Samsung has announced the new Galaxy K Zoom smartphone. This is the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom but has broken away from being tied to the flagship smartphone naming conventions. Overall it looks to be a slimmer and less bumpy device with a noticeably more powerful processor and improved screen..
Headline features of this hybrid device include a 10X optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) which is paired with a 20.7 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor. The Galaxy K Zoom also "offers all the features that consumers want in a flagship Galaxy smartphone, such as Ultra Power Saving Mode, S Health Lite," and a full range of Samsung bloatware.
Sun Hong Lim, Senior Vice President of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, said "The new Galaxy K zoom empowers users to effortlessly capture and share their most important everyday moments in stunning clarity, with the convenience and connectedness of a Galaxy smartphone, for a unique, all-in-one mobile experience."
Comparing the key spec of the Galaxy K Zoom and the Galaxy S4 Zoom predecessor:
|
|
Galaxy K Zoom |
Galaxy S4 Zoom |
|
Main Camera |
10x optical zoom lens (24-240mm), OIS, 20.7 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor. Xenon flash. Lens auto extends when camera activated. |
10x optical zoom lens (24-240mm), OIS, 16 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor. Xenon flash. |
|
Screen |
4.8-inch HD 1280 x 720 super AMOLED display |
4.3-inch 960 x 540 super AMOLED screen |
|
Processor |
Samsung-made Hexa core Exynos processor (1.3GHz quad-core and 1.7GHz dual-core processors). 2GB RAM |
1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1.5GB of RAM |
|
Dimensions |
137.5 x 70.8 x 16.6 (20.2)mm. 200g |
125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4 (27.0)mm. 208g |
New (top) vs old
As you can see from a quick glance at the table above, and the comparative picture I have cobbled together, the new device should feel more portable and less lumpy. The lens hump has been significantly reduced from 27mm to 20.2mm. The processing power and screen have also been significantly boosted compared to the previous smartphone-compact camera hybrid from Samsung. To round off the proposition Samsung has given this new device the S5 dimpled styling and it is available in black, blue and white.
The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom is expected to become available in Q2 this year. Price should be around the 499 Euro mark. What do readers think of this latest Samsung hybrid device? See the key specs in Samsung's graphic below.
