The Korean tech giant’s Galaxy S4 zoom aims to offer users an enhanced camera experience as found on compact cameras and blends this with the communication and feature-rich app experience delivered via smartphones.

The smartphone/camera contains a 16 MP BSI (backside illuminated) CMOS sensor with 24-240 mm (f3.1-f6.3) lens, a 10x optical zoom and Xenon flash. The S4 zoom will also feature enhanced SMART camera modes, OIS (optical image stabilisation), and a dedicated zoom ring that amongst others can be used to a launch an in-call photo sharing option or switch between the various camera modes.

Why do you need the Galaxy zoom?

JK Shin, head of the IT and Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics made the case for the existence of his company’s latest smartphone stating: “As communication continues to become increasingly visual in nature, people wish to capture and share their moments in the highest quality possible, but often do not have the space or inclination to carry a dedicated camera for this purpose.”

“The Galaxy S4 zoom changes this forever, combining the industry leading functionality and connectivity of the Galaxy S4 with the high quality photographic experience you’d expect from a compact camera. The result is truly the best of both worlds, without compromise,” Shin concluded.

Other features

Photos can be reviewed on the smartphone’s 4.3" qHD (540 x 960) Super AMOLED screen, with users having access 5 GB storage (of the total 8 GB internal memory available) to store their photos, apps and other content. This can be expanded via the device’s microSD memory card slot that supports cards up to 64 GB in size.

Also onboard is a decently sized 2330 mAh battery, LTE (4G) connectivity, Wi-Fi 802.11 n, NFC (near field communication technology), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with aGPS and GLONASS.

CPU and design

Powering the camera phone is a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor (make not specified), which is coupled with 1.5 GB RAM just as on the Galaxy Mega duo. Samsung added that CPU selection will differ from market to market. Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) runs the mobile operating show along with Samsung’s TouchWiz skin.

As with the Mini, the S4 zoom is a not as tall (125.5 mm vs 136.6 mm) or wide (63.5 mm vs 69.8 mm) as the Galaxy S4 (review), but does come in a far bit thicker (15.4 mm vs 7.9 mm) and heavier (208 g vs 130 g) due to its large rear-facing snapper.  

To the point

We definitely feel that the Galaxy S4 zoom has the potential to make a bigger splash in the camera phone market compared to Nokia’s 808 PureView. Since the 808 was Nokia’s final Symbian-powered phone, it offered little in the way of an enhanced smartphone experience.

The Jelly Bean running zoom by comparison has the superior Google Play app front and its large selection of camera focussed apps behind it, as well as a fairly decent (at least in smartphone terms) camera at the back.

Samsung now has a camera with smartphone features (Android) as seen in the Galaxy Camera, as well as a smartphone with compact camera functionality in the new Galaxy S4 zoom.

No local release info is available yet. The cameraphone should start shipping to Europe and the US during Q4 2013.

In related news, Samsung also recently announced new tablets in the form of its Galaxy Tab 3 series, which comes in 10.1" and 8" form factors.