Less than a week after taking the wraps off of the Galaxy S 4 mini, Samsung this morning officially introduced another variant of its flagship Galaxy S 4 smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 Active is now official, offering a ruggedized frame that is dust resistant and able to withstand being submerged in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes. The S 4 Active also has a water resistant headphone jack that will allow users to wear headphones "in more adventurous conditions."

When it comes to its regular spec sheet, the Galaxy S 4 Active has quite a bit in common with the regular Galaxy S 4. The Galaxy S 4 active sports a 5-inch 1080p display, though its screen is LCD rather than Super AMOLED like the GS4, as well as a 1.9GHz quad-core processor and 2,600mAh battery. There's also an 8-megapixel rear camera, a slight step down from the GS4's 13-megapixel shooter. Rounding out the Galaxy S 4 Active's feature list is a 2-megapixel front camera, 16GB of built-in storage, microSD slot, 2GB RAM and 4G LTE connectivity.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4 Active will launch with the same Android 4.2.2 and TouchWiz combo as its Galaxy S 4 siblings. That means that it'll feature the usual package of Samsung-made apps as well, including S Translator, Smart Pause, Air View, AirGesture, ChatON and Samsung Link.

So what about availability, perhaps one of the most important details of any smartphone announcement? Samsung says that it plans to launch the Galaxy S 4 Active this summer. The first countries that'll get the opportunity to take the device with them on some rugged adventures are the U.S. and Sweden. And just like several of its Galaxy brethren before it, the Galaxy S 4 Active will be offered in multiple colors. Consumers will be able to pick up a unit in Urban Grey, Dive Blue and Orange Flare. 

While the ruggedized Android smartphone category isn't huge, we have seen quite a few toughened devices come to market, pairing Google's mobile platform with a device that's meant to take a beating. Unfortunately, those handsets often come to market with mid-range or lower specs. However, the Galaxy S 4 Active's feature set is pretty high-end, meaning that consumers that want a rugged device can now get one that should offer strong performance. Now that we've got the official rundown on the Galaxy S 4 Active and its spec list, would you rather have the regular Galaxy S 4 or this ruggedized version?

Via Samsung