This morning, Google announced the availability of Google Wallet for new Android devices. The newly approved devices are Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2, along with the HTC One on Sprint. US Cellular also got some love, as their Galaxy S4 is also now compatible with the mobile wallet service. 

If you own one of those devices on Sprint, you can pick up the Google Wallet app through Google Play, starting today.

Play Link

Via: Google+

Google Wallet Now Available For Sprint’s Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 2 and HTC One is a post from: Droid Life

The HTC One on Sprint (our review) is set to receive its first OTA update over the coming days. In the update, labeled as build 1.29.651.10, users should find improvements to BlinkFeed, a new Sprint Zone client, and fixes the sensitivity on the Home and Back buttons. If anyone has spent any amount of time with any version of the HTC One, you’ll know that one of the most frustrating issues has to do with the Home and Back buttons not properly reacting. Let’s hope this does the trick. 

The update will be released in stages. To check for it, head into Settings>System updates>HTC software update>Check now.

Via:  Sprint

Sprint’s HTC One Receiving First Update With Improvements to BlinkFeed and Button Sensitivity is a post from: Droid Life

The Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 that we still have in our possession received its first update this afternoon, bringing it to build L720VPUAMDL. The update is 23.8MB in size, however, we have no idea what that includes. We had quite a few performance issues during our review, so hopefully this is fine-tuning code or improving stability as the device launches in retail shops.

If you own the Sprint version of this device, head into Settings>More>System Update>Update Samsung Firmware to pull it.

And be sure to read our Galaxy S4 review if you haven’t.

Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 Receives First OTA Update is a post from: Droid Life

Thanks to inventory challenges, the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch at both Sprint and T-Mobile will be slightly delayed. According to Sprint, there will be a delay to their in-store launch that was originally slated for April 27 (this Saturday), however, online orders should proceed as expected. T-Mobile on the other hand, has said that their online orders will not begin today after all, but will kick off on Monday, April 29. 

Sort of a rocky start for the Galaxy S4, however, AT&T’s orders are still shipping early and as planned as far as we know. Pre-orders for Verizon’s version start tomorrow, with a release expected to happen on May 30.

Be sure to read our Galaxy S4 review that dropped last night, if you haven’t already.

Via:  T-Mobile | AllThingsD

Cheers Matt and 

Samsung Galaxy S4 Plagued by Minor “Inventory Challenges” at Sprint and T-Mobile, Launches Somewhat Delayed is a post from: Droid Life

The Samsung Galaxy S4, aka the most anticipated smartphone of the year, is finally here. After showing itself at a questionably comical press event in NYC on March 14, many of us have been counting down the days to its arrival. There were so many new software features on display during the phone’s unveiling that only some serious time spent with the phone could allow us to digest even a sampling of what Samsung and the Galaxy S4 have to offer. But there are some serious questions that need to be answered with this phone as well. Is it a big enough jump from the Galaxy S3 to get anyone to upgrade? Is it better than the HTC One? Are all of these new software features gimmicks that no one will really ever use? Is the overall package enough of a jump to keep Samsung relevant?

We’ve had a review unit in hand for a week now, thanks to Samsung, and are more than ready to share as many answers to those questions as we can. Stick with us, it’s going to be a long ride. 

The Good

Hardware

In terms of hardware and specs, Samsung has done something pretty remarkable with the Galaxy S4. They managed to pack the latest and greatest mobile processor, display, camera sensor, and larger battery into a body that is actually slimmer, lighter, and smaller than its predecessor. We’re talking about a 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 5.0″ FHD Super AMOLED display (441ppi), 2GB RAM, 16/32/64GB internal storage options, microSD card slot, 13MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, and 2600mAh removable battery, all tucked into a body that is 7.9mm thick and weighs just 130g. You can argue all day long about this being a minor bump from the Galaxy S3 and whether or not you like the design, however, on paper, it’s really not that close.

On a related note, during a recent meeting I had with Samsung, they pointed out the fact that at this point in the smartphone game, they are really the only OEM putting microSD card slots in phones and allowing for removable batteries. As the industry moves away from each of these items, Samsung and their top selling phones all continue to feature them. While I wouldn’t necessarily say these are the two reasons for their massive success and the rest of the industry’s decline, they certainly are worth a mention. People like extra storage and they like to have backup batteries.

Design

I’m tempted to toss out the “you either love or hate Samsung’s plastic phone designs,” but in truth, it seems like the minority actually aren’t fans of it. Samsung is the top selling smartphone manufacturer in the world, and yes, they make their phones out of plastic that people tend to label as “cheap.” At this point, I’m not sure that the majority of people really care if their phones are made of plastic, aluminum, or glass as long as the price is right, there are software enhancements that cater to their lives, and the phone is thought to be the hot tech product of the moment. Since Samsung fits all of those categories once again with the Galaxy S4, I don’t see there being much of a fuss over its similar build quality to previous Samsung releases.

With the Galaxy S4, you get a similar package to what you had with the Galaxy S3, yet everything has been upgraded into a smaller body. Most importantly, you have more screen real estate on the front with less bezel, so you almost have a full-screen experience when interacting with the phone. The design sports a dotted patterned backside, and even subtler dotted pattern on the front trim. The Galaxy S4 is much squarer than its predecessor, but it still has rounded edges in all the right places to make it fit nicely in hand. I’d actually argue that the Galaxy S3 has a better feel in hand thanks to its pillowy curves, but the GS4 doesn’t necessarily feel bad by any means.

In fact, the overall design of the GS4 is much more appealing than the GS3. Gone is the incredibly cheap-looking wave-like side metallic band – in is a much more conservative and uniform band that stretches around each side of the phone. I believe it’s still plastic, but at least it looks metal. I even like the speaker placement better, as it matches up to the two-slit opening on the Note 2, rather than the fake metal grid found on the GS3.

The Galaxy S4 comes in both Black Mist (pictured in this post) and White Frost, though my Black Mist version tends to look blue-ish more often than black.

There aren’t a lot of stand-out design features with the Galaxy S4, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It still looks great, Samsung just didn’t take any risks.

Display

The Galaxy S4, to our knowledge, is the first in the world to use a Full HD (FHD) 1080p Super AMOLED display. Weighing in at 5.0″ and with 441ppi, it’s nothing short of stunning. The AMOLED displays used in many of Samsung’s devices tend to blow out colors more vibrantly than their LCD counterparts, show deeper blacks, and for the most part, take the opposite approach to displaying anything the way an LCD does, which is to look less natural. I tend to love AMOLED displays, because I like the somewhat cartoonish look you get at times. At this point in the game, though, I don’t know that you are going to find that big of a difference between either the new LCDs used in phones like the One or this new FHD Super AMOLED, but I’ll throw some thoughts out there anyway.

Color reproduction on both the AMOLED of the Galaxy S4 and the LCD of the One is excellent to me. With that said, I feel like you get deeper colors which in turn means greater detail in whatever you are viewing with the AMOLED on the Galaxy S4. For example, at full brightness and indoors, the HTC One’s LCD display appears washed out to me, while the Galaxy S4′s AMOLED display only gets better the brighter you go. I think Samsung plays to their strengths in the UI by offering up stock wallpapers that accent the great blues that an AMOLED can display, but it’s not just there that I’m seeing the benefits. From icons to Google Maps to this website, the colors all match what my naked eye sees on any other display or in reality.

Macro shots for fun.

Full resolution: GS4 icons | vs. HTC One

But again, you can’t go wrong with any of the current display technologies being used in high-end phones. The pixel densities are so outrageous, that you’ll never see a pixel even if the pixel arrangement appears to be odd. Take the Chrome logo macro shot I’ve included above, which if I’m not mistaken, shows some sort of diamond-like matrix arrangement from the AMOLED on the Galaxy S4. It’s not necessarily pretty under a macro lens when compared to the traditional arrangement on the LCD of the One, but none of our eyes see in macro. So as usual, we’re doing this for fun because to the naked eye, it’s a great display.

I will say that whites on the AMOLED are not as clear or bright as the LCD on the One. They look too grey for my liking, but by no means is that a reason to dislike this display. The only way you’ll really notice, is if you are sitting at a desk like I am, with both phones next to each other cranked to full brightness.

Software Enhancements

Thanks to an ultra-successful and innovative feature-set that was introduced with the Galaxy S3, we knew from the beginning that Samsung would try and drastically outdo themselves with the GS4. The jury is still out on whether or not they did, but we found a number of their gesture and Air View style add-ons to be quite useful. Samsung expounded on their previously introduced hover and movement capabilities in the Galaxy S4 by allowing you to navigate and perform a variety of tasks without actually placing even a fingertip on the device.

If you have used a Galaxy Note 2, then you are likely familiar with Air View, which utilizes the tip of the S Pen to hover over items on a phone and then return actions. For example,  you can enter the gallery and hover over thumbnails to view a bigger version of the image without actually entering into the full-screened view. You can hover over text in the browser to magnify it, over dialer shortcuts to see which numbers have been set, or even over calendar items to see a breakdown of your day. The beauty of this tech with the Galaxy S4, is that you no longer need an S Pen. All you need now is a finger that can be hovered.

Samsung also built in a number of new gestures that can be activated with a simple air swipe of the hand over your display. If you would like to wake your phone to a minimal overview of your device’s current state (includes battery level, text messages, calls, etc.), simply wave a hand over the top portion (where the sensors are located) and your phone will briefly wake itself (pictured above). If you are thumbing through gallery pictures, yet find yourself with greasy fry fingers while at lunch, wave your hand from right-to-left or left-to-right to change photos. This also works in the browser to change tabs and scroll through web pages, as well as in the ringer to answer calls.

All of these gesture and hover-based features can be enabled or disabled in the phone’s settings, so don’t feel like you have to use them. Also, most only work in Samsung-built apps, which is pretty disappointing. If you were hoping to gesture swipe around Chrome or hover in Gmail, it’s not happening. I asked Samsung if they had plans to open up these features to developers, and unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like it’s in the program at this point. They are working with specific app developers like Flipboard, though.

Battery

Battery life on the Galaxy S4 has not been an issue for me in the week that I’ve had the phone. I should note that I’ve had the Sprint version and live in Portland, so the device has been running on 3G CDMA the entire time, not 4G LTE. While I wish I could give you definitive battery tests with LTE running all day, that wasn’t in the cards this time around. As I get my hands on LTE versions (AT&T and Verizon), I’ll be sure to try and update this section should these numbers change in any way.

In the screenshots below (from left to right), you’ll see my battery life results from my first three days and three charges. In day one, I’d put usage level at moderate-to-heavy because of the setup process of the phone and traveling time. In the second screenshot, this was definitely my highest usage day, that included a solid 30-45 minutes of gaming. On the third day, I used the phone as I typically would throughout a day – WiFi on, grabbing it for a call here or there, checking some emails, updating apps, etc. By no means are my typical days “heavy.” During all three days, never once did I have to charge the phone in under 10 hours of use.

The good news, which I mentioned earlier, is the fact that the Galaxy S4 has a removable battery. Should you be a heavy LTE user, Samsung will eventually give you the opportunity to buy replacement batteries, potentially even an extended battery to help get you through a day. It’s a feature that Samsung has no plans to move away from.

Expandable Storage

Samsung continued their trend of including microSD card slots in flagship phones with the Galaxy S4. Should you choose to buy the 16GB model of the phone, understand that you can toss in a microSD card up to 64GB to expand that. It’s a minor detail, but it’s one that only Samsung continues to pay attention to. The rest of the smartphone world is trending towards not having SD card slots, yet Samsung is fully aware that its customer base is all about removable storage. For someone like me, who is constantly testing phones and never has to worry about storage limits, even I can see the benefits to having SD card slot support, especially for those who are attached to a phone for the life of a contract.

Camera

The camera section of this review is pretty far down the list of “good” things for a reason – it’s pretty good, but not great and definitely not bad. As you’ll see in the sample shots below, the 13MP sensor in the Galaxy S4 is capable of taking some (what I would consider to be) stunning photos in the right light. The picture of the Paulaner beer I consumed this weekend in particular, is one of my favorites. The color accuracy, white balance, and ability for the camera to adjust correctly to what I would assume to be a macro setting while on “Auto” seemed to play off perfectly. I also liked the sausage picture (consumed with the Paulaner) because it grabs a ton of detail, yet still doesn’t give off the oil-painting effect that I saw far too often with the HTC One’s camera.

Full resolution:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Obviously, it’s not all good for the Galaxy S4 camera, since I dropped it down this far. In low light, the camera is not great – actually, it’s not even good. The picture above of a glass of whiskey was in a decently lit lobby bar at a hotel in San Francisco and came out looking subpar and mushy (technical term) when compared to the previously mentioned photos taken with great outdoor light. The real killer here, though, is the HTC One comparison I took while in a dark storage room in the upstairs of my house. The Galaxy S4 wasn’t even able to capture anything other than a corner of a pillow – the rest is blackness. The HTC One on the other hand captured almost the entire room.

I’m also not a fan of the size of 13MP images in general. While I’m well aware of the fact that I can adjust that down to 8MP in the camera settings, by default, these things are enormous and almost impossible to share with social networks or via email. Most of the photos I took with stock settings started at 2.4MB and climbed all the way up to 4.4MB.

Low light comparison shot to the HTC One.

So again, the camera on the Galaxy S4 is pretty good, it’s just not great. With that out of the way, let’s talk software, since Samsung added a bunch of new features that may come in handy from time to time.

Camera Software

Samsung packed all sorts of new goodies into their camera software. The most notable change upfront is the UI, which they told us was tweaked to mimic that of the Galaxy Camera since they received such positive feedback from that product. It’s simple if you want it to be, plus the layout is easily managed while taking both photos and video. But along with the new UI, they added in camera modes like Drama (merge together action shots), Animated photo (lets you create GIFs on phone), Sound and Shot (record audio with photos), and Eraser (removes unwanted moving objects from photos). Most of these won’t get steady action from you, but the point is to have them there just in case. Call them gimmicks if you want, but to me, they are add-ons that will come in handy from time to time, and there is nothing wrong with that.

One of the bigger features Samsung is pushing with the camera is their picture-in-picture modes for both video and photos. You can really have some fun with this setting, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you even find practical uses for it. Using both front and rear cameras, the Galaxy S4 is able to record video at the same time or capture stills, no matter what you are doing. You can theme up the in-picture shot, go fully split-screen, or adjust the size of the box to your liking. It’s certainly silly and seems incredibly limited in its uses, but again, it’s there if you need or want it.

Overall, the camera on the Galaxy S4 has to be considered a positive just for the fact that it packs in so many features while still being able to produce great stills under the right circumstances. You could argue that even with all of the fluff it’s still not as versatile as say, the camera on the HTC One, and I wouldn’t fight you on that point. But no matter what, it’s serviceable.

Android 4.2.2

The Galaxy S4 is one of the first Android phones in history to launch with the most current version of Android. That version is Android 4.2.2, which Google only unleashed upon us back in February. There is a chance that Google releases an even newer version at its I/O developer conference in mid-May, but for the time being, Samsung is up-to-date. This may sound like something that should happen with all new phones, but manufacturers can’t seem to keep up even after years of practice. So in a way, this is an even bigger deal than putting in a 13MP camera or 1080p display.

Accessories

One thing Samsung has done over the last year and a half that we absolutely love, is release phones with one size and shape on all carriers around the globe. This allows accessory manufacturers to provide you with more accessories than you can possibly absorb. No longer are they forced to create special versions depending on the carrier – with the Galaxy S4, it’s one size fits all. Your choices will seemingly be endless, once this phone arrives, assuming accessory makes have begun prep work.

Outside of third party accessory makers, Samsung is planning to release their own suite of accessories for the Galaxy S4, ranging from variants of their popular Flip Cover to health accessories to universal docks to replacement batteries. Most will be available at launch, outside of the health accessories which will arrive later this year.

The Not-so-Good

Build Materials

Look, it’s 2013 and companies like HTC and Apple are making beautifully designed, high-end phones out of materials like aluminum, yet here is Samsung, pushing out another phone made entirely of plastic. Now, we’ve talked about plastic as a smartphone material and the fact that it serves a purpose, but at some point, shouldn’t Samsung try to step it up a notch? We can argue for days whether or not this new Galaxy S4 is a designers dream or not, but the truth is that it doesn’t even compare in style or build to what HTC did with the One. I’d be lying, as would anyone else, if they sat here and told you with both the One and Galaxy S4 in hand, that the GS4 is the higher-end or better looking of the two. It’s really not even close. The Galaxy S4 is a well made, plastic phone, it’s just not on-par in terms of design or build with the One. There are rumors floating around which suggest that Samsung has acknowledged this and will bring something new to the table with the Galaxy Note 3, but again, those are just rumors.

TouchWiz

In my HTC One review, I took HTC’s Sense 5.0 to task. I’m going to do the same with Samsung’s TouchWiz. As stock Android has grown into an incredibly polished and feature-rich mobile operating system, manufacturers continue to put their own spin on it with custom skins that tend to make things more difficult than they need to be. To be fair to the review process, I’ll also only pick five issues in particular that stood out to me as I did with the One, but like the One, I could probably go on and on.

First, creating folders is a mess as it almost always has been with TouchWiz. In order to create one, you need to grab an app and then drag it to the “Create folder” option that appears at the top of the screen. I can sort of understand how this might seem more user friendly to a novice user than the standard Android version of dragging apps on top of each other, but why did Samsung remove the traditional drag and drop altogether? Sure, once you create a folder using this “Create folder” option, you can drag items into it easily, but I’m still not seeing the point in removing the easiest way of all, which is to simply drag an app onto another app in order to create one. I can’t imagine that there is really some software restriction that is forcing us to do one or the other.

Second, the standard TouchWiz keyboard is the worst in the business. If you buy this phone, install Swiftkey or Swype or whatever other third party keyboard you like as soon as you can. Now, we should point out that Swiftkey’s technology is actually built into Samsung’s stock keyboard, but Samsung has still done their own thing with it. It doesn’t auto-correct as well in my experience with it, plus its key spacing gives me a headache when it comes to quick typing. It’s swipe-like or gesture typing isn’t half bad, but if you are a rapid-tapper like me, you may find yourself spending more time correcting errors than you are used to.

Third, the dialer application which is attached to contacts is essentially two separate apps, yet they appear to be one. What I mean by that, is as you enter the dialer, you’ll see tabs (which I’ll get to in a moment) for Keypad, Logs, Favorites, and Contacts. Should you press the Contacts tab, it actually opens up the Contacts app rather than a new tab, so there is a delay before it shows you anything as it takes time to process and open the Contacts app. Once in the Contacts app, the top tabs change to Phone, Groups, Favorites, and Contacts. That’s right, the tab that used to say Keypad, now says Phone. Can we get some consistency? Again, tapping “Phone,” then opens up the dialer app and takes an additional few seconds to load. It’s slow, clunky, and pretty damn ugly.

 The settings menu in this new version of TouchWiz is quite confusing. Samsung decided that the vertical scrolling approach to the settings menu on any other Android device is not quite easy enough to understand. So instead, they created four tabs and their own categories for settings, which are mostly a jumbled mess. It has taken a week to figure out where certain items are that I visit on a regular basis because the organization is so random. Like, why is Accessory, Call, and Display in the “My device” section, but Storage, Battery and Date & Time are schluffed off into a “More” category. Don’t those items all have to do with “My device” as well?

Last, Samsung still designs apps and menus as if they were built in 2010 for Gingerbread rather than Jelly Bean. For example, in the settings menu that I just complained about, you have a tabbed few of categories, yet you cannot simply swipe between them. Instead, you are forced to tap each tab to enter a new category. And it’s like this all over the place, including in the previously mentioned dialer and contacts applications. Dear Samsung, we are in the era of Holo UI with swiping gestures, action overflow menus, and slideout navigation menus. Tabbed UIs are out.

The Galaxy S4 is yet another Android phone that needs a third party launcher (along with any other third party replacement application you can find) on day one.

Very Similar to the Galaxy S3

I know that I just spent an entire review trying to sell you on this being different than the Galaxy S3, but I couldn’t help but think time and time again over the last week that this is nothing more than a slightly bumped up version of last year’s flagship Samsung phone. It looks very similar and has mostly the same exact software outside of a few new feature add-ons that will eventually come to the Galaxy S3. When navigating around it, thanks to the exact same navigation setup and custom skin, a non-tech savvy person probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two. I mentioned at the top of this review that on paper, the GS4 is quite different, however, in reality for everyday usage, you could argue that it’s not.

Navigation Button Setup

Samsung going with a physical home button coupled with menu and back soft keys isn’t necessarily offending me as it used to. In fact, I’m completely comfortable with them after having used them for months on end. However, that doesn’t mean I’m a fan. What gets me the most, is having to physically press in a button to do the most often-asked-for task of returning home or exiting an application. I can get down with the soft menu and back keys, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be a fan physical buttons that protrude out from the bottom of a phone. Samsung seems to have found a way to upgrade this home button, as it presses much tighter than previous phones, but I’d still prefer they do away with it.

Other Notes

• Performance: I typically include a “Performance” section with my reviews, but since the unit I have from Samsung is technically running pre-launch software, I didn’t think it was fair after noticing some stuttering and other lag. At this time, with this device in its current state, the camera lags when taking pictures, I’ve noticed time and time again a lag in the folder animation, and jumping in and out of apps isn’t as smooth as one would expect. I’m also finding all sorts of bugs in Samsung’s take on lock screen widgets. So for now, until this phone gets an update or I hear from Samsung that this is actually final software, we’ll leave these notes here.
• WatchON TV app:  When compared to the TV application on the HTC One, WatchON can be very frustrating. With the One, it took a couple of button taps and I had the device connected to every single piece of home entertainment hardware in my living room. With WatchON, I tried and quit after five minutes when the app started asking questions that I would have had to get up or research to find the answers to. It’s also not as seamless or user-friendly in terms of finding favorite shows and then making sure you know they are readily available to watch.
• HTC One comparison:  Below, you’ll find a video comparison of the Galaxy S4 to the One, but we won’t be stopping there. In the coming days, we’ll have a full-on comparison that should give you our thoughts on which device will be sticking around the DL offices.
• Sprint’s network:  I feel bad for anyone stuck with a contract on Sprint. I haven’t had to use a Sprint phone in some time, and now I know why. They have almost zero 4G LTE foot print in this country, but to make matters worse, only have a 3G CDMA network to fall back on. Coming from HSPA+ and LTE, this is like returning to the 90s and AOL free dial-up. Ugh.

Gallery

Videos

Hardware and Software Tour

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vs. Galaxy S3

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vs. HTC One

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Verdict

After all that, should you buy the Galaxy S4? Sure, why not. It’s a really, really good smartphone – probably in the top two or three at this point in the game. Should you decide to buy one, you’ll get a beautiful 5.0″ FHD Super AMOLED display, plenty of horsepower thanks to a quad-core processor, a serviceable 13MP camera, all sorts of interesting software features, a removable battery, expandable storage, and the most recent version of Android. There are few things to dislike about this phone. It’s also coming to every major carrier (including Verizon) and will have more accessory choices than any other phone on the planet aside from the iPhone 5.

With that said, the HTC One and its premium body is out there for the taking. As previously mentioned, you can’t go wrong with the Galaxy S4, but you also can’t go wrong with the HTC One (review) or even Nexus 4 (still my personal favorite) for that matter. It’s a great time to buy a smartphone. Go get them all in your hands before making a decision.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review is a post from: Droid Life

Today, RadioShack announced availability for the Samsung Galaxy S4 beginning this Saturday, April 27 in retail stores. The device will be available on both AT&T and Sprint, as the Verizon version’s availability has not yet been announced. As an added bonus, they will also have a few of the Galaxy S4′s accessories on hand, giving customers a $10 off coupon when they make a purchase of $30 or more.

If you are not the biggest fan of going into a certified retailer of a carrier and have a Shack close to home, it’s good to know you have options for where you can pick up your new phone.

RadioShack to Sell Galaxy S4 on AT&T and Sprint Starting This Saturday, April 27 is a post from: Droid Life

The HTC One is now available from AT&T and Sprint, along with a handful of retailers across the country. After being announced back in February we were starting to wonder if this day would come thanks to reports of delays. Both AT&T and Sprint are selling the 32GB version for $199 on new 2-year contract. AT&T also has an exclusive 64GB version that can be purchased for $299 on contract.

At this time, only the white/silver One (pictured above) is available. The black version will arrive in the “coming weeks,” according to HTC.

T-Mobile has announced that the phone will be in retail stores by April 24 for $99.99 down.

Don’t forget to check out our extensive HTC One review if you haven’t already.

Here are the rest of today’s launch details:

• AT&T: Online and in retail with 32GB of memory for $199.99, or online with 64GB of memory for $299.99 with a two-year commitment.
• Sprint: Online and in retail with 32GB of memory for $199.99 with a two-year commitment.
• Best Buy, Radio Shack, Walmart, Target, Amazon.com, Costco, Car Toys, Sam’s Club, HSN.com and HTC.com.
• Coming soon to T-Mobile in silver with 32GB of memory, and available in the coming weeks in black at AT&T and Sprint with 32GB of memory.

Click here to view the embedded video.

HTC One Available Today From AT&T and Sprint, All Sorts of Retailers is a post from: Droid Life

Looks like the leak from last week was right (except for the date). This morning, Sprint announced the addition of 21 brand new 4G LTE markets, ranging all the way from the California coast to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Now Network has stated before that 2013 would be a big push year from them in this area, as they continue to compete against AT&T and now T-Mobile in the 4G LTE coverage game.

Take a peek below for the full list of new markets. 

New Markets:

• Albemarle, N.C.
• Bloomington, Ind.
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Contra Costa County, Calif.
• Denison, Texas
• Greeneville, Tenn.
• Joplin, Mo.
• Kerrville, Texas
• Lafayette, Ind.
• Lincolnton, N.C.
• Los Angeles
• Mankato/North Mankato, Minn.
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, Va.
• Palm Bay, Fla.
• Port St. Lucie, Fla.
• Rochelle, Ill.
• Salisbury, N.C.
• Shelby, N.C.
• Tullahoma, Tenn.
• West Palm Beach, Fla.

Via: Sprint

Sprint Announces 21 New 4G LTE Markets Ranging From Coast to Coast is a post from: Droid Life

Looking for exact info on when and where you can pick up a new Galaxy S4 from Samsung? So far, a few major carriers in the U.S. have already begun pre-orders, but information from Verizon is still extremely scarce. Below we have gathered the most recent information on release dates and pre-order availability, so give it a look over and plan your next move.

• Verizon:  Pre-orders open April 25, in-store available begins May 30.
• AT&T:  Pre-orders opened April 16, in-store availability begins April 27.
• T-Mobile:  Pre-orders open April 24, in-store availability begins May 1.
• Sprint:  Pre-orders open April 18, in-store availability begins April 27.
• US Cellular:  Pre-orders opened April 17, in-store availability begins April 30.
• Cricket:  TBD
• C Spire:  TBD

We’ll continue to update this post as official dates are announced.

Where and When Can I Buy the Samsung Galaxy S4? [Release Dates] is a post from: Droid Life

This morning Samsung announced that the Galaxy S4 will be available in “April,” but left specific dates up to each carrier. Sprint was quick to announce a date, and April 27 is the day that customers can expect to see the phone in stores.

For customers upgrading, the 16GB version of the device will run you $249.99, but if you are switching your phone number to Sprint from another carrier, Sprint will knock the price down to $149.99. A little bit steeper than other carriers, but this is very likely to be the best selling phone of this year.

Pre-orders for the phone open tomorrow so make your decision soon, for the full press release hit the break. 

Sprint Brings Truly Unlimited Data to Samsung Galaxy S 4 on April 27

Sprint Announces Their Galaxy S4 Will Be Available April 27 for $249.99 is a post from: Droid Life

The Samsung Galaxy S4 may have been announced at a zany and somewhat entertaining press event at Radio City Music Hall in NYC back in March, but at the time, minimal U.S. carrier availability was mentioned outside of a couple of pre-orders. Today, Samsung has made almost all of it official, without mentioning any specific dates. 

The Samsung Galaxy S4 will launch starting in April at seven different U.S. carriers including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Cricket, US Cellular, and C Spire. It will also be available at a variety of retailers including Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile, Costco, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Staples, Target, and Wal-Mart. Exact pricing and availability, as usual, will be announced individually by each carrier and retailer over the coming weeks.

The device itself is no different than what we got our hands-on already, and will feature Samsung’s new suite of camera software, air view and gesture technology, powerful set of specs, and accessory lineup.

Knowing the history of announcements like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if each carrier announced a launch date at various moments throughout the rest of the day.

The full press release with details on each new Galaxy S4 software feature along with a complete spec list can be found below.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S^® 4 REDEFINES THE SMARTPHONE AGAIN WITH MORE LEADING-EDGE INNOVATIONS AND GOVERNMENT-GRADE SECURITY* 

The next generation of the world’s best-selling smartphone widely available at seven U.S. carriers and seven retailers beginning in April

DALLAS – April 17, 2013 – Building on the success and innovation of its predecessor, the Galaxy S^® 4 provides a suite of industry-leading innovations that will change how consumers interact with a smartphone and delivers a greater level of security for regulated industries. The Galaxy S 4 uniquely makes advanced technologies and features easy to use by integrating them into the way individuals use their phones every day.

The Galaxy S 4 is the first device to enable consumers to control the device with touch-less features including scrolling or turning a page, viewing documents within a file folder or a link on a web page. It enhances memorable moments with innovative camera features that captures progressive action and removes unwanted people from the photo. The Galaxy S 4 also enhances your TV watching experience with the new Samsung WatchON™ service that simplifies searching and recommends TV, movies and sports according to personal tastes. With WatchOn and the built in IR blaster, the Galaxy S 4 also functions as a remote control for home theater equipment.

The Galaxy S 4 is optimized for powerful performance on the nation’s fastest networks and will be available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless as well as U.S. Cellular, Cricket and C Spire starting during April. Additionally, consumers can find the Galaxy S 4 at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile, Costco, Radio Shack, Sam’s Club, Staples, Target and Wal-Mart. Exact pricing and retail availability will be announced by each of the carriers and retailers in the coming weeks.

“The Galaxy S line of smartphones has achieved momentous success with 100 million in unit sales worldwide in less than three years. This validates that we are addressing what consumers want from a smartphone,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America. “The fourth generation of Samsung’s flagship device builds upon the tradition of excellence and provides consumers with even more innovation that simplifies and redefines the way individuals will interact with their Galaxy S 4. We believe this device will be a true companion to all aspects of a consumer’s life from work, to travel and even watching TV.”

Meaningful Moments

The Galaxy S 4 combines the simple and visual interface introduced with the Galaxy Camera with a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera to take professional looking photographs with a smartphone. The front-facing 2-megapixel camera on the Galaxy S 4 allows consumers to capture special moments in unique and new ways with the Dual Camera shooting mode. Dual Camera mode takes pictures with both the rear and front cameras simultaneously to enable the photographer to be in the photo as well.

The Galaxy S 4 is loaded with several innovative capabilities that let anyone shoot like a professional:

• Drama Shot: Capture a progressive event, like a baby’s first steps or a basketball player’s slam dunk, in one frame
• Eraser Shot: Remove unwanted objects or people from an otherwise perfect picture
• Animation Shot: Turn your favorite moments into animated GIF
• Live Filters: With built-in filter options, an individual can now see how a picture will look– on both the camera and camcorder – before the photo is taken

Compile photos with location and weather information with Story Album™ to create the most comprehensive and personalized memory book. Integration with Blurb’s photo book printing service allows consumers to easily print a physical book to keep or share.

Effortless Experience

The Galaxy S 4 introduces a completely new way to interact with a smartphone – without a touch. A simple wave of the hand over the screen scrolls through a screen and changes a song; holding a finger over the screen allows one to preview content within the photo gallery, email and calendar; pause a video by looking away from the screen and scroll to the top or bottom of a page by looking up or down.

Features include:

• Air Gesture: Answer a call or skip to the next song by waving your hand in front of the screen. Useful when your hands are otherwise occupied
• Air View™: Preview emails, photos in the gallery, or even the stories in Flipboard® by hovering your finger over the screen
• Samsung Smart Pause: Pause a video by looking away from the screen
• Samsung Optical Reader: Automatically recognizes text, a business card or QR codes and take immediate action like placing a call from a scanned card or translating text

Protect Work and Personal Information

The Galaxy S 4 is not only perfect for personal use, but it is enterprise ready as a SAFE™-designated device.   The Galaxy S 4 is the first Samsung device to include Samsung’s KNOX solution, which provides comprehensive mobile security at the hardware level and enhanced personal privacy for individuals at the software level. All framework components come standard on the device, and full-feature activation by solution providers and distribution channels will be available at a later date.

The Galaxy S 4 simultaneously delivers on IT executives’ need for industry-leading mobile security for companies with stringent security requirements. KNOX enables consumers to separate work via Samsung’s containerization approach. IT managers can now access and manage the passcode-protected work container without disturbing the content within an individual’s personal space on the device so consumer content, including photos, emails, music files and social network data remain intact on the device when an employee separates from a company.

Ease of Use

With the Galaxy S 4, there are a number of features to simplify the experience for first-time smartphone owners, those interested in switching from another operating system and long-time Samsung consumers. The Galaxy S 4 has a streamlined start-up wizard so consumers can begin using the device faster and learn about its unique features from the start.

Easy Mode, which was first introduced on the Galaxy S III, has been enhanced to smooth the transition for first-time smartphone owners by simplifying the home screen layout, camera, calendar, messaging and the internet browser to make the settings menu easy to navigate. Once a user is more comfortable with their Galaxy S 4, they can easily switch back to the standard home screen interface.

With the launch of the Galaxy S 4, Samsung is also introducing Samsung Smart Switch™, a PC application that lets new owners transfer contacts, messages, photos, music, calendar notifications and more from another phone to the Galaxy S 4. Smart Switch can identify favorite applications and recommend the same or similar applications within Google Play™.

The Galaxy S 4 greatly improves upon the popular notification shade, which provides quick control of new innovative features, and the functionality most often accessed and changed by consumers. The expanded notification shade shows 19 settings so consumers can quickly and easily toggle them on and off as needed.

Powerful Performance

The sophisticated Galaxy S 4 is designed with a full-HD Super AMOLED™ (1920 X 1080) display with 441ppi for brilliant, stunning graphics on the device’s 5-inch screen. The slimmer, sleeker smartphone weighs 4.6 ounces, is 7.9 millimeters thin and has a minimized bezel to maximize the viewing experience.

The Galaxy S 4 includes Android™ 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) with TouchWiz® enhancements, a 1.9 GHz quad core CPU and 2GB of internal RAM. The Galaxy S 4 is also uses Gorilla Glass® 3.0 – the most advanced, fortified glass for its stunning 5-inch display, making it stronger and more resistant to scratches and cracks than ever before.

The Galaxy S 4, available at select carriers in Black Mist and White Frost, is powered by a removable 2,600 mAh battery for extended use on a single charge. Users can store large libraries of photos, music and videos on the Galaxy S 4 with expandable memory of up to 64 GB to complement the standard 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage.

Protect the Galaxy S 4 with the S View Flip Cover, a specially designed flip cover that has a clear window to read a text message, answer or reject a call, and view the battery status. Sold separately, the S View Flip Cover comes in Black Mist and White Frost to add style, while protecting the device and providing privacy, and is sold separately.

For more information on the Galaxy S 4 and accessories, please visit www.samsung.com/us/galaxys4 or www.samsungmobileuspress.com.

Samsung Galaxy S 4 Product Specifications:

*KNOX incorporates Security Enhanced (SE) for Android developed by the NSA (National Security Agency), which is baked in at the kernel level of the device to greatly limit potential damage due to flawed, malicious apps and/or “rooting” malware.

Samsung, Galaxy S, TouchWiz, Samsung Smart Switch, ChatOn, WatchOn, S Voice, Story Album, and Air View are all trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.  Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc. Other company names, product names and marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and may be trademarks or registered trademarks.

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About Samsung Telecommunications America

Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, (Samsung Mobile) a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets, wireless infrastructure and other telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 236,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales of US$187.8 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Arriving at Seven U.S. Carriers and Seven Retailers for an April Launch is a post from: Droid Life

The last time we heard news from Dish Network, they were in a bidding war with Sprint over majority share of Clearwire. It now seems as if Dish got tired of that idea and has since decided to try and buy Sprint instead. Sprint and SoftBank have been trying to close a deal that would put the Japanese carrier in control, but Dish has made a larger bid and hopes to raise the funds needed to complete the deal. 

Dish wants to purchase Sprint to become the first company to be able to offer broadband internet, TV and mobile plans under one roof. This is just a proposal though, it doesn’t mean the deal is anywhere close to being done. At this point the ball is in Sprint’s court for making a decision on which offer to take. Dish’s deal comes in at $25.5 billion where as SoftBank’s is only $20.1 and we know how money talks.

Who knows what this means for the rumored Google and Dish Network mobile network, but it’s not looking good.

Via: Sprint | The Verge

Dish Network Proposes $25.5 Billion Bid to Take Control of Sprint is a post from: Droid Life

This morning, Sprint and Samsung announced an exclusive new color for the Galaxy S3 called, amethyst purple. Oooh, pretty. It’s the same S3, 4.8″ display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, NFC, and that 2,100mAh battery.

According to the press release it is available starting today for $99 on a new to year agreement, so if you like purple and you like last year’s tech, head to Sprint right now.

Sprint Lands Exclusive Amethyst Purple Galaxy S3 is a post from: Droid Life

According to a recently leaked internal document, Sprint plans to light up a nice list of 4G LTE markets here in the U.S. on April 12. A total of 21 markets will have their switches flipped, bringing their grand total of active 4G markets to nearly 100 now. 

Below we have neatly listed out each city that should receive the green light sometime tomorrow.

New Markets:

• Los Angeles and Contra Costa County, CA
• Palm Bay, FL
• Port St. Lucie, FL
• West Palm Beach, FL
• Bloomington, IN
• Lafayette, IN
• Rochelle, IL
• Mankato, MN
• Joplin, MS
• Charlotte, NC
• Shelby, NC
• Albermarie, NC
• Salisbury, NC
• Lincolnton, NC
• Memphis, TN
• Greenville, TN
• Tullahoma, TN
• Denison, TX
• Kerrville, TX
• Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA

Via: Phone Arena

Leak Shows Sprint Has Plans to Launch 21 4G LTE Markets on April 12 is a post from: Droid Life

Moments ago, Sprint joined AT&T in announcing availability of the HTC One. They will also launch the 32GB version of the device on April 19 for $199 on new 2-year contract in both black and white. They do not have a 64GB version as that is an AT&T exclusive. If you’d like to secure one sooner than the 19th, Sprint will open up pre-orders on April 5, this Friday.

Via:  Sprint

Sprint is Also Launching the HTC One on April 19 for $199, Pre-orders Kick Off April 5 is a post from: Droid Life