Samsung Galaxy S4

Since the releases of the Galaxy S4, Samsung has been criticized severely for cutting off the SD card storage space for its users. The company later tried to defend itself that the used space were utilized in giving the users more features but that was not a logical explanation at all. If we buy a phone with 16 GB storage capacity, it must be somewhere near to the promised/advertised space.

Anyways, Samsung seems to have taken that complaint seriously and today they have started rolling out a new update for the LTE variant of the Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 that houses Snapdragon processor. A big number of users in Germany and China have reported receiving the OTA update with  365.67MB size.

The new update with PDA version I9505 XXUBMEA can also be availed by the users of Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 who do not belong to Germany as we have the link to the full firmware that can be installed manually using Odin. As the very size of the OTA  indicates, this is a major update that brings a lot of new feature and improvements in the performance of the device.

Features and Changes:

Here are some of the new things that have been discovered so far by users:

• More stable performance.
• Semi-transparent status bar (see the post image above).
• More free RAM.
• New Apps to SD Card feature that lets you move an app to the SD Card.
• Improvement in camera picture quality.
• New “Increase legibility” feature that can be found under Settings> My Device> Display.
• New Smart Pause toggle in Quick Settings under Notification Panel.
• Improvements in the S Planner app.

Download the firmware:

I9505XXUBMEA_I9505OXABMEA_DBT.zip

Download the firmware and extract it on your desktop. Inside the extracted folder you will find a file with .tar.md5 extension. Install this file by clicking on PDA button on Odin3 tool for Windows. For detailed installation guide click here.

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Before the official release of the Galaxy S4, there were rumors that Samsung will be adding the Photosphere camera with its own branding “Camera Orb” in its new flagship. However, later it became evident that the rumors were just rumors and what we got with the Galaxy S4 was Samsung’s own version of Panorama mode that can captures 360 degree left to right or vice versa pictures.

The Photosphere camera feature, that as introduces first with Nexus 4, is really one of the most interesting camera features. The Photosphere camera mode is an advanced form of 360º photography because it beautifully synthesizes several photo frames into one whole to give you a spherical shot. The feature achieves this by piecing together the picture in a virtual space. It then combines all the pieces together, adding depth to the space. Thus you can create an spherical image by moving and aligning the camera sensor to left, right, up or down. Below is very beautiful example that shows what kind of images you can capture using Photosphere.

I flashed the Android 4.2 Photosphere camera on my Galaxy S4 just a couple of days ago and was amazed to see the results. A 360º spherical photo captured with a 13MP camera! So if you have a Samsung Galaxy S4, or even some other Android device (like HTC One or Xperia Z) with  Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, you can have that awesome camera on your device now!

Requirements:

• A rooted Samsung Galaxy S4 with a custom recovery like CWM or TWRP.
• Nexus 4 Photosphere camera CWM flashable zip for GT-I9500: photosphere_camera42_galaxy_s4_v2.zip
• If you have some other variant of the Galaxy S4 (than GT-I9500), download the following files:
  • Android 4.2 camera without Photosphere but with 13 MP camera support (CWM flashable): 4.2Camera_noPS_13MP.zip
  • Download the libs files if you have downloaded the above file and extract the zip: libs.zip
  • Android 4.2 camera with Photosphere (extract the zip):  4.2Camera_withPSt04-extract.zip
  • Also, install a root file explorer app on your device:

Samsung has gone ahead and brought its very own wireless charging solution to U.S.-based Galaxy S4 users. Like nearly all wireless charging options, Samsung’s Qi-based, wire-free charging system comes in two parts: a wireless charging pad ($49.99) and a wireless charging cover ($39.99) that replaces the standard backing of the device. Both products are available on the phone maker’s website. Set up appears to be simple enough. Just plug in your Samsung Wireless Charging Pad to a standard outlet. Then, after replacing the back cover on your Galaxy S4 with the Wireless Charging Cover, place the phone on the pad to begin charging. A green LED light on the pad lets you know that your phone is charging correctly, while a yellow one indicates you’re doing it wrong (i.e. the device is incorrectly aligned).

What’s odd is that Samsung has opted to sell each half of this wireless charging system separately, with no bundle available. While that makes sense for Galaxy S4 users that already have Qi-based wireless charging systems, like the WiQiQi, this puts a $90 barrier to entry in front of newbies to the wonderful world of wireless charging. The WiQiQi bundle for the Galaxy S4 is priced almost identically, meaning this was Samsung’s opportunity to offer an even slightly more affordable solution.

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has hit 10 million channel sales one month after its release. The company announced its latest milestone today just eight days after confirming that it had shipped over 6 million units of the S4 since its international launch on April 26. According to Samsung, this is the fastest ever sell rate for any of its smartphones.
The latest entry in the Galaxy series–meant as Samsung’s iPhone challenger–has sold much more quickly than its predecessors. The Galaxy S4′s milestone beats the record set by the Galaxy S3, which reached 10 million channel sales 50 days after its launch in 2012. The Galaxy S2 took five months and the Galaxy S seven months to reach the same number.
(Channel sales are to wireless operators and not direct to consumers. In other words, the numbers are for units shipped.)
The Galaxy S4 had to overcome inventory issues that disrupted its U.S. rollout and were attributed by the company to unexpectedly high demand for the phone. Though the Galaxy S4 is indeed selling swiftly, reinforcing Samsung’s dominance of the worldwide smartphone market, Jordan Crook noted after it hit 6 million units shipped that the iPhone is still technically a faster selling phone than any of Samsung’s Galaxy models.
When the iPhone 5 launched, Apple took over 2 million pre-orders in the first 24 hours available. Furthermore, iPhone 5 pre-orders were two times the number of pre-orders seen for the iPhone 4S. Despite Apple’s recent earnings woes, consumers still love their iPhones, and Samsung VS Apple: Battle Smartphone is not over quite yet, especially as the Cupertino company prepares to launch new products this fall.