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Samsung plans to introduce a spruced up version of the Galaxy S4 called the Galaxy S4 LTE - Advanced according to Sammobile and other sources.  The 'advanced' version of Samsung's flagship will be introduced alongside the Galaxy S4 Mini as well as the Galaxy Zoom.   It will feature advanced LTE capabilities and be the first phone to run on Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 800 SOC running at 2.265GHz.   The Snapdragon 800


In other words this will be one monster of a phone performance-wize.  There's no word on pricing or if the phone will differ physically from the standard S4.  A benchmark shown above was detected showing the phone being tested.  Other specs leaked are that it will have an Adreno 330 GPU and a 2600mAh battery.

Want to make your already cool Galaxy S4 even cooler?  Well then you might want to snap up a couple of wireless charging accessories that have just been made available and you'll never have to plug in your phone again.  You have two accessor options...that work either separately or together, although most will probably pick up both.  The first is the Wireless Charging Pad which is compatible with all Qi compatible phones.  It runs $49.99 and has a LED light that turns green if your phone is property charging when placed on it or yellow if not. 

Now this pad will work with any Qi equipped phone and if you want that phone to be your Galaxy S4 then you'll want to pick up the second accessory just made available...the Galaxy S4 Wireless Battery Cover.  Costing $39.99 the cover replaces the one on your S4 and enables your phone to be charged on any Qi charing pad...tada...just like the one I just mentioned!  Now the cover comes in both black and white to match your S4 and of course you can pick up both accessories together for $90. 

Samsung just made their official announcement of the Galaxy S4 Active, the ruggedized version of their flagship.  Tech specs are surprisingly robust for an 'active' model with 'mostly' the same internals as the standard S4.  It features a 5 inch 1080p display, 1.9 GHz quad core processor (rumored to be the Snapdragon 600), 8mp back camera with flash and front 2mp camera.  The S4 Active features IP67 water resistance and dust protection which means you can take it underwater up to 3 feet for 30 minutes.  The camera features new modes for underwater photo shooting as well.  There's more in the official PR as well.  Pricing is still unknown but we should see it in stores (probably AT&T first) by the end of summer.

Samsung Introduces the GALAXY S4 Active : The Perfect Companion for Exploration, Activity and Adventure

GALAXY S4 Active lets users focus on living life to the fullest by providing a rich experience without the fear of damage from outdoor elements

SEOUL, Korea 17:00 KST - June 5, 2013 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in mobile technology and digital solutions, today announced the GALAXY S4 Active, designed to enhance life experiences of the active user who wants to stay connected while exploring environments from the most rugged mountain trails to the roughest rivers.

"The GALAXY S4 Active is the newest addition to the GALAXY series and is purposefully designed for active users who love the outdoors," said JK Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung has taken the innovative features of the GALAXY S4 and added breakthrough protective design elements to create a device that thrives in an active environment and is built for a lifestyle of travel and exploration."

Maximizing Durability

Recognizing the demands of a dynamic lifestyle, the GALAXY S4 Active was engineered to keep active users connected as they explore and experience the world around them.

The GALAXY S4 Active has qualified protection from dust and water (IP67＊), so you never have to leave the device at home during a long day at the beach or dusty hike. The fully sealed design keeps dust particles out and protects against water damage for up to 30 minutes of submergence at a depth of one meter. Equipped with a water-resistant earphone jack, the GALAXY S4 Active frees you to use earphones in more adventurous conditions, in the same way you've used them in normal ones. Whether capturing every moment of a wild rafting trip or taking a great underwater photo in the pool, the device's unique construction lets users capture amazing moments previously impossible using a normal smartphone.

(＊ IP stands for International Protection against ingress of solid foreign objects and harmful ingress of water. The highest level is IP68,)

Explore Longer with Powerful Performance

An active lifestyle requires plenty of energy, and the GALAXY S4 Active offers a long-lasting and powerful user experience.

Featuring a 1.9 GHZ Quad-Core processor and 2,600mAh battery, the GALAXY S4 Active can handle the most intensive tasks with ease and precision. Striking color and stunning resolution on the device's beautiful 5.0'' Full HD TFT LCD screen (443 PPI) makes playing the newest games or watching hours of video easy on the eyes. And with 'Glove Touch', cold weather is no longer a problem since the touchscreen can be fully operated while wearing gloves.

With an 8-megapixel rear camera, users can easily share their vivid experiences while on the go. Unique to the GALAXY S4 Active camera, 'Aqua Mode' can be used to increase visual quality and clarity for enhanced underwater images and video. The volume key located on the side of the device can be used as a camera key, allowing users to easily and quickly open the camera application to capture photo and video the moment it happens. Additionally, the camera transforms into a powerful LED flash light to assist in low-light and nighttime activities with a simple long press of the volume key.

Richer & Fuller Life Experience

The GALAXY S4 Active is designed with a seamless interface that incorporates popular features of the GALAXY S4.

'S Travel (Trip Advisor)' offers travel assistance, local information, and recommendations to provide a more seamless experience in an unfamiliar environment. 'S Translator' makes international travel easy by providing instant text or voice translation for emails and text messages.

The camera interface is designed to make capturing and sharing meaningful moments intuitive and more engaging with multiple shooting modes including 'Drama Shot', which allows users to see all the action in one continuous time-lapse, and 'Sound & Shot', which uniquely stores sound and voice together with the image to capture the moment in an immersive visual/audio format. With 'Story Album', photos taken with the GALAXY S4 Active are collected and sorted according to a user's timeline, geo-tagging information or a specific event to instantly create an organized photo album. To help facilitate sharing, users can also use the 'Group Play' function to enjoy music, photos, documents and games together and across various devices including GALAXY S4, GALAXY S4 mini, GALAXY Mega 6.3 and GALAXY Mega 5.8.

'Samsung Smart Pause' enables users to control of the screen using optical cues. While watching a video, the video pauses when you look away and starts right up again when returning to view, saving vital battery life and time spent rewinding. 'Air View' lets you preview the content of an email by simply hovering your fingers over the screen, which saves time and data. With 'Air Gesture', you can change the music track, scroll up and down on a web page, or accept a call with a simple wave of the hand. Additionally, 'S Health' helps you keep track of your personal health statistics. When paired with the S Health Accessory, you can monitor your heart rate, weight, sleep pattern and other personal measurements to assist in a healthy lifestyle.

Enhanced Content and Services

The GALAXY S4 Active also offers competitive content and services to provide a seamless mobile experience anytime and anywhere.

Using the 'Samsung Hub', users can access music, videos, books, games and engaging educational content. With a beautiful magazine-style interface, users can browse a variety of content across services, as well as purchase and manage their content easily with a single Samsung Account. Users can also control their TV through Samsung WatchON's IR remote, which transforms the GALAXY S4 Active into a remote control for TVs, set-top boxes, and DVD players. Through 'Samsung WatchON', the GALAXY S4 Active also offers a broad selection of entertainment content including live TV, cable TV and video on demand, facilitated by the rich digital context provided by Samsung's EPG (Electronic Program Guide) system. 'ChatON', another unique feature, connects and facilitates group chats, media sharing and interacting in creative new ways using pictures, hand drawings or figures across mobile devices. Further enhancing the device's sharing capabilities, users can use 'Samsung Link' to share and sync content across multiple Samsung digital devices.

The GALAXY S4 Active will be available for purchase beginning this summer, with initial retail in the U.S. and Europe. It will be offered in three different color options: Urban Grey, Dive Blue and Orange Flare. Specific availability will vary depending on the market.

Media requests and invited partners will be offered hands-on demonstrations with the GALAXY S4 Active at the Samsung Premiere 2013 GALAXY & ATIV in London on Thursday, June 20th.

So you want an unlocked international version of the Galaxy S4 GSM model so you can use it with your choice of carrier but you don't want to plunk down between $700-$800 dollars to get one?  Well this deal might be for you.  There's a limited quantity of Galaxy S4 unlocked GSM phones with 16GB of ram and your choice of white or black for sale on ebay right now...at the link below.  They only have a limited quantity and once they're gone...that's it.  Keep in mind though that this is the international version so make sure it works on your carrier before purchasing.  It won't work on standard US carriers that require LTE like Verizon or Sprint.  But if you do your homework and you have a carrier that works with it...this is a heck of a deal. 

While the official announcement of the Galaxy S4 Mini just came out last night, UK retailer '3' has already gotten their hands on one and have made the above video promo showing some good close up shots of the Mini as well as going through most of the main features.  '3' spokesperson Brandon points out that the S4 Mini takes most of the best features of the flagship S4 and puts them in a smaller, easier to hold package.   We also see the 'Mini' stacked up against both the S4 and the Galaxy Mega 6.3 to see how it fits in the Galaxy family. 


Three.co.uk

Just yesterday Samsung announced a special event it titled 'Samsung Premiere 2013' and with 'GALAXY' and 'ATIV' on the cover.  It is expected that the company will be making several new hardware introductions including some Android Galaxy devices as well as some Windows Phone based ATIV devices.  The Galaxy S4 Mini is widely believed to be one of the devices that will be shown so get ready for June 20th as it's just around the corner.

Now quite a bit of leaked info about the Galaxy S4 Mini has made its way onto the web over the past few weeks.  Like the Galaxy S3 before it, the company is looking to release a similar devices that is smaller in size and slightly less powerful along with a diminished size factor for those looking for something a little more purse worthy.  Specs of the S4 Mini are rumored to include a qHD Super Amoled 540x960 256ppi display, a BIG.little 1.6GHz dual core Exynos 5210 processor, 1GB of internal and 32GB user ram, 8mp camera and 2,100mAh battery.  The design is expected to be consistent with a scaled down full sized S4.  Along with the S4 Mini, other rumors have the company possibly introducing a Galaxy S4 Active and Galaxy S4 Zoom

Could you stare down a Galaxy S4 for 60 minutes straight without blinking in order to win a free S4?  Well that's what took place in Zurich's main terminal if a video promotion above is to be believed.  Taking place on May 16th we see a bevy of willing participants fend off all kinds of distractions including an arguing couple, flirtatious models, remote control cars crashing into our feet, motorcycles driving around and more.   Now participants that didn't last the full 60 minutes did seem to get some kind of consolation prize but the grand prize winner walked off with his own S4...and a celebration worthy of a birthday.  The S4 of course features eye tracking technology for it's eye scrolling feature and this is a great way to promote it.  Think you're up to the challenge?  We wouldn't be surprised if the S4 staredown comes to a city near you....


Samsung Stare down Zurich