The cell phone with a 10x zoom
Samsung continues to try to push the boundaries of cell phone photography by integrating an optical zoom lens. The Galaxy S4 Zoom was not well received, likely due to its 28mm thickness. Try, try, trying again, they have announced the Galaxy Zoom K. Notably, it is just 18mm thick. That is, admittedly still a bit thick by cell phone standards. The Galaxy S5 is 8.1mm. But that extra 9.9mm does get you a 24-240 equivalent lens, which is impressive.
Ranging from F3.1 to 6.3, the lens is a bit on the slow side, but that will be somewhat mitigated in non-action situations with the optical image stabilization. The rest of the hardware is solid, if not groundbreaking. You have a 4.8 inch screen, six core CPU, 2GB RAM, and the usual radios. It will be interesting to see if the idea can catch on, bringing some of the other manufacturers into the expanded camera capabilities game. You can find more info and pictures at DPReview.
We’re gonna need a bigger pocket!
There’s a strange bit of business going on with the design of cell phones. Bigger is better. That is, if you are talking about screen dimensions. If it’s thickness, bigger is bad. Which really doesn’t make that much sense. If you can fit a 6.3″ screen in your pocket, surely a couple more mm of thickness isn’t a big deal.
Yes, I said 6.3″. And that isn’t hyperbole for effect. I chose that number because Samsung has announced the Galaxy Mega 6.3 for release this month. That’s a 6.3″ screen. To put it in perspective, here’s what it looks like next to the iPhone 5.
Aye, caramba! Put the Mega in landscape mode and you might be able to type with all ten fingers. Along with that massive screen, the phone brings some other pretty nice features:
- Android 4.2.2
- Dual-core 1.7GHz proc
- 1.5GB RAM
- 8 megapixel camera
- Micro SD
- Huge 3200mAh battery
- Air View
- Split Window Multi-tasking
- TV Guide
- IR Blaster