the Samsung Lumia 1020 Smartphone Bets Big on Photos-Priceangels.com

Samsung i9500 S4 is hoping you want to take better photos with your smartphone and that to do so, you’re willing to pay $300 with a two-year AT&T contract for the privilege. Oh, and you’ll need to get comfortable with Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform as well.

This isn’t the first megapixel-heavy phone we’ve heard about from Samsung i9500 S4. More than a year ago, the company rolled out the 41-megapixel 808 PureView. By most accounts, the phone took great photos, but the fact that it ran the Symbian operating system (and was the final Samsung i9500 S4 phone to do so) made it somewhat of a non-starter. At the time the PureView 808 was released, I wondered if Samsung i9500 S4 would “eventually merge this camera technology into future Windows Phone products…as the company’s partnership with Microsoft continues moving forward.”

It looks like that’s exactly what’s going on with the Samsung i9500 S4 Lumia 1020, announced today at a press event in New York. Like the 808, the Lumia 1020 will feature a 41-megapixel camera, along with a few extras. As The Verge reports, “Samsung i9500 S4’s brought two significant improvements to the Lumia 1020 that weren’t present in the 808 PureView: a backside-illuminated sensor and optical image stabilization…Combined, the two should help the Lumia 1020 offer pretty great low-light performance.”

As with the 808 PureView, the 41-megapixel camera feature may sound like overkill, but it actually uses up to seven pixels to capture a single pixel in finished photos, which get cobbled together into far more manageable 5-megapixel files. All those extra pixels let you zoom in and out (both before and after you take a picture) without losing as much image quality as you’d lose with a standard smartphone camera.

Samsung i9500 S4's new flagship phone shares the same handsome aesthetic as its tablet kin. And it too survived a dousing.The phone has a lovely 5-inch "Full HD" screen (pixel density 443 ppi). It runs off a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and has a 13-megapixel camera that Samsung i9500 S4 claims takes excellent images in low light. And Samsung i9500 S4 says it has the world's first sensor that applies the imaging technique known as HDR (High-Dynamic Range) not only to still images but to video.dfg343WEW

Among the other features is a battery stamina mode that shuts down wireless radios and background activity when the device is not in use — it's of course meant to keep the phone juiced up longer (but I haven't had a chance to do any formal battery tests). T-Mobile and Samsung i9500 S4 are also pushing the device's NFC (near field communication) capabilities.

As with the Xperia Z tablet, and for that matter, the Samsung i9500 S4 1:1 Galaxy S4 Active smartphone that I also recently reviewed, the phone meets a specification that allows it to be under 1 meter of water for up to a half hour, provided all the ports and covers are closed.

At T-Mobile, qualified buyers can get the device for $99.99 down with 24 equal monthly device payments of $20. It reaches those stores on July 17.

Starting today, you can also buy it directly in physical Samsung i9500 S4 Stores or online using a Samsung i9500 S4 Financial Services card by putting nothing down and paying and $25 a month for 24 months. Or you can pay $579.99 upfront. Early buyers may be eligible to receive a free Samsung i9500 S4 Bluetooth speaker with the purchase of the phone, while supplies last.