Surprise, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a smash hit! Okay.. so that’s not really a shocker, is it? As expected, the Galaxy S4 is a runaway success so far, but the big question is just how many units have already been shipped. According to Samsung, the number has now reached 4 million globally (through April) and is quickly rising.

In comparison to Galaxy handsets of the past, the Galaxy S3 took 21 days to reach 3 million units and the Galaxy S2 took 55 days to reach just 3 million.

Demand is continuing to grow for the S4, and one unnamed Sammy executive even says they’ve already sold more than 6 million units, and some predictions say that by this month’s end, they will reach 10 million Galaxy S4 shipments.

Keep in mind that Samsung’s “sales” are not to the end-user, but to the wireless carrier, making them look a little better than they actually are.

Still, no matter how you slice it, the Galaxy S4 is looking to be Samsung’s biggest hit yet. What’s interesting is that for the first time in a while, Samsung actually has major competition in the form of solid devices like the HTC One and Sony Xperia Z and yet it doesn’t seem to be slowing the Korean giant down any.

With S4 variants like the Zoom and Mini rumored to be on their way in the not-too-distant future, I’d say that it will be a long while before the Galaxy S4 hype dies down.

What do you think of Samsung’s latest? How does it compare to devices from Apple, Sony, HTC, Nokia and other major competitors?

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While T-Mobile’s version of the Galaxy S4 already has an unofficial build of Cyanogenmod up and running on it, AT&T and several other carriers aren’t going to be so lucky, due to getting a version of the S4 with a locked bootloader.

The good news is that where there is a will, there is a way. Security researcher Dan Rosenberg has started working on a way to get past the bootloader lock on the Galaxy S4, something he now looks to have succeeded at.

Rosenberg already has custom recovery up and running on the phone, and could eventually have other tools like ClockWorkMod running as well. If all continues smootly, it will only be a matter of time before bootlocked Galaxy S4 owners in the United States have a way to to flash custom ROMs and other modding efforts.

Are you thinking about getting a Samsung Galaxy S4? If so, do you care about modding or do you prefer sticking to a stock ROM?

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The post AT&T Galaxy S4 Bootloader Might Be Unlockable After All appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Rogers is promising “the fastest speeds in Canada” with the launch of their new LTE Max. Beyond just a marketing term, the improved LTE tech is available across two high-frequency bands – AWS (1700/2100Mhz) and 2600Mhz. And they have also announced the expansion of LTE to new markets:

• Chatham
• Milton
• Sarnia
• Woodstock
• Orangeville
• St. Catharines, which also includes Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Welland and Pelham;
• GTA North expansion, which also includes King City & Bradford
• GTA West expansion, which also includes Georgetown & Halton Hills
• Kentville
• Brantford
• Collingwood
• GTA Northeast Expansion, which also includes Stouffville & East Gwillimbury
• Oshawa Expansion, which also includes Clarington
• Lloydminster

With LTE Max, Rogers says that they are offering theoretical network speeds of 150 Mbps. But typical speeds are expected to fall within 12-25Mbps, although speeds closer to 50Mbps on 20 MHz cells have been reported.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 and the BlackBerry Q10 will provide support for LTE Max, and more devices are expected to arrive in the coming months.

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Alot of new information about Galaxy S4′s arrival plans in the U.S. market have surfaced recently, and now Samsung has confirmed many of these details.

There are seven carriers in the United States that will see the Galaxy S4 arrive late April and into early May. First we have the four big dogs: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint. Next, we have the some of the smaller carriers like U.S. Cellular, C Spire and Cricket.

So when are they coming exactly? Not everything is set is stone, but here is a list of the carriers and when the phone is believed to be arriving:

Verizon Wireless

Officially, Verizon hasn’t said much at all about the Galaxy S4′s launch date. Luckily a leaked Staples document points towards April 30th. Of course this isn’t guaranteed accurate.

AT&T

AT&T is taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S4 as we speak. The phone will cost $200 on contract, or $640 for those buying it outright. The ship date is April 30th, which also happens to be the rumored Verizon ship date.

U.S. Cellular

Like AT&T, the Galaxy S4 will set you back $200 on contract, though it is a bit pricier upfront at $750. As for when it is arriving? According to U.S. Cellular, it has an estimated arrival of 4 weeks from the pre-order start date. That means it is likely going to arrive sometime in the middle of May.

Cricket

Samsung says it is coming, beyond that we know little. If we had to take a guess on arrival timeframe, I’d say mid-to-late May.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile starts pre-orders on April 24th, with May 1st as the release date. As excepted, the phone will follow their new ‘uncarrier’ approach, meaning you will pay $150 upfront, with 24 payments of $20 a month. You will also have the option of paying $630 outright.

C Spire Wireless

Little information is known about when this small carrier will end up with the Samsung Galaxy S4. Like Cricket, I’d guess sometime in mid-to-late May. Again that’s just speculation.

Sprint

Sprint starts pre-orders for the Galaxy S4 tomorrow actually., though no information on the actual release date. Sprint will sell the Galaxy S4 for $250 contract, but right now they are offering a $100 credit for folks that switch their number from another carrier over to Sprint – which is kind of like getting the Galaxy S4 for $150 for first-time Sprint customers.

Outside of carriers, major retailers like Walmart, Costco, Radio Shack, Staples and others will also carry the flagship Samsung handset.

What do you think of the Samsung Galaxy S4? Are you interested in getting your hands on it or is their another smartphone that you are more interested in at this point instead? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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The long awaited Galaxy S4 was introduced a month ago by Samsung, but people are still playing the waiting game as there hasn’t been any confirmation regarding the release date of the device on any carrier. The good news is that we won’t have to wait too long, at least if we are to believe the leaked document from Staples that you see above.

The leak suggests that the S4 will be available from AT&T on April 26, T-Mobile on May 1, and Verizon on May 30. Of course those launch dates are “tentative”. There is no mention about the S4 model on the Now Network and no pricing details for the handsets sold at Staples. As for T-Mobile? The ‘uncarrier‘ earlier confirmed that they will make the Galaxy S4 available on May 1^st.

AT&T recently announced pre-order starting date of April 16 for the S4, and they will be offering both the 32GB and the 16GB models for $249.99 and $199.99 respectively, with a two-year contract. T-Mobile is expected to offer the device for $99.99 down with 24 monthly payments of $20.

Meanwhile, another leak says that Walmart will start taking pre-orders for S4 on April 16th. No hints on which carriers are involved, but Walmart currently offers the S3 on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

In short, the wait for the next big thing is almost over. Are you anxiously awaiting the Galaxy S4? If not, what handset holds your fancy instead?

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The Samsung Galaxy S4 is what’s hot at the moment and the device is expected to be launched on several US carriers, including Sprint. But in case the budget has been a bit tight for you to go for the S4 on the Now Network, maybe you can focus on getting a brand new S3 via a great offer.

According to a leaked screenshot, which comes to us courtesy of Engadget, a purple version of the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S3 will be available from Sprint on April 12 with a price tag of $99 on a new two year contract with a $50 mail-in rebate.

The 4.8 inch Galaxy S3, as you might know, has been available in a variety of colors including red, white, grey, brown and black. We have our doubts regarding how the customers will think about the color purple. Other than that color, there is of course nothing new under the hood to make the device better than the S4. But maybe that low price might pull in shoppers.

What do you think about this edition? Find it appealing? Or are you saving to get the S4, which will be available as Black and White versions on Sprint?

The post Purple Samsung Galaxy S3 For Sprint appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Everybody is excited about the arrival of Samsung’s latest and greatest smartphone, the Galaxy S4, and the thrill increases when an online retailer comes out with an awesome offer. Carphone Warehouse has just announced that they will be giving away a free Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7-inch tablet along with pre-orders for the S4.

In order to get in on the deal, you must act fast since the offer will only available to the first 2000 people who order the S4 on a pay monthly order. At the time of writing this the deal is still there, but it probably won’t last long as a free dual-core Jelly Bean powered tablet with the S4 is a great deal and to make things sweeter they have also added an accessory pack with a screen protector, case and car charger into the offer. Carphone Warehouse will ship the device on April 26^th.

So, all of you folks over at UK, are you going to order the device from Carphone Warehouse? Or are you going with Vodafone or EE or O2?

As for those of you in the US, AT&T announced that the S4 will be available for pre-order on April 16 for $249.99 with a two-year contract. Interested? Or are you thinking about Sprint or MetroPCS?

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The SPH-L720 bound for Sprint and the SCH-R970 enroute to MetroPCS both come equipped with the usual slate of compatible radios, including CDMA and EV-DO, as well as 4G LTE. However, there are some differences between the two. The Sprint model gains HSPA 3G for world roaming compatibility, whereas the MetroPCS model expands its LTE to quad-band support. This is presumably meant to support other US carriers like US Cellular.

With the Galaxy S4 launch just around the corner, it’s curious that we would see the MetroPCS and Sprint versions before the versions destined to even heavier hitters like T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. They’re bound to be coming, of course.

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The Samsung Galaxy S4 is finally out the gate, bringing with it tons of new features such as eye-tracking, the ability to touch even with gloves on, and so much more.

There are certainly mixed opinions here, as always found anytime a major manufacturer outs its newest flagship.

Some are calling the S4 the second coming of the messiah, others are saying it is over-rated and that Samsung undelivered with this one. It isn’t just Android and tech fans that are sounding off their opinions though, even HTC feels the need to weigh in via Twitter:

While you don’t expect the competition to come out and say, “Wow man, your new handset rocks! We should file for bankruptcy now and go hide somewhere”, these kind of direct ‘attack’ statements aren’t necessarily that common either.

Does HTC have a point?

I have to say that I personally felt that the Samsung presentation for the Galaxy S4 was lame. That’s not to say the phone itself isn’t exciting– I just wasn’t a fan of the way they unveiled it. So in that one regard I agree with HTC.

Beyond that though? There is a lot of great technology found in the Samsung Galaxy 4 and the specs are very, very solid. I would have liked to see them switch things up a little in the design department, but I suppose if it isn’t broke, why fix it? Ultimately, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is going to sell like hotcakes and I have to say I am personally excited about this one.

In time, HTC’s “theNextBigFlog” tag will be proven false. Can’t blame HTC for trying, though.

Is the Galaxy S4 totally an innovative piece of art, though? That’s probably a matter of opinion, but I have to say this felt more like an incremental upgrade than something extraordinarily innovative or new.

To put it another way (and risk being beaten to death by angry Sammy and/or Apple fans), Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is to the S3 as the iPhone 5 is to the iPhone 4S. It is a step forward to be clear but is it a massive leap? Maybe, maybe not.

What do you think, do you agree that the Galaxy S4 is a solid phone worth being excited about, even if it isn’t exactly an epic departure from what we already have come to know and love from Samsung? Or perhaps you are totally disappointed in the S4? Let us know what you think via the comment section.

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The post HTC Calls Out the Galaxy S4 as the “Next Big Flop”, Agree or Not? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Want to know a secret? Samsung is a big deal in the mobile world. Okay, so that’s not exactly a secret. Next to Apple, there is no one Android vendor that can generate more excitement than Sammy, so it is no surprise that Apple’s Phil Schiller is already taking shots at the Samsung Galaxy S4.

“We are hearing this week that Samsung Galaxy S4 is being rumored to ship with an OS that is nearly a year old” commented Schiller while speaking to Reuters. “Customers will have to wait to get an update,”adds Schiller.

More than likely he is pointing to the fact that the S4 is expected to ship with Android Jelly Bean 4.2.x, since Key Lime isn’t out the door yet. In contrast, new versions of iOS are usually ready right in time for the launch of new versions of the iPhone. Not that Samsung has any real control over Google’s release schedule for Android.

The Apple marketing chief than went on to talk about that over 50 percent of iOS users are running on the latest update and claimed that research indicates that Apple customers use their mobile devices more than people who own Android hardware.

Apple and Samsung continue to wage war on the mobile front, and any time a new product launches from a competitor, it means the attention is off of your product. Making these kinds of statements is just part of the war game, and a way to get a bit of attention back on you.

Are you excited for the Samsung Galaxy S4? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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