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You've already read our review and you're still convinced you need Samsung's latest Galaxy S smartphone as soon as humanly possible, eh? Well if you're on Verizon (or you'd like to be), the Galaxy S 4 goes up for pre-order starting tomorrow according to a tweet from Verizon's Twitter account. Of course, when you'll get it is another question altogether -- last we heard was "sometime in May," so take that as you will. May is pretty soon, right? In any case, you won't immediately be able to purchase the GS 4 anywhere: Sprint is reporting delays until some unknown date, while T-Mo-'s version isn't arriving until April 29. Meanwhile, AT&T is still planning for an April 25th launch for pre-order customers, and in-store on April 27th.
Update: Verizon PR rep Ken Muche has also confirmed on Twitter that the phone will run $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate on the usual two-year contract.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Mobile, Samsung, Verizon
Source: Twitter - @VZWnews
After T-Mobile said yesterday that it won't be able to offer Samsung's Galaxy S 4 through its online store quite as soon as it expected, Sprint has today announced a similar delay. The carrier originally planned to have Sammy's latest flagship available through all retail channels this Saturday (April 27th), but "unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung" have meant that although online and phone-based sales will open on that date as planned, you won't be able to wander into a Sprint store and pick one up until those supply issues are solved. When that'll be is anyone's guess, but we imagine Sprint will get them into consumers' hands as soon as possible in the hope of improving its balance sheet. See Sprint's full statement after the break.
Update: Samsung has also responded with an official statement, citing "overwhelming global demand" leading to inventory shortages. We've added the comment underneath Sprint's.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Sprint
Via: AllThingsD
As Samsung prepares to release its new flagship to the masses, the company is already making moves to accommodate its open source following. Today, the Korean electronics maker served up the kernel source for three versions of the Galaxy S 4. On tap are two unlocked variants of Samsung's next big thing (GT-I9500 and GT-I9505) along with Virgin Mobile Canada's rendition of the handset. Seeing how you've already seen the device stripped down to its unmentionables, why not go the extra mile and take a whack at its software? That is if you know what you're doing.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Samsung
Via: Android Police
Source: Samsung (1), (2), (3)
Samsung's Galaxy S 4 isn't even available yet, but already it's being eyed for possible patent infringement. According to a report from Korea's Yonhap News, LG suspects the S 4 might violate eye-tracking patents used in the Optimus G Pro. At the crux of this squabble is Samsung's Smart Pause feature, which LG finds similar to its Smart Video technology. Chiefly, LG is focusing on a patent it applied for in 2009, though the company also plans to investigate whether Samsung infringed other eye-tracking patents dating back to 2005. So far, of course, Samsung has denied any wrongdoing, saying its eye-tracking tech is implemented differently and is based on proprietary technology. Given that the phone isn't even out yet, we'll leave it to LG to do its due diligence before accusing Samsung in court.
Filed under: Cellphones, Samsung, LG
Via: The Verge
Source: Yonhap News Agency
For over a year, mobile commerce startup Mobeam has been looking for OEM suitors willing to embed its bar code scanning tech into phones -- and it's found an ideal partner in Samsung. The tech, which Mobeam calls light based communications (LBC), will be embedded in the manufacturer's latest flagship, the Galaxy S 4. LBC makes it possible for point-of-sale scanners to pick up digital 1D bar codes. So how does it work? Mobeam takes advantage of the phone's proximity sensor to beam pulses of light which mimic your standard black-and-white code. The option should be available for any third-party developer that wants to use it, but unfortunately the tech is only launching -- for now, at least -- on the GS 4, though we've been told that it will eventually be ready to go for more devices down the road. Head below to scan through the full press release for yourself.
Check out our event hub for all the action from Samsung's Galaxy S 4 event.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Galaxy S 4 or Galaxy S IV? Disagreements over the naming convention are likely to rage on now that Samsung's dropped hints that it's planning to replace the Galaxy S III in the spring of next year. A company official reportedly told Korea Times that "the new device is expected to hit shelves globally in March at the latest" following an initial announcement at MWC in February -- and while it would retain the "inspired by nature" design language of its predecessor, the screen might get a bump from 4.8 to 5-inches. It may seem odd for a company to talk up its next product so soon after the last one, but perhaps it's a deliberate marketing move in light of a certain new contender.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Samsung planning Galaxy S IV launch for March 2013? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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