Galaxy S4 : All The New Things That Samsung's Latest Smart phone Can Do The Galaxy S4 (left) has picked up some new tricks ...
Galaxy S4 : All The New Things That Samsung's Latest Smart
phone Can Do
The Galaxy S4 (left) has picked up some new tricks that the
Galaxy S3 (right) just can't do. Here's all (or most!) of them. (HuffPost/Jason
Gilbert)
Samsung's Galaxy S4 boasts a bigger screen, better camera
and faster processor than its predecessor Galaxy S phones; it also ships with a
whole bunch of new features, which happened Thursday evening in New York. Here
is your unabridged and alphabetized version of every new feature -- or, at
least, the really important ones -- you'll get with Samsung's latest volley in
the smartphone wars:
Air Gestures: Refers to hand movements made above the
phone's display, without coming into contact with the display, that controls
the phone. Common gestures include waving your hand over the display to skip a
track or waving left and right to switch between open web pages in the browser.
These gestures only work with specific Samsung apps.
Air View: Like the stylus on the Galaxy Note 2, you can
hover over the display with your finger to view information about certain
pieces of content. For example, hovering your finger over an email shows you a
longer preview without opening the message; hovering your finger over a date on
the calendar shows you a quick view of what to expect on that day.
Drama Shot: Camera feature that shoots 12 photos at once and
shows you a time-lapse of all the action in those photos combined into one
picture.
Dual Camera: Activates both the rear camera and the front
camera, so that the photographer can superimpose himself or herself into the
subject of the photo. Samsung gave as an example someone watching football
superimposing himself or herself into the game.
Dual Video Call: While video-chatting with someone, you can
show them both your face and the view from your rear camera while you chat.
Group Play: Allows multiple Galaxy S4 owners in close
proximity to join a private network in which they can, among other things, play
a game.
S Health: New app that acts as a fitness tracker and food
diary. The Galaxy S4 has a built-in pedometer to count your steps, and you can
take photos of your meals each day to keep count of your calories and eating
habits. Samsung will also sell a fitness bracelet, a digital scale and fitness
belt to measure blood pressure, pulse, glucose levels and weight for those
interested.
S Translator: An app in which you can input any of 10
languages and receive a translation, either spoken or in text. Also works to
translate text on your email, text messages and a few other Samsung apps.
S Voice Drive: New hands-free function for drivers that allows
the driver to operate the phone with his or her voice.
Samsung Adapt Display: The Galaxy S4 "learns" what
you are viewing and adjusts the display's brightness accordingly. If the phone
senses you are reading an article, for example, it will illuminate from a more
muted brightness.
The first big
talking point for the SGS4 is that it has joined the 1080p brigade. The
first impressions are that it's a corker. At 5-inches, it’s fairly big
on the smartphone front, matching the Sony Xperia Z for pixel density at
440ppi.
Samsung Adapt Sound: Similar to Adapt Display, your audio
can adapt to the content you're listening to (video, music, etc.) and optimize
itself to that content.
Samsung Optical Reader: Camera feature that can snap a photo
of a business card and import that information into a new contact in your
phonebook. Was not working as of demo time, but Samsung reps assured me it
would be fixed by the time it shipped to consumers.
Samsung Smart Pause: When watching a video, the front camera
can sense when your eyes move away from the screen and pause the video
automatically if you aren't looking.
Samsung Smart Scroll: When you are reading an email or
article on the web, you can scroll up and down by tilting the device up and
down rather than swiping with your finger.
Samsung WatchON: A built-in IR sensor lets you control your
television set with your smartphone. Comes with a standard remote and a program
guide depending on your cable provider. Can also control certain cable boxes
and DVD players.
Share Music: When linked with Group Play, multiple Galaxy
S4s can work as surround sound speakers, all playing the same song at once.
Sound & Shot: Allows you to record up to nine seconds of
audio at the time of taking each photo.
Story Album: Templates that allow you to create a digital
photo journal or scrapbook from a certain event. You can also then order and
print out that story album for a fee.
*
So, what do you think? Do any of these jump out at you, or
are all of these destined to be unused features for Galaxy S4 owners? Fight it
out in the comments below. (And, in case you were wondering: A Samsung
spokeswoman told me that some of these features *might* be made available to
older Galaxy S phones but declined to name which features, or when).
COMMENTS