Just when you thought the Samsung Galaxy S4 had no more room to innovate, the company announced a forth addition to the family on Wednesday. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is the photographer's camera, sporting a 16-megapixel camera and a 10x optical zoom.
The Galaxy Zoom joins the Galaxy S4 standard, the Galaxy S4 Active and the Galaxy S4 Mini in the line of Samsung smartphones. The Zoom looks like a combination of the Galaxy S4 Mini and the Galaxy Camera. On one side is the familiar Android interface and on the other is the camera, complete with CMOS sensor, an optical image stabilizer and Xeon flash, according to a statement from Samsung.
The S4 Zoom, like the Mini includes a 4.3-inch, 960-by-560 display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor and operates on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
One of the best features Samsung promises the Zoom Ring, which people can twist while on a call and activate an in-call photo sharing system. In other words, if you're in contact with a friend and see a street performer, you can take a picture and send it to that friend without even breaking the call. In addition, PC Mag reports the Zoom Ring will provide access to Quick Launch and Shortcut features that will allow the user to instantly access Auto Gallery and Smart Mode.
A new feature to the S4 Zoom is "Photo Suggest," which will connect users to a library of public images taken by other users. Most impressively, it will direct whoever is using it to a better vantage point if he or she is at a popular photo-taking destination.
Like the standard Galaxy S4, a number of the camera's features are still the same. For example, the S4 Zoom still has Drama Shot, which merges continuous shots of moving objects into one. Also joining the S4 Zoom show is the Action Freeze feature, which captures high-speed moments.
For photographers who want copies of their best photographs, Samsung is partnering with blurb.
