News - Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy S4 mini and Galaxy S4 Activ

[HEXUS]

Are all due this summer according to Samsung schedule leaks.

Read more.

[kalniel]

At last, some minor shrinkage!

[Tact.X]

Why don't they put a 720p display on the zoom and make it more appealing to consumers. I think some customers will choose a better camera in exchange for a smaller, lower res screen that still has good ppi...

[kalniel]

Why don't they put a 720p display on the zoom and make it more appealing to consumers. I think some customers will choose a better camera in exchange for a smaller, lower res screen that still has good ppi...

They've put a 540 display on, so they've kind of done what you suggest. 720 is very high res for a 4.3inch screen.

[crossy]

This device is thought to be a camera-centric S4 featuring a 16MP camera, using the same sensor as the S4 but also a 10x optical zoom facility. It will be a little bit more pocketable than the regular Galaxy S4 as it is equipped with a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. Other features of the S4 Zoom are said to include a 1.6GHz dual-core processor

I saw "optical zoom" and though "woo-hoo an S3 spec but with proper optics - YES". But 'merely' dual-core and - more especially - that smaller screen marks it down as "not interesting" to me. An "S3 Zoom" - i.e. an S3 spec modified with the new optics would suit me fine.

Although I'm not rushing out to buy any of these new devices maybe Samsung's move will persuade other folks (cough, cough, ... like Nokia!) to also put optical zoom on their smartphones.

[naturbo2000]

They've put a 540 display on, so they've kind of done what you suggest. 720 is very high res for a 4.3inch screen.

Meh. I don't want a 5" screen (around 4 is nice). I do want better than 960x540. And whilst you're at it, why can't I have quad core?

Why are high end phones tied into large screen size?

FWIW - qHD on a 4" is 275dpi. 720p on a 4" is 367dpi (and 342dpi on a 4.3"). 1080p on 5" is 440dpi!

Steve Job's claim is that 300dpi is the most you can resolve at 10-12 inches, so the S4 _should_ be an expensive irrelevance. I'm not sure I agree, _but_ you cannot argue that 1080p is OK on a 5" screen and that 720p is too high for 4.3" screen.

I currently have a GS2, so I see little point in upgrading given I don't want the increase in screen size all high-end phones currently have. I've had a dual core and 800x480 for more than 2 years and there's nothing better to replace it with for the size...

[kalniel]

You're right, 1080p is not OK for a 5" screen, but then some people buy on numbers rather than sensibilities.

I've been highly amused by the terms that are emerging these days. Apparently I no longer own a battered old nokia from the dark ages, it's now a 'feature phone' On the plus side, when Samsung make a phone that I can use for a month without charging I'll take more notice perhaps

[Biscuit]

Why does it matter if its only a dual core? have Android apps magically started to properly utilize these multicore devices?

I don't even do much on my phone since i got my N7, if it can make calls, browse the web and run basic apps like bbc sport, im happy.

I might have to have a peek at this 960x540 screen to see if it suits me, i still think that, whilst overkill, we should be seeing 720p at this size.

[kingpotnoodle]

I gotta say I think Samsung muddy the S4 brand by releasing these less powerful feature models. They should do an S4 in multiple screen/battery sizes with otherwise near identical innards. If the chassis becomes to small for the TDP of the CPU then it should have a different name, just S-Mini or something. A lot of people are going to think they got a small S4 or and S4 with zoom and they very clearly haven't got anything
nearly as powerful.

[3dcandy]

I gotta say I think Samsung muddy the S4 brand by releasing these less powerful feature models. They should do an S4 in multiple screen/battery sizes with otherwise near identical innards. If the chassis becomes to small for the TDP of the CPU then it should have a different name, just S-Mini or something. A lot of people are going to think they got a small S4 or and S4 with zoom and they very clearly haven't got anything
nearly as powerful.

And what makes you think that people don't want to have the allure of the S4 branding and paying less? Works both ways...

[Gunbuster]

They've put a 540 display on, so they've kind of done what you suggest. 720 is very high res for a 4.3inch screen.

Well with Pentile displays I'd prefer that density. Looks good on my Acer Cloudmobile.