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Samsung's S View cover offers a sneak peek at your Galaxy S4

Can't see what's on your phone when a cover is on it? Samsung's solution is to cut a small peephole in it.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman
Phone covers can protect your screen, but they also hide status updates, incoming calls, and other information you may want to see at a glance. The new S View Cover for the Galaxy S4 clips onto the top of the new phone, but offers a clever workaround by simply cutting a rectangular peephole into the cover material, giving you partial access to the screen.

Samsung Galaxy S4 accessories (pictures)

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The phone can sense when the cover is closed and switch to a minimized view when new updates arrive, putting the information in a tiny window that lines up with the cover's cutout. In this view, you can get access to information such as the time, battery status, the current music playlist, and caller ID.

It's a minor feature, compared with some of the more buzz-heavy things about the S4, such as its photo and translation features, but potentially handy for those who are constantly pulling their phones out of their pockets to check for updates.

There's no word yet on how much the S View cover will cost or when it will be available.