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If there’s one thing Samsung has always excelled at, it’s blanketing the market with a variety of hardware configurations to fit just about anyone’s needs. You want a 6.8-inch phone? You got it. You need something cheaper for your 15 year old kid? You got that too. But what about those that have been looking for a ruggedized Samsung Galaxy S4? Well, it looks like you might soon have that too.
Speaking at press event, President of Samsung Gulf Young Soo Kim may have let the cat out of the bag, mentioning Samsung’s plans to introduce a water proof/dust proof in the near future. How near? Kim says in the coming weeks. While we start daydreaming of a ruggedized Galaxy S4 that can withstand the elements, I wouldn’t be surprised is it’s something more along the lines of the Galaxy S4 Mini we’ve been hearing about.
Of course, none of this is official and we wonder how much weight this off-the-cuff remark might hold. It wouldn’t be the first time a President or CEO has slipped up. We’re all just human. But what do you guys think? Would you be willing to sacrifice some aesthetics for a waterproof/dust proof Samsung Galaxy S4?
[TechView via UnwiredView]
Did he say that it was a ruggedized galaxy s4 or just a ruggedized samsung phone? If it was a rugged galaxy s4, or just a rugged phone with high end specs that would be amazing
why not just make the actual s4 ruggedized? a solid hardware feature that makes a difference and not a bunch of software features.
Yea and lets face it, the GS3 never did well in even a drop test.
I dropped mine (S3) in a fresh bowl of toilet water at work (LOL). I fished it out within a second or two. It worked fine. Charging port took about a week to function properly, but still worked 100%.
A quick splash is ok, would like to see all the flagship phones be like this. The method is cheap enough to do, I cant see why they wouldnt do it
I don’t get it? It is an actual gs4… And it is!…. Ruggedized…?
I think he meant the original gs4, but I don’t think everyone is interested in only having a rugged phone.
Huh? You know this means the device won’t be designed to look good, but protect against disasters? Also this would make the device thicker, hands down. I don’t think a lot of people would like a 20mm thick 5 inch phone. LoL!!
The Casio G’zOne is getting better and better. http://www.gsmarena.com/casio_g'zone_ca_201l-pictures-5384.php I’d think something between this and the Xperia Z would be possible. A moderately thicker phone with a hard rubber bumper and “ellipsed” corners. I have an older G’zOne for use as an offline GPS tracer and bluetooth audio player. The screen is small, but the rest of the hardware is great, for its time.
If a more elegant ruggedized phone were offered, you could get it and forget about it. Grandparents and kids wouldn’t break it. Getting lost in the rain would be no problem. Trekking and hiking and swimming? All OK. I do hope this trend accelerates.
Quite a bit of the Japanese smartphone market has moved to waterproof, beautiful hardware: http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/with/n04e/index.html http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/with/sh04e/index.html http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/with/f03e/index.html
well the exec said waterproof and dustproof, I think sony has done a good job doing that on some of their products while keeping them slim. Plus even if it was a little thicker, most people put a case on their phone anyways.
Has any other maker ever put out the same phone/tablet in a ruggedized/waterproof form? Presumably if such were to happen, they’d take the internals and switch out for a waterproof case. But what about the barometer and the thermometer? They would have to be outside the new waterproof case but inside an extended bubble of some kind..
I don’t think this is likely. A waterproof phone needs to be designed that way from the start. The guy messed up. An S4-like phone might be on the way, but even that suffers the other problems mentioned above.
Waterproof is high on my list of features for phones. Having a phone that can be used in an emergency, in the rain, after you’ve fallen into a river, etc. is the way phones will go.
Isn’t there a company that can dust and water proof any phone for about $30 by applying a sort of microfilm cover to it? I’ve definitely read about it on this site. Maybe Samsung just signed a contract with them to apply it to the S4. Doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be getting a new bouncy shatterproof version of the S4
It wouldn’t address the issues with atmospheric sensors that I mentioned. A barometer sealed in plastic always shows the same pressure.
For a simple phone with no buttons, no speaker or mic holes, no camera lens, and no clear screen, yes, spraying a thin film of plastic all over it might work ;-)
Well they made it work holes and all, seen it at CES
i wouldn’t be surprised if this means verizons s4 is ruggedized. they love to set their products apart from the rest, and verizon still has an unconfirmed release date for the s4 for no apparent reason.. they also have a ctia announcement on may 22nd…
i bet on the 22nd that they announce their special version of the s4, show how bad ass it is and then release it a week later and make every other s4 owner super jelly
i dont see why this configuration couldnt have been the only one.
If it’s about the S4, what happens to the removable cover and the removable battery, the much touted features of the phone?
they can still be there…. dust proof and water proof means the cracks are tight and the PCB is protected from moisture… it doesn’t necessarily mean an AIR tight system with no leaks at all.
I would be sooo pissed at samsung if I had pre ordered an s4 and a couple weeks later they announce a dust/waterproof version what a slap in the face.
Kinda like AT&T did with the S2 and S2 Skyrocket
$10 says the specs on this will be only about 3/4 as good as the regular S4. Just like they do with the mini.
There are concerns the small waterproof covers of xperia z would wear off or just break with time. I honestly don’t believe the S4 in its present avatar could be made into a version dunkable in water. The dangling carrot, eh?
the motarola razr phones have open ports and they are waterproof
cool, now i can drop my phone in the toilet, take my phone swimming, and use it in pouring rain.
I actually like taking underwater pictures.
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Submission/4192967
wow all i can say is outstanding!!!!!!!they have this s3 and my money for a rugged s4
Got to hand it to samsung, a lot of choices
What a true copycat, all their technologies are stolen from the Japanese. What a thief and only stupid people then buy the lousy and crap Korean products with no innovative, just simply copy and paste.
I think this is a unique opportunity for Samsung to battle the constant heat it takes about creating “cheap” feeling plastic devices by creating a unibody aluminum ( or other premium feeling material ) waterproof/ dust proof device. Allow the consumer to choose which sacrifice they would like to make between the light weight plastic with removable battery/ expandable memory vs the more Premium feeling aluminum but with more heft and non removable battery/ expandable memory.
Samsung could dominate the market with this move taking huge chunks from both other android manufactures and apple for that matter. Their a nightmare to repair if broken and ding easily as well, but I’d take the aluminum GS4 waterproof/dust proof 64 gb version make that 2 please :)
It would be awesome to have the regular slim S4, and an option of a ruggedized S4 that costs around $50-$100 more. I’d pay the extra if it wasn’t too bulky, and I’m sure other people who needed it would as well, while others who don’t care about it will save the $100. If there was only one option like people are suggesting, they’d be paying money for something they don’t need.
dnt you think this is looks fake news?
new-samsunggalaxys4.com/waterproof-galaxy-s4-arrive-this-summer/