Waterproof Samsung Galaxy S4 Active makes some waves - CNET

Samsung's Galaxy S4 line gets another family member in the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, a hardened, ruggedized spin off of the company's flagship model.

Waterproof for a meter below the surface and up to 30 minutes, the Active carries on computing with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, Samsung's Touch Wiz interface, and a 1.9GHz quad-core processor, the same as its more delicate Galaxy S4 sibling.

Many of its other specs are also similar, but one that stands out is the camera, whose 8-megapixel module can take this bad boy under the waves with its brand-new aqua mode.

I love that Samsung has finally made waterproofing a feature rather than a failsafe against damage. A lot of other rugged handsets that make the same waterproof claims stop short of turning the capability into a real benefit.

The handset's lower-caffeinated camera compared to the original GS4 may seem like a downgrade for some, but that's all relative determined on the final price tag, which will really be key. We'll know a lot more when our team gets our hands on the Galaxy S4 Active June 20 in London.

Since the Galaxy S4 Active arrives this summer to the UK, I have a feeling that our friends at CNET UK are going to have a heck of the time testing out its aqua camera mode first-hand. Pool party, anyone?