Samsung announces Galaxy S4 Zoom

[ugahairydawgs]

I really thought this was some sort of hold over April Fools joke at first glance.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/12/samsung-galaxy-s-4-zoom-announced/

I'm sure there's a market for this somewhere, but it escapes me for sure.

 

[TacticalDesire]

Another day, another Galaxy phone.

 

[eggas]

I really thought this was some sort of hold over April Fools joke at first glance.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/12/samsung-galaxy-s-4-zoom-announced/

I'm sure there's a market for this somewhere, but it escapes me for sure.

options are good, the more customers have options; the better (to a certain extent ofc)

personally I dont understand this since there is already a galaxy camera (yes I know they are different and the zoom is slimmer etc) I don't see this being a success but choice is always great. There is a **** load off different galaxy phones now so it's confusing for the customers that don't want to buy the 'traditional' flagships (Galaxy S and Note series)

 

[kat.hayes]

I'm using a Note2 and could not go back to a smaller screen, though if this Zoom phone came in the size of a Note2 I'd buy it. I take pictures and videos ALL the time and if my phone had a better lens/zoom it would be amazing. I also have a Canon 5dM3 and a handheld video cam, though I can not take those with me wherever I go, a Zoom camera/phone I could...

 

[F123D]

This could be a good situational phone like going on vacation where you'd probably be carrying a separate phone and camera but it I don't see it as an everyday device.

 

[TacticalDesire]

This could be a good situational phone like going on vacation where you'd probably be carrying a separate phone and camera but it I don't see it as an everyday device.

Yeah. I guess if you travel and take lots of pictures it would be a nice phone. But I couldn't see pulling this in and out of my pocket all day to check emails, messages and what not.

 

[0000757]

Uhhhh

what the heck am I looking at?

 

[otismotive77]

great phone, great innovation, who knew that we would see a phone with an optical zooming lens, but i think it too thick and bulky, not for me.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

When I first heard about this, I was hoping for 10x optical zoom without the huge lens. Stupid me.

 

[McCool71]

great phone, great innovation, who knew that we would see a phone with an optical zooming lens.

I agree - I think this is a great move from Samsung.

In a few years the ability to do quick adjustments and upload directly from the camera without having wi-fi access (or having to drag along a portable pc or iPad in addition to the camera gear) will no doubt be more or less a standard feature on most cameras.

Something that adds a bit of bulk to a phone will clearly appeal to those who either want way better photos (the photo sensor in this is huge compared to regular cell phone sensors - it has the same size as most mid-range compact cameras) or those who already bring along a small camera in addition to their phone.

Love the idea

 

[sentinelsx]

Finally a camera which can upload photos instantly without worrying about portable hotspots, connecting to a tablet/phone, or some other work around.

I hope Samsung or Nokia figures out a way to make that lens a bit smaller next time while keeping the zoom and image quality.

 

[Dolorian]

Meh, don't like it. I find the design lazy and uninspired. They basically stuck a lens into an S3/4

 

[ucfgrad93]

Ugh, that would be like carrying a brick around.

 

[daneoni]

808 Pureview is still better

 

[b166er]

Cool idea, and someone had to do it first I guess... but it's just too clunky. Most people don't really "need" more power from a camera than what the current flagships phones currently offer anyway.

But I think it's cool- eventually the lines will really blur and we'll have some really nice mid-high end point and shoot features on our phones in time.

 

[sentinelsx]

Cool idea, and someone had to do it first I guess... but it's just too clunky. Most people don't really "need" more power from a camera than what the current flagships phones currently offer anyway.

But I think it's cool- eventually the lines will really blur and we'll have some really nice mid-high end point and shoot features on our phones in time.

Well, if you have to take a point and shoot or better camera continously out with you, I would say you would "need" this for sure.

Even my iPhone 5 lags behind my 2010 era Sony cyber shot. Phones aren't there yet, and Samsung and Nokia pushing these limits is a welcome change.

----------

808 Pureview is still better

Hopefully it makes it to a Lumia soon. Nokia just needs to let people know that they actually exist in North America too. They are still a no name in many places sadly

 

[Peterg2]

- snip -

Hopefully it makes it to a Lumia soon. Nokia just needs to let people know that they actually exist in North America too. They are still a no name in many places sadly

Most of this can be laid at the feet of Microsoft. Nokia, for better or worse, threw their hat in with Microsoft and, while I like the look and smoothness of Windows Phone 8, the lack of features and seemingly glacial pace of development by Microsoft shocks me. They were late to the party but they did show they were not *that* late with the release of Windows Phone 7 over 3 years ago.

I appreciate that Windows Phone 8 is based on the NT kernel as opposed to Phone 7 and its CE base but with all their massive resources they should have been further ahead by now.

 

[cualexander]

Samsung just keeps cranking out the Galaxy devices like mad. I don't understand this one personally, I could see its niche uses, but seems way too unwieldy for a normal smartphone. I think that expecting a smartphone to be as good as a dedicated camera is a mistake. And if you really think about it, if you are trying to focus on taking a quality image, do you really want a text message popping up during the middle of your photo shooting? No thanks.

 

[Peterg2]

Samsung just keeps cranking out the Galaxy devices like mad. I don't understand this one personally, I could see its niche uses, but seems way too unwieldy for a normal smartphone. I think that expecting a smartphone to be as good as a dedicated camera is a mistake. And if you really think about it, if you are trying to focus on taking a quality image, do you really want a text message popping up during the middle of your photo shooting? No thanks.

I would guess that Samsung's goal has been to produce as many different devices at all price points, including the high end, in order to bury its Android competition and really bring the battle to Apple.

With such an avalanche, with press releases here and there, commercials etc, single devices from others like HTC, Sony etc simply get lost in the noise.

 

[sentinelsx]

Samsung just keeps cranking out the Galaxy devices like mad. I don't understand this one personally, I could see its niche uses, but seems way too unwieldy for a normal smartphone. I think that expecting a smartphone to be as good as a dedicated camera is a mistake. And if you really think about it, if you are trying to focus on taking a quality image, do you really want a text message popping up during the middle of your photo shooting? No thanks.

Text messages don't pop up on stock Samsung devices. . Do your research before you make these superfluous claims.

I would take the thickness happily instead of lugging two separate devices. Just like my iPhone killed my usage of MP3 players and iPod nanos that I had. Consolidation is awesome.

 

[cualexander]

Text messages don't pop up on stock Samsung devices. . Do your research before you make these superfluous claims.

I would take the thickness happily instead of lugging two separate devices. Just like my iPhone killed my usage of MP3 players and iPod nanos that I had. Consolidation is awesome.

I disagree on the consolidation part. My iPod classic is still the best device when I want access to my whole music collection and no distractions. There isn't a touch screen out there that can hold everything and the cloud streaming gobbles up data and doesn't work in areas of bad coverage. Plus the battery life on my iPod classic slaughters everything else. I think consolidation is forcing us to multitask too much.

 

[Dr McKay]

This could be a great device for people who are willing to put up with the bulk on the back for better photos.

Most devices are a matter of balancing the pros and cons together and see if one pile outweighs the other.

 

[sentinelsx]

I disagree on the consolidation part. My iPod classic is still the best device when I want access to my whole music collection and no distractions. There isn't a touch screen out there that can hold everything and the cloud streaming gobbles up data and doesn't work in areas of bad coverage. Plus the battery life on my iPod classic slaughters everything else. I think consolidation is forcing us to multitask too much.

Hmm, the classic is certainly a great device to hold tons of media.

But my paltry 7gb song collection fits nicely on my phone so I guess I feel kinda liberated from the two device management.

I am not a fan of cloud either.

 

[Sylon]

So instead of your runofthemill camera-phone, this thing is a phone-camera? I'm not knocking it, I think it's a pretty neat innovation. But when it comes to everyday use, that thing has to be pretty rough. Big, bulky, probably weighs a ton compared to other smartphones. The photo quality better be epic.

 

[TacticalDesire]

I'd love to take a phone call on one of these....