Samsung introduces the Galaxy S4 Zoom – a phone with a 10x optical zoom

After leaking numerous times over the last couple of weeks, Samsung has tonight finally unveiled their cameraphone, the latest in a seemingly never ending lineup of phones branching off the Samsung Galaxy S4 branding – the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom is the result of Samsungs ‘mission to create a single device that can fulfill the role of both an industry leading smartphone and a high-end compact camera’ and with a 16MP sensor, Optical Image Stabilisation and 10x Optical Zoom it’s certainly heading in the right direction. Other specs included in the Galaxy S4 Zoom aren’t as high end as some of it’s namesakes but it still represents a pretty decent device.

Galaxy S4 Zoom Specs :

• 4.3″ qHD(960×540) SAMOLED screen
• 1.5GHz Dual-Core CPU(CPU will differ according to region)
• 1.5GB RAM
• 8GB Internal memory (User memory approximately 5GB) ＋ microSD slot (up to 64GB)
• Camera
• 16 MP Rear Camera with 10x Optical Zoom, Xenon Flash, Optical Image Stabilisation(OIS) and enhanced SMART Modes
• 1.9 MP Front Facing Camera
• Lens: 24-240mm, F3.1-F6.3
• ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
• Continuous Shot: 4fps MAX with AF
• Format: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WBMP, BMP, AGIF
• SMART Mode, Expert Mode(P/S/M/C), My Mode
• SMART Mode(25): Smart mode suggest, Beauty face, Best photo, Continuous shot,
  Best face, Kids shot, Landscape, Dawn, Snow, Macro, Food, Party/Indoor, Action freeze,
  Rich tone (HDR), Panorama, Waterfall, Animated photo, Drama, Eraser, Sound & Shot, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, Light trace
• WiFi a/b/g/n 5GHz, NFC, Bluetooth® 4.0 (LE),A-GPS ＋ GLONASS
• Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyro, RGB Light
• 3G
• 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
  3G (HSPA＋ 21Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
• LTE
• 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
  3G (HSPA＋ 21Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
  4G (LTE Cat 3 100/50Mbps) : up to 6 different band sets(Dependent on market)
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 2,330mAh Battery
• 25.5×63.5×15.4mm @ 208grams

Speaking about the Galaxy S4 Zoom, JK Shin, President and CEO, Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. said

The Samsung GALAXY S4 zoom represents yet another step forward in the way Samsung is working to enhance the lives of our customers around the world. 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.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom is possibly Samsungs way of addressing the upcoming camera centric phones from other manufacturers such as the Nokia WP8 PureView devices. Just how successful it will be will remain a mystery until it becomes available and at this stage, Samsung has not released any pricing or availability on the Galaxy S4 Zoom. We’ll be talking with Samsung about local availability and let you know.