SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Samsung's Galaxy S4 line gets another family member in the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, a hardened, ruggedized spin off of the company's flagship model.


Waterproof to a meter below the surface and for up to 30 minutes, the Active carries on computing with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, Samsung's TouchWiz interface, and a 1.9GHz quad-core processor, the same as its more delicate Galaxy S4 sibling.


Many of its other specs are also similar, but one that stands out is the camera, whose 8-megapixel module can take this bad boy under the waves with its brand-new aqua mode.


I love that Samsung has finally made waterproofing a feature rather than a fail-safe against damage. A lot of other rugged handsets that make the same waterproof claims stop short of turning the capability into a real benefit.

The handset's lower-caffeinated camera compared with the original GS4's may seem like a downgrade for some, but for the S4 Active's price of $199.99 on AT&T, its rugged features are a pretty fair compromise. We'll know a lot more when the phone launches on June 21 (see the teaser video above). Our team will also plan to get our hands on the Galaxy S4 Active on June 20 in London.


Since the Galaxy S4 Active arrives this summer, I have a feeling we're going to have a heck of a time testing out its aqua camera mode firsthand. Pool party, anyone?


This news is copy from http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s4-active/4505-6452_7-35783536.html