
- Dual camera — take pictures with both cameras at the same time.
- Dual Video Call allows user to show video chat companions both camera views.
- S Translator instantly translates voice or text, enabling foreign language phonecalls — this software feature knows nine languages and are all understood in both a text-to-speech capacity as well as a speech-to-text capacity.
- AirGesture — scroll through items without even touching the screen, just have to wave a hand over the screen.
- S Voice Drive — keep safe on the road by automatically converting text to voice when the phone connects to a car via Bluetooth.
- S Health, along with the various sensors built into the Galaxy S4, turns this smartphone into a fitness tracker.
