The following are my thoughts and comments made while watching the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch event video.
Be advised that I am an Apple fanboy. You’ve been warned.
– The opening remarks made me think that I was watching an boring awards show rather than a product launch from a major technology company.
Comments from JK Shin – President and Head, IT and Mobile Communications Division
– The Galaxy S4 was developed by “Innovation inspired by people” as opposed to….?
– Forget the famous S Pen, get ready for “S Heath”
– BlackBerry will be fuming that Samsung has ‘borrowed’ their idea for BlackBerry Balance and created Samsung Knox for separating personal/business applications and data
– “These ideas have been conceived from observations from real life.” And by real life, Samsung means Apple, the iPhone, and iOS.
– Life is a journey and the Galaxy S4 is a companion for that journey.
– The Galaxy S4 “is slimmer, lighter, and more solid” – ok, sure, but as compared to what?
– Galaxy S4 will launch on 327 mobile networks in 155 countries
– Galaxy S4 will begin shipping at the end of April in 3G and 4G LTE editions
– Look how big that white Galaxy S4 looks in the emcee’s hand!
Comments from Ryan Bidan – Director of Product Marketing
– Full 5″ display with 441ppi using Super AMOLED screen
– I find it interesting that while they are talking about wireless performance, there is a note at the bottom right side of the slide that reads: “All data in this presentation is based on internally measured standards.”
– 13MP back camera, 2MP front facing camera – Ok, that makes the iPhone’s 8MP camera seem wimpy
– 2GB ram, 16/32/64GB of storage, microSD slot for up to an additional 64GB
– Temperature & humidity and IR sensors join accelerometer, RGB light, digital compass, proximity, gyro, and barometer sensors
– Galaxy S4 will ship with a removable 2600mAh battery
– Dual Camera feature – picture/movie can include images from rear and front facing cameras simultaneously. Ok, that’s cool.
– Having flashbacks to Qualcomm’s “Born Mobile” CES 2013 keynote address during the Dual Camera feature demonstration
– Drama Shot can take 100 photos in 4 seconds and lets you pick the one(s) you want to keep
– Eraser allows you to take multiple pictures, blend them, and remove unwanted people who may wonder into the shot. Works on Does not work on real people like in-laws.
– S Translator is the voice translation feature that can be useful if you travel to places that don’t speak your native language.
– S Translator understands 9 languages (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish); 10 if you count US and UK English separately
– I’m a little embarrassed that Apple’s Siri can’t do this already
– Story Album is Samsung’s answer to Apple’s iPhoto and Cards
– Where have I seen that HomeSync cloud icon before?
– HomeSync is Samsung’s iCloud response. It comes with 1TB of storage space, vastly more than Apple’s 5GB of space for every iOS user.
– HomeSync can support up to 8 users and can be paired with a Galaxy S4 over NFC.
– HomeSync also has an Apple TV AirPlay-like feature.
– Why is no one laughing at these *amazing* jokes?!
– Smart Switch is a utility that will allow you to transfer all of your data “from almost any mobile operating system” to the Galaxy S4. Funny how that phone on the left side of the slide looks familiar.
– “Samsung Knox is designed for business and enterprise users. It locks your device down and keeps it safe from malicious applications.” Wow! That says A LOT about the state of Android. First you talk about who it’s for – That’s fine – and the next thing you say is that it will help protect you from all the malicious Android software?! Did Samsung forget they were in a room full of journalists and tech writers?
– Knox is built on top of security enhanced Android. At 36:54 minutes into a 55 minute presentation, this is the first and last time that Samsung mentions the Google Android operating system.
– Group Play will allow you to stream music to up to 8 Galaxy S4 phones simultaneously. Must be fun at parties.
– The Galaxy S4 can be used while wearing gloves!
– Works even better if the actress remembers to turn on the phone on first. It would be easier to see it in her gloved right hand if that super bright 4.99″ AMOLED screen was on.
– Air Gesture allows you to swipe your finger over the phone screen to scroll up/down, left/right
– Smart Scroll / Pause allows you to look away from your phone and have the video you are watching pause until you look back at the screen. Again, another cool feature. I wonder how much battery running the front facing camera while watching a 2-hour movie chews up.
– Would you buy an expensive smartphone from these guys?!