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PSA: Samsung Galaxy S 4 now on sale at Canadian carriers
Samsung's launch of the Galaxy S 4 hasn't been as coordinated as the company would like, but it's making some amends with today's launch of its flagship phone in Canada. In one fell swoop, most of the larger Canadian carriers are now offering the 16GB model for a typical $200 on a 3-year contract. Bell, Rogers and Telus (as well as their sub-brands) are covering much of the country, while more region-specific carriers like Eastlink and Videotron are also joining in. Carriers like Mobilicity and Wind Mobile aren't yet included, however, and supplies are known to be tight -- we'd ask about stock before making a trip to the local store.
PSA: T-Mobile's Samsung Galaxy S 4 available online today
Samsung's latest flagship, the GS4, landed on Sprint and AT&T a couple of days ago, and now it's T-Mobile's turn to join the party -- at least by way of its virtual stores. Taking advantage of the carrier's recently unveiled pricing scheme, the Galaxy S 4 will be available starting at $149.99 up front for the 16GB model (plus the $20 extra per month for the next two years, of course). Now, if you're looking to physically pick one up instead, you'll have to wait a little longer, as it won't be available at brick-and-mortar shops until May 1st.
The Weekly Roundup for 04.22.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 drops original TecTile support, requires new TecTile 2
Don't get too attached to that collection of TecTiles if you're upgrading to a Galaxy S 4. AnandTech has discovered that Samsung's newer phone includes an NFC chipset that can't read the older TecTiles, which rely on a less common tag type to register our taps instead of the NFC Forum's standards. Customers aren't being left in a bind, however. Samsung has confirmed that it's about to release a follow-up, TecTile 2, which adheres to the official format while supporting the company's older NFC-equipped phones. The fully modernized tags will be ready sometime in the "coming weeks." That doesn't offer much immediate relief for GS3-to-GS4 upgraders whose TecTile layouts have suddenly been reduced to decorations, but those buyers should at least get the replacements they seek before long.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 now available online at Sprint, in stores today at AT&T
Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone, the Galaxy S 4, is making a big move into the US today with an online arrival at Sprint and in-store availability at AT&T. If you're a Now Network subscriber and happened to miss out on the carrier's pre-order action, you might want to make some quick moves onto Sprint's website in order to secure your new handset, which goes up for sale at midnight Central Time. In a not-so-cool move, however, only those porting their number to Sprint are eligible for the carrier's $100 price break, which means all of you who've stuck through the dark days of EV-DO will need to pony up $249.99 for the Galaxy S 4. Meanwhile, if you're aching to lay your hands on Samsung's 1080p handset, you can finally get some gratification, as AT&T is now offering the smartphone for in-store purchase and play. Here, you'll pay $199.99 for the handset, and while it's potentially more expensive, at least AT&T's pricing scheme doesn't involve fine print shenanigans.
Root exploit unearthed for Snapdragon-based Galaxy S 4
Inventory delays may stifle prospective Galaxy S 4 owners, but such pesky hurdles appear to have little effect on Android's development community. An XDA-Developers member by the name of "djrbliss" has constructed a root exploit for Snapdragon-powered variants (see: all US carrier versions) of Samsung's newly christened flagship. While burrowing into your phone's software always carries some risk, the bold will find a complete how-to at the source link below.
Samsung reportedly launching new 8-inch tablet in June, Galaxy S 4 Active in July
Samsung Gulf president Young Soo Kim reportedly made casual mention of an upcoming rugged take on the Galaxy S 4 at a press event earlier in the week, but left out any details. Sources for the Wall Street Journal claim to know more of the story, and it sounds like the toughened phone won't be alone this summer. The Galaxy S 4 Active, as it's rumored to be called, would arrive in July and carry the dust- and waterproofing of spiritual predecessors like the Galaxy Xcover 2 while maintaining the GS 4's design language. A smaller, 4.3-inch parallel to the GS 4 would appear at the same time -- Galaxy S 4 Mini, anyone? The same tipsters also expect the release of a new 8-inch "Galaxy-line tablet" in June, which suggests the Galaxy Note 8.0 may get a regular Tab counterpart. We wouldn't base our buying strategies around the rumors when Samsung hasn't said anything that's truly on the record, but it might be wise to hold off if you're not in a rush.
Galaxy S4 teardown reveals the silicon beauty within the plastic beast
What's in a Galaxy S4? A whole lot of easily repairable parts, it turns out. The fine folks at iFixit recently got their hands on Samsung's smartphone flagship and wasted no time in tearing it asunder. Scoring an eight out of ten on the repairability scale, the GS4 puts up little defense to tinkering hands with only 11 screws standing between you and its innards. The front panel serves up the single source of difficulty since the glass and LCD are fused together and glued into the frame -- so, you'll have to scoop out most of its components to get to it and the Synaptics S5000B chip powering the tweaked capacitive display. Other than that, there aren't really any component surprises. But don't let that stop you from taking a full tour of the gore-y silicon glory at the source.
Dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S 4 launches in China with an Exynos 5 Octa inside
Remember the leaked GT-i9502, that dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy S 4 that ultimately confirmed many rumors? That smartphone at last exists beyond a collection of photos, as Samsung just launched it for China Unicom customers. The support for an extra cellular line is naturally the highlight, although there's another perk for GS4 connoisseurs: the i9502 has the same 1.6GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor as the i9500, which might eke out more performance than the Snapdragon 600 models. There isn't any word on whether or not the i9502 edition will leave China, although we wouldn't count on European or North American editions when there isn't LTE inside to please 4G-obsessed carriers.
Galaxy S 4 launches tomorrow in South Korea, despite Samsung admitting supply issues
Smitten with Samsung's Galaxy S 4? Well, if you're looking to pick on up right now, you'd best book a red-eye flight to South Korea, where it'll go on sale in the next 24 hours. The 5-inch 1080p flagship will arrive on all three of the country's main carriers, with an unspecified global roll-out following on Friday. Meanwhile, the company has also commented on "supply chain problems" affecting its roll-out of the S4. In a statement to Sky News, Samsung said that initial supplies of the handset may be limited "due to overwhelming global demand" and its limited stock of memory components. The pinch is already being felt in the US, as both Sprint and T-Mobile reassess their launch dates in-store.
Full Samsung Knox launch delayed until a 'later date'
The Galaxy S 4 launch was also supposed to mark the release of Knox, Samsung's plan to balance home life and work through software. Unfortunately, Galaxy owners will have to live slightly off-kilter for a while longer -- the company has officially delayed full Knox service to a "later date." While the GS 4 ships with the necessary underpinnings, both distributors and providers have to fall into place before the suite is completely ready. Samsung hasn't officially said when it expects Knox to arrive in earnest, although the New York Times claims that it may appear as late as July. Whether or not that's true, the setback adds to what's becoming a hitch-prone debut for Samsung's 2013 Android flagship.
The Daily Roundup for 04.24.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 coming to US Cellular April 30th
Wait, what inventory shortage? US Cellular doesn't seem to have any issue with getting the Samsung Galaxy S 4 on its retail and virtual shelves -- it confirmed to us in an email that it will begin selling the flagship device on April 30th. You'll be able to purchase the 16GB version in either white or black for $199 with a two-year commitment. If you didn't get in on the pre-order, now's your chance to get hooked up.
Verizon's Samsung Galaxy S 4 up for pre-order starting tomorrow (update: launching May 30th for $199.99)
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 launch on May 30th and go for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate on the usual two-year contract.
Sprint delays Galaxy S 4 in-store launch due to inventory issues, online and phone sales aren't affected (update: Samsung responds)
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.
Virgin Media outlines Galaxy S 4 pricing, starts at £31 per month with £99 down
We've seen a few UK carriers show their cards ahead of the Galaxy S 4 launch this weekend, but MVNO Virgin Media has been slightly coy with details compared to bigger peers like EE and Vodafone. Better late than never, we suppose: the provider has outlined just how much we'll have to spend to get Samsung's flagship. Customers who have Virgin broadband or TV services can pay the same £31 per month as their EE counterparts, getting a lower £99 device cost and insurance in exchange for a more limited service that includes 200 minutes, 500 texts and 500MB of data. When mobile-only customers have to pay £5 more per month, though, we'd think carefully about signing up just for the sake of the GS 4. There are better deals afoot if you're not already a loyal Virgin customer.
Online sales of T-Mobile's Galaxy S 4 delayed, set for April 29th
Folks hoping to get their mitts on Samsung's Galaxy S 4 have had a long wait, and those angling to snag the device from Magenta's online store will have to wait a tad longer. The Uncarrier sent word tonight that the handset won't be available online on April 24th as originally planned thanks to an unexpected delay with inventory deliveries. Instead, online sales of Samsung's smartphone wunderkind will be pushed back to Monday, April 29th. Of course, folks who want to hitch a Galaxy S 4 to a T-Mobile plan can always waltz into one of the firm's brick-and-mortar shops starting May 1st. Head past the break to take a gander at the carrier's full statement.
Galaxy S 4, future Samsung devices to use DigitalOptics tech for face tracking (updated)
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S 4 in March, there was a near-inescapable emphasis on face detection features. What we didn't know is just whose technology was making them possible. As it happens, it's not entirely Samsung's -- DigitalOptics has stepped forward to claim some of the responsibility. The California firm recently struck a multi-year licensing deal with Samsung to supply its Face Detection and Face Tracking software, which can detect pupils for interface features (think Smart Stay or Smart Pause) and keep tabs on photo subjects. DigitalOptics hasn't provided the exact details of its involvement in the GS4, let alone a roadmap, but it's safe to presume that Samsung isn't dropping its emphasis on camera-driven software anytime soon. Update: DigitalOptics says the release wasn't clear on just what was involved in the deal: while the face detection and tracking are present, Samsung didn't pick up the pupil component. As such, you're mostly seeing DigitalOptics' influence in regular camera features and other software that doesn't involve eye tracking.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 coming to AT&T stores April 27th, pre-orders arrive April 25th
Pre-orders of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 have already begun at AT&T, but the operator has been oddly silent about the actual date customers can expect to purchase one in stores and online. Now that T-Mobile and Sprint have both announced specific launch dates (April 24th and 27th, respectively), the largest GSM carrier in the country has followed up by declaring its intent to sell the flagship Samsung device on the 27th of this month. This is four days earlier than the anticipated pre-order shipment date, which means the HTC One has merely a full week to bask in the spotlight by itself. What's more, if you simply couldn't wait and jumped on those pre-orders, you'll get yours a full 48 hours early (read: April 25th). As expected, the GS4 will be offered for $200 (16GB) and $250 (32GB) in both black and white. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
AT&T bumps up Galaxy S 4 shipping date to April 23rd
AT&T subscribers might not have to worry that their Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular friends will tease them while they're waiting for their Galaxy S 4 to arrive. While Big Blue was originally promising an April 30th date for the headlining Android phone, the carrier has quietly moved up its shipping estimate to April 23rd, right on time for the initial wave of US releases. Yes, that's only a week's difference -- but first-kid-on-the-block bragging rights surely matter, don't they?