Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

[blairharrington]

Think this phone deserves its own thread. The short answer is that this is the S4 but a few important differences.

* Water/dust resistant (IP67-certified)

* TFT LCD panel

* Heavier (21 grams exactly)

* 3 physical navigation buttons

* 8 MP camera instead of S4's 13 MP

Rumored release date of June 21 on AT&T. Personally I really like everything about the S4 except for the OLED panel. I would have preferred the light weight of the S4 however you also gain water resistance which is nice for myself, a frequent beach visitor in the summer. I also like the idea of supporting OEM's that are making water resistant smartphones.

I'll be demoing when it arrives at AT&T.

 

[creation portal]

gReat may be it's arrived in the store , i was insearch of a mobile with dust and water resistance is it full proof by the way

 

[WelshBloke]

gReat may be it's arrived in the store , i was insearch of a mobile with dust and water resistance is it full proof by the way

IP67 is the highest rating against dust and is one down from fully waterproof.

Link

Is not perfect but is probably as good as you're going to get in a phone.

Its going to be interesting to see what their warranty is against water damage for these phones.

 

[WelshBloke]

I have to say I'm not totally convinced by the method they have of attaching the back. Its the same as all the other Galaxy phones (with a waterproof seal), I was imagining something a bit more robust.

 

[zerogear]

I have to say I'm not totally convinced by the method they have of attaching the back. Its the same as all the other Galaxy phones (with a waterproof seal), I was imagining something a bit more robust.

That thing looks like if I dropped it and if it hits something on the way into water, the back would pop off, then it would drop into the water with the back fully exposed.

 

[WelshBloke]

That thing looks like if I dropped it and if it hits something on the way into water, the back would pop off, then it would drop into the water with the back fully exposed.

Yep.

Also if you bump it during the day and the back is slightly dislodged don't go doing any tricks with your pint to impress your mates.

I still kind of want it though.

 

[Dulanic]

Holy crap did that thread title throw me off for a bit... It took me a few minutes to realize Active is the damn phone name. Back to the horrible names again?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Curious, is the camera just the GS3 camera? Wondering how much we sacrifice in going to this camera.

Before all the MP wars complainers come in saying that MPs don't matter, the GS4 camera is definitely better than the GS3 camera. But we need to know what kind of 8MP sensor we have in here. If it's the same garbage in the Nexus 4, forget it. If it's the GS3 sensor, great.

 

[WelshBloke]

Curious, is the camera just the GS3 camera? Wondering how much we sacrifice in going to this camera.

Before all the MP wars complainers come in saying that MPs don't matter, the GS4 camera is definitely better than the GS3 camera. But we need to know what kind of 8MP sensor we have in here. If it's the same garbage in the Nexus 4, forget it. If it's the GS3 sensor, great.

I think it's the S3 sensor, can't find where I read that though.

 

[R0H1T]

What a surprise yet another S4 *yawns* what next S4 inactive

 

[WelshBloke]

What a surprise yet another S4 *yawns* what next S4 inactive

What's the problem? You don't have to buy one or even read the thread.

Its also different enough to be interesting. Hopefully it will start a trend to make all phones more water and dust resistant.

I cant see this as anything other than a good thing.

 

[podspi]

When are the shock proof phones coming out? Probably the most useful application of flexible displays.

Going from what I've seen on eBay, I'm sure somebody will still manage to destroy a flexible screen though...

 

[waggy]

pft.

let me know when they get lawn mower proof ones!

 

[Dari]

What's the problem? You don't have to buy one or even read the thread.

Its also different enough to be interesting. Hopefully it will start a trend to make all phones more water and dust resistant.

I cant see this as anything other than a good thing.

Virtually all phones made for the Japanese market are water and dust resistant. Not sure why it took so long for OEMs to realize that others would enjoy these features...

 

[Dunkman04]

As long as the camera is usable I'd trade a lot to get a TFT LCD screen (love my GS4 so far except for the screen obviously). Unfortunately I have to use Verizon (work takes me through rural areas frequently) so this will probably be out around Christmas.

 

[WelshBloke]

As long as the camera is usable...

Unless they eff it up in a Sony way it should be as good as the S3 one which is pretty good.

 

[R0H1T]

What's the problem? You don't have to buy one or even read the thread.

Don't worry I won't be buying an S4 or any of its variants anytime soon, not because I'm an iFan but more due to the fact that I don't need a replacement for my phone atm, but that doesn't stop me from calling Samsung's naming scheme as stupid !

Its also different enough to be interesting. Hopefully it will start a trend to make all phones more water and dust resistant.

I cant see this as anything other than a good thing.

I'm sure adding a 41mp cam(different enough for you ?) would make it S4 superactive & people would still buy it, the point being why name them S4 whatever

 

[WelshBloke]

... the point being why name them S4 whatever

Because it is pretty much an S4.

What would you like them to call it?

 

[jiffylube1024]

Curious, is the camera just the GS3 camera? Wondering how much we sacrifice in going to this camera.

Before all the MP wars complainers come in saying that MPs don't matter, the GS4 camera is definitely better than the GS3 camera. But we need to know what kind of 8MP sensor we have in here. If it's the same garbage in the Nexus 4, forget it. If it's the GS3 sensor, great.

No I think it's a smaller version of the S4 sensor, since they mentioned that they had to make the camera module a bit thinner on the S4 active to accommodate the waterproofyness.

I was under the impresion that it's got 1.1 micron pixels, just like the S4, but only 8MP total, rather than 13MP on the regular S4 (ie. a smaller sensor overall).

 

[blairharrington]

Saw a Galaxy Note 8.0 in person today. TFT LCD panel it uses is much nicer, IMO, than the OLED one on the S4. I am extremely excited to see the Active in person when it hits AT&T.

 

[blairharrington]

YouTube teaser. AT&T will announce it tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1tCDxqS2Y&feature=player_embedded

 

[gorcorps]

Guess I'm the only one who considers the lack of oled a negative.

 

[WelshBloke]

Guess I'm the only one who considers the lack of oled a negative.

I'd rather it had OLED as well but I'll reserve judgement until I see one.

 

[leper84]

When are the shock proof phones coming out? Probably the most useful application of flexible displays.

Going from what I've seen on eBay, I'm sure somebody will still manage to destroy a flexible screen though...

This. I want a smart phone I can drop from waist height onto concrete without breaking glass. I'd even say if Samsung made galaxy that came with a shock/shatter proof display, but only used the dual core from the s3 I'd be more than happy to even pay a small premium on top of current s4 prices.

 

[Germanic]

I read that the Galaxy S4 Active has a 1080p TFT display very similar to the Apple iPhone 5.

If that's true, it's not really a disadvantage to AMOLED.

I sometimes prefer AMOLED and sometimes prefer TFT.