The Samsung Galaxy S5 is already one of highest spec phones available to buy, and now Samsung has announced a tuned-up version. The Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A features faster internet access, an improved screen and more RAM, but it's only being touted for launch in South Korea.
The S5 Broadband LTE-A has some desirable refinements. The headline, of course, is the use of the new LTE-A standard that Samsung says is being used in a phone for the first time. it is a step up from the existing Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard and uses carrier aggregation, enhanced use of multi-antenna techniques and support for relay nodes in order to provide increased internet speeds.
Carrier aggregation (or channel aggregation) refers to using more than one channel of the radio spectrum in order to transfer data, thereby increasing bandwidth. "Multiple-antenna techniques," in this instance, refers to the use of multiple antenna inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO), meaning that multiple streams of data can be sent and received at the same time, thereby speeding up the transmitting process. LTE-A sees the introduction of 8x8 MIMO (a configuration with eight output antennas and eight receiver antennas) for data coming downstream, and 4x4 MIMO for data going upstream.
Finally, LTE-A's support for "relay nodes" refers to its compatibility with new low-power base stations (the relay nodes) installed at the edge of mobile network cells (areas served by mobile cell towers) and in hot-spots to provide improved coverage and capacity. This, effectively, helps to fill in the gaps where mobile signals are weak or need strengthening. Samsung says its use of LTE-A will provide users with download speeds of up to 225 mbps.
In addition to its use of the new standard, the S5 Broadband LTE-A has a souped-up display. Like the original S5, it's a 5.1-inch super AMOLED display, but it also has a wide quad high definition (WQHD) resolution of 2560 x 1440 and 577 ppi.
Elsewhere, the new device will match the S5's 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapgragon 805 processor with RAM upped from 2 GB to 3 GB, and will come equipped with Android 4.4 (KitKat). It will be launched in South Korea during within next few months.
Source: Samsung
