It isn’t often that I get to play with a phone or review one. I am not a phone reviewer, but a games reviewer. However, Phones4U sent me a Samsung Galaxy S4 before Christmas to play with and I thought it would be worth writing a few words about it – concentrating on the gaming aspects.
First off, some basic specs. The S4 is a big phone. At around 13cm tall and 7cm wide, it is considerably larger than the iPhone 5. Whilst this makes it a little tougher on the pocket, it does give rise to a glorious screen. The AMOLED screen pushes out 1080 x 1920 pixels. In comparison the iPhone 5S only has 640 x 1136 pixels – 441 pixels per inch vs iPhone’s 326 PPI.
All of this leads to the screen looking fantastic – a real boon for gaming. In fact the size helps with gaming in general. When you consider that many games require you to use virtual joy-pads on screen, the more real estate you have, the less your thumbs can cover! All of the games I tried had crisp clear graphics and vibrant colours.
The S4 packs a lot of punch with its Quad core, 1900 MHz processor and Adreno 320 graphics chip. More than enough to handle any Android games I could throw at it – and all of them looked great.
The size of the phone has another advantage, it feels nice in your hand. As it is pretty light and thing, you never tire of holding it. This does have a downside though, it feels a little flimsy – not anywhere near as solid as the iPhone feels.
As a gamer, I love this phone. The screen is big and bright and I can hold it comfortable for hours. The battery life is really good as well, so you can actually play for a few hours! Great for watching films, reading, playing and of course making calls – if you are looking for an alternative to the iPhone, look no further than the Galaxy 4S
Games Tested
- GTA: Vice City
- GTA: III
- Dead Trigger
- Candy Crush
- Angry Birds
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Full Spec
(From www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/smartphones/android/GT-I9505ZWABTU-spec)
Network/Bearer and Wireless Connectivity
| Infra | LTE 4G | |
|---|---|---|
| 2G | EDGE / GPRS (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz) | |
| 4G | LTE Cat 3 (800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600MHz) * Dependent on market | |
| 3G | HSPA+ (850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100MHz) | |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | |
Wi-Fi Direct | Yes | |
| Bluetooth Profiles | BT 4.0 (PBAP, A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP, OPP, SAP, HID, PAN, DI, MAP) | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| Connectivity Support | DLNA, MHL 2.0 | |
| PC Sync. | KIES, KIES Air |
OS
Android
Display
| Technology | FHD sAMOLED | |
|---|---|---|
| Colour Depth | 16M | |
| Size | 5″ | |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
Chipset
| CPU Type | Quad | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Speed | 1.9GHz |
Memory
16GB (User memory approximately 9GB)**
Camera
| Camera Resolution(Rear) | CMOS, 13MP | |
|---|---|---|
| Camera Resolution(Front) | CMOS, 2MP | |
| Flash | Power LED (1EA) | |
| Auto Focus | Yes |
Sensors
Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Gyro, RGB light, Barometer, Proximity, Gesture, Temperature & Humid
Physical Specification
| Dimension (HxWxD) | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 130g |
Colour
White Frost / Black Mist
Connectors
| USB | USB 2.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Earjack | 3.5mm | |
| External Memory Slot | MicroSD Slot (up to 64GB)*** | |
| SIM Support | Micro SIM (3FF) | |
| Connector | Micro USB (5V, 2A) | |
| MHL | Yes |
Battery
| Standard Battery | 2600mAh | |
|---|---|---|
| Internet Usage Time(3G) | Up to 8 Hrs | |
| Internet Usage Time(LTE) | Up to 8 Hrs | |
| Internet Usage Time(WI-FI) | Up to 10 Hrs | |
| Video Playback Time | Up to 11 Hrs | |
| Audio Playback Time | Up to 62 Hrs | |
| Talk Time(W-CDMA) | Up to 17 Hrs | |
| Standby Time(W-CDMA) | Up to 370 Hrs | |
| Standby Time(LTE) | Up to 320 Hrs |
Location
AGPS, GLONASS
Services and Applications
| Samsung Apps | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| Music Hub | Yes | |
| Readers Hub | Yes | |
| Game Hub | Yes | |
| ChatON, mFluent IM | ChatON | |
| ActiveSync | Yes |
Audio and Video
| Video Format | MPEG4, H.263, H.264, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7 / 8, Sorenson Spark, HEVC | |
|---|---|---|
| Video Resolution | Full HD (1080p) Video Playback | |
| Video Frame rate | 30fps | |
| Audio Format | MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB / WB, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X (Bluetooth) |
Silver Y Award