Hasta La Gadget!

Sure, the Galaxy S 4 made its grand entrance at Radio City Music Hall today, but now it’s had a low-key meet-and-greet with the FCC for government approval. The version offered up to Uncle Sam carries a 850 / 1900 GSM radio, 3G connectivity through 850 / 1900 WCDMA frequencies and support for LTE Band 5. Since AT&T’s main LTE squeeze is Band 17, what we’re seeing here is an international version of Samsung’s flagship that can roam portions of Ma Bell’s and Magenta’s network when it sets foot in the US. Folks waiting for a GS4 outfitted for an American carrier will have to wait ’till at least the end of April, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for such a device visiting the FCC.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: FCC

Came in late and missed the live festivities as Samsung took the wraps off of its new Galaxy S 4? No problem — thanks to its livestream on YouTube, you can check out the unedited video stream right now in full, or just skip to your (least) favorite parts. There was a tapdancing kid, a host from a TV show you probably don’t watch and a dancing group of bridesmaids. No, seriously, that happened. There was also a new phone, so check out our event hub if you want to get straight to the details, or strap in and experience it all in video form, embedded after the break.

Update: Samsung has posted the edited video on YouTube, so now you can just press play.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Samsung Mobile (YouTube)

What’s a fancy new smartphone without accessories? Don’t ask the Galaxy S 4 — it’s already planning to augment its software tricks with scales, fitness bands and of course, the requisite screen cover. Samsung’s latest flagship won’t settle for a mere flip cover, however, its S View Cover features a window to the Galaxy S 4’s 5-inch Super AMOLED screen, allowing users to peek at the display and even answer calls without exposing their device. There’s goodies for the health conscious to buy, too: the jawbone-like S band and a Samsung branded body scale, both of which sync with the device’s S Health software. The device even has gamers covered, teasing a prototype gamepad with striking resemblance to the beloved Xbox 360 gamepad. Sammy didn’t mention when these accessories would hit the market (or at what price), but we’ll keep our ear to the ground for future details.

Check out our event hub for all the action from Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 event.

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Samsung is revealing what Smart software additions the Galaxy S 4 will bring to the table, and they’re well beyond what’s been rumored. The camera is one of the biggest focuses, borrowing much from the Galaxy Camera: Cinema Photo captures still images with moving backgrounds, a Drama Shot burst mode that creates animated GIFs, an Eraser mode to remove unwanted background subjects, and a Sound & Shot mode that puts audio in the background of still images. A Story Album automatically creates photo albums based on common details such as location and time. And did we mention that it can shoot photos and video from both the front and back cameras at the same time?

That’s just the start. AirView now works with your finger, rather than a pen, and is effective right from the lock screen. Adapt Display and Adapt Sound automatically tune the picture and speakers for varying viewing conditions, and WatchOn uses a built-in IR blaster to tune your TV. S Translate, meanwhile, will take both spoken and written words and translate them through several languages, inside of multiple apps. S Voice has been upgraded to S Voice Drive to let drivers get navigation, find points of interest and otherwise interact with the phone without having to take any hands off the wheel. S Health, which Samsung initially mentioned last year, is around to track calories and steps through accessories such as S band, a body scale and a heart rate monitor.

Like to do things that involve more than one person? There’s more still. ChatOn has been upgraded to support video chat, and Group Play both allows for sharing songs in a surround mode or playing local multiplayer games — when it’s supported, that is. All told, there’s a small deluge of new features that could amount to a lot, even excluding new hands-free elements like Smart Scroll. Check after the break for a quick preview video and the press release.

Check out our event hub for all the action from Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 event.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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You say you want a revolution? Too bad, because this Galaxy smartphone update is just that… an update. Samsung’s newly unveiled Galaxy S 4 is an incremental step up, an evolution less “inspired by nature” and more by last year’s GS III. Don’t believe us? Just take a look at the two handsets side by side to see the overtly obvious heritage. Samsung’s staying the course with the overall design language, though it’s expanded the screen size to five inches — now powered by a Full HD Super AMOLED display with 441 ppi (and yes, it’s still PenTile).

On the inside, it has a processor setup that we’re told will be either an Exynos 5 or Snapdragon depending on the region, along with 2GB of RAM, 16, 32 or 64GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2,600mAh battery. Starting to see the bigger picture here? Samsung had a good thing on its hands with the GS III and it’s not willing to compromise much of the tried-and-true with the GS 4. It will launch globally in Q2, with a stateside debut on T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular and Cricket. Until then, join us past the break for our detailed first impressions.

Check out our event hub for all the action from Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 event.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, Google

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