Over the last year or so, we’ve talked a lot about switching carriers. With policy changes frustrating consumers, tiered data hampering usage, and phones not being offered across the board on all carriers, there may not be a better time than now to consider a move. One downside to moving, though, is the worry of coverage with a new carrier not being equal to what you were previous receiving. The last thing you want to do is commit to a new carrier, only to find that your phone can barely hold a signal at home or that LTE won’t be in your neighborhood for years. 

Yesterday, the first real photos of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active presented themselves on the web, thanks to what appeared to be a display model at a trade show. Today, we’re getting a second look at the device – likely from the same location – on video. The source of this info claims that this is the GT-I9505 (retail international GS4 is GT-I9500) and that it only sports a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor and an 8MP camera, however the video shows it as the GT-I9295 which doesn’t necessarily seem like a GS4 variant. Plus with those specs, you’d be doing a disservice to the Galaxy S4 by slapping it’s name on there.

So while this phone is said to be a rugged, waterproof alternative to the Galaxy S4, it seems lacking in comparison. The retail Galaxy S4 runs on either a quad-core or octa-core processor, contains a 13MP sensor, and is a beast in terms of smartphone prowess.

Via:  MobileTechReview

After months of remaining on the top of Consumer Reports’ list of best rated smartphones, the LG Optimus G has been dethroned. Taking its place is the Samsung Galaxy S4 (our review), not the HTC One or white Nexus 4 LTE with 32GB of storage (couldn’t help myself, since it doesn’t exist but the media wants it to). Thanks to the “oodles” gesture and sensor-based tools, along with the “excellent” 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, and its multi-tasking abilities,  the GS4 garnered a score of 81, which tops the Optimus G and One with scores of 79. The Galaxy S3 remains in third place with a score of 78, while the iPhone 5 rounds out the top 5 with a score of 77. 

When the Samsung Galaxy S4 “Nexus experience” device launches on June 26 for the questionably high price of $649 through Google Play, it will be available to U.S. customers only. According to CNET who spoke with Google on the subject of availability, for now, the device will be a U.S. exclusive. 

If you checked out the beta of the complete Opera browser app back in March and want to see the progress that was made, you can now try the complete real deal. Released this morning to Google Play, Opera brings a full-web experience, complete with custom features that make browsing the web painless and quick. 

Taking place in Las Vegas this week is CTIA, another annual mobile/tech industry conference much like CES that takes place in January. Some well-known names are attending this year’s meetup, companies such as HTC, NVIDIA, LG and Verizon are all in attendance. Demoing their Tegra 4i processor with built in i500 LTE modem is Santa Clara’s NVIDIA, showing the industry that thanks to an update, their chip is capable of flying through large amounts of data in no time at all. 

If Verizon ever opens up a pre-order for a new flagship device that you are strongly considering or have already made your mind up on, jump on the pre-order. Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen pre-orders arrive early time and time again from Big Red. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is no exception, as pre-orders shipped at the end of last week and are now arriving as early as today to many. Readers of ours (as you can see by the image above) are now the “envy of everyone” they work with.

The device doesn’t officially launch until May 23.

Have you received yours? If so, we’d love to hear your initial thoughts on it!

Cheers Chris!

Kickstarter seems to be the number one choice for upstarts with a smartwatch in mind to seek funding these days. Agent “the world’s smartest watch” is the latest in a long line that includes tech darlings like the Pebble. And actually, this new Agent watch seems like nothing more than a thicker (and potentially uglier depending on your taste in watch designs) version of the Pebble, but with one difference – it has Qi wireless charging built in. The promo video shows a watch with a “Memory” display that’s a combination of an e-paper and LCD displays, that can be paired with your phone and used to tell the time, show weather, control music players, act as a pedometer, and show you incoming calls or messages.