The Droid Life Show returns tonight for episode 25! As far as topics go, Google I/O was last week, Verizon’s hilariously awkward CTIA event was this week, the Galaxy S4 is finally here on all carriers, and we need to have a heated debate over the word GIF. Clearly we have plenty to talk about as usual, so be sure to join us live.

The show kicks off around 6:00PM Pacific (9:00PM Eastern). A live video broadcast and chat are embedded below. 

The Samsung Galaxy S4 on Verizon will finally arrive in stores tomorrow, but if you were looking to beat Big Red’s $199 on-contract price, Amazon is almost always a great place to look. And sure enough, Amazon is already offering the device for $179.99 with 2-year contract for both new customers and upgrades. In the past, we have seen Amazon only offer early discounts to new customers while leaving out upgrades, but that doesn’t appear to be the case this time around. So if you had your sights set on the GS4 (our review), think about this deal.

Amazon Link (Black) | Amazon Link (White)

Cheers Jason!

If you are a Chrome user on your desktop computer, be sure to update to the newest version that was released this morning as it includes Google’s new conversational search. We first saw conversational search at Google I/O last week in one of the more impressive demos from the keynote, and have been waiting for its release. 

During the beginning of Verizon’s comical J-Lo themed press event this morning at CTIA in Las Vegas, COO Marni Walden did announce at least one important bit of information. Their 4G LTE network now covers 497 markets, which is 95% of their 3G network. Remember that their initial goal was to cover 100% of their 3G network by the end of 2013, but have since moved the date up to mid-year as LTE build-out has increased dramatically. With 95% complete, I’d say they’ll hit their goal and then some. Back in January they were at 473 markets, so already this year they have added another 20+ along with countless expansions in existing markets.

Is anyone not yet covered by Verizon’s LTE network?

Sooooo, about that Verizon Wireless press event at CTIA. It was for a Latino-focused mobile network that Verizon has partnered with Jennifer Lopez to launch – it’s called Viva Movil. It was easily one of the more embarrassing and hilarious (for the wrong reasons) press events I have seen in my 3 or 4 years in this business. J-Lo stood on stage after a quick intro, not even hiding the fact that she was ill-prepared and had to turn her head from teleprompter to teleprompter during her drawn out speech over a company that she apparently cares so much for. There was even a moment where she lost track of a question she was attempting to answer, and instead took to explaining how fun it was to pick out colors and fonts for stores. Marni Walden, Verizon’s COO, probably made matters worse though, by starting off the event telling the press in attendance that they wouldn’t have invited them there unless it was for a “big announcement” and that they would have news to Tweet about afterwards. She wasn’t lying, there is plenty to Tweet about. 

CTIA 2013 is happening this week in Las Vegas and Tim is there in attendance for one reason, because Verizon scheduled a press event to take place, their first in quite some time. We have no idea what to expect once they take the stage, but you can probably think of a few good reasons. Will it be network related? Is their initial 4G LTE rollout complete? Will VoLTE make its first appearance? Or will we finally see the Verizon-branded HTC One? It could be a combination of all of those things for all we know. Verizon has been tight-lipped on this one, so stick with us during our live blog to see what happens.

The event kicks off at 11:00AM Pacific (2:00PM Eastern).

Back in April, Google updated Chrome beta for Android to include a full-screen browsing mode along with simpler searches that stay in the search box after you press enter. Today, they are releasing that same update to the stable build of Chrome for Android. Once updated, you’ll see the toolbar disappear as you scroll down pages, giving you a full-screen experience. With a quick swipe back towards the top, it will return. You’ll also get searches that stay in the omnibox (search box), making follow-up searches easier. 

Google Drive for Android is receiving a major update today that includes a new UI, document scanner, and editing improvements. In terms of the UI, Google is introduce a card-style layout, similar to what we are seeing across a number of their apps like Google Play and Google Keep. In this new UI, you get to see larger previews of documents to help you discover information quicker.