New / Unused Samsung Galaxy S4 Black

Talktime Up to 17 h (3G)

Standby Up to 370 h (3G)

Size 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm

Weight 130 g

Display 4.99 inch Super AMOLED HD

Display Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels

Frequency Quad Band

Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS

Camera 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

Music MP3, WAV, eAAC+, AC3, FLAC player

Memory 16GB Storage, 2GB RAM

Data Speed HSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50

Browser HTML5

Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator

Connectivity WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, MHL, NFC,

Infrared Extras Android 4.2.2 "Jellybean" with Touchwiz UI





At first sight the Samsung Galaxy S4 looks very similar to its predecessor with the same general shape and style. However, if you look a little closer you'll see a design that has evolved and is a little more grown up than last years "inspired by nature" design. The ends are slightly squarer and the metallic accents along the edges are now straight. The pebble blue brushed metal texture has been replaced by a more subtle black or white cross hatching. The result is a design that is perhaps slightly less adventurous but is less in your face and less likely to divide opinions. Either way most people won't spend much time looking at the body once they fire up that new 4.99 inch Super AMOLED HD display. The Galaxy S series have always used stunning AMOLED displays renowned for their superior contrast and eye popping colours. The Galaxy S4 ups the ante again by packing a Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution into a 5 inch diagonal (4.99 inch to be technically accurate). This addresses one of the few perceived weaknesses of Galaxy S line versus it’s rivals: a lack of sharpness in the display. With over twice the pixels crammed into a display that is only slightly larger the Galaxy S4 is now as sharp as they come and well beyond the ability of even the keenest sighted of person to distinguish individual pixels.

What is perhaps most impressive about the Galaxy S4’s design is that Samsung have managed to cram the larger display into a body that is actually slightly smaller than its predecessor. It retains the same height but is half a millimetre thinner and a full millimetre narrower than the S3 allowing for the same great one handed operation. Samsung have retained the removable plastic back on the phone allowing you to remove and replace the battery and easily insert the Sim card and memory card. Around the front below that gorgeous screen you’ll find the same capacitive back and menu buttons as well as a physical home button. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is overall a dream to handle with superb ergonomics, it may not be quite as pretty as some of its rivals but it definitely makes up for it in practicality.

Not only has the exterior of the Galaxy S4 seen an update it is also all new on the inside. Samsung have chosen to equip the Galaxy S4 with either one of two different processors depending on the model. For 4G enabled versions you get a 1.9 Ghz quad core processor by Qualcomn or for regular 3G versions you get Samsung’s brand new radical 8 core Exynos processor. Either way the Galaxy S4 offers unparalleled levels of performance and blitzes just about any benchmark you put it through. Both processors offer more performance than the end user could possibly use so you shouldn't need to worry about which version you get. Both options are backed up by 2 GB of RAM for excellent multitasking capabilities and at least 16GB of internal storage so you can install plenty of apps and media.

The Galaxy S4 comes running the very latest version of Android at launch: 4.2.2 “Jellybean”. Samsung have layered their own Touchwiz UI over the top as usual and this time they have really gone nuts with the new features. In addition to Smart Stay and Smart Rotate which made their debut on the GS3 you also now get Smart Pause (which pauses a video if you look away from the screen) and Smart Scroll (which lets you scroll the screen by tilting the phone). Air gestures let you control certain aspects of the phone by waving your hand above it (such as scrolling and switching tabs in the browser) and Air View lets you preview various objects by hovering your finger a couple of centimetre above the screen. There are plenty of Samsung made apps on the device as well: there’s S Translator which can automatically translate languages; S Health uses the phones in built sensors (such as a pedometer) to monitor you health and lifestyle; Group Play lets you share media between devices and combine multiple Galaxy S4’s to create your very own surround sound system; finally OnTv uses the S4’s built in IR transmitter to control your TV and other home entertainment equipment. These are just examples mind not an exhaustive list, there really are too many new features to list here!

The final aspect to see an upgrade is in the camera department. The Galaxy S4 sees the sensor bumped up to a 13 megapixel resolution with better optics and a more streamlined, intuitive interface. There are plenty of new shooting modes like 360 photo that takes an all round panoramic shot like Google street view images; Sound & Shot records a few seconds of audio along with you image; Eraser mode automatically detect moving objects and lets you remove them; finally Dual Shot is one of the best new features that lets you simultaneously shoot picture and video with both the rear and front facing cameras.