Hasta La Gadget!

AT&T has issued a clarification on its Galaxy S4 pricing via the unique method of a small statement in a footnote to an earlier post. Previously, AT&T had announced via its consumer blog on March 28 that it would be offering the Galaxy S4 starting at $249.99 with pre-orders beginning April 16. Now, it has amended that post to add that that’s for the 32GB model, with the 16GB version priced cheaper at $199.99 on a two-year agreement.

The move comes a full five days after the initial post, and after a number of bloggers, analysts and news publications pointed out that Apple’s iPhone 5 would be cheaper on a two-year contract than the Galaxy S4 on AT&T’s network. It seems bizarre to have the clarification come so long after what ended up being a very widely covered pre-order announcement, which was also followed by the news that the HTC One would also come in cheaper than the Galaxy S4 starting at $200 with a two-year term.

It’s odd enough to make me wonder whether the change in pricing and available storage options is the result of a decision after the fact by either Samsung, AT&T or the two together to offer the 16GB product SKU as a way to achieve price parity with flagship phones from competing manufacturers. I’ve contacted AT&T to learn more about why it neglected to mention the $199.99 16G Galaxy S4 option in its original post, and will update if they respond.

The bottom line for buyers is that the Galaxy S4 will launch on an even playing field with the HTC One and the iPhone 5 in terms of entry-level pricing at AT&T, which means price won’t be a factor when it comes time to choose a new flagship phone from one of the most interesting players in the mobile market.

Planning to pick up a Samsung Galaxy S4 but want to get rid of TouchWiz the minute you get the phone home? Well you’re in luck because it seems that thanks to the hardworking Android community, they have managed to root the Galaxy S4 even before it has been released! This is thanks to XDA Developer forum member, i9000 who has posted instructions on how to root the Galaxy S4 once users get their hands on it. However there is a catch and the catch is that this root method will only work for the GT-i9500 model, basically the model with the Exynos 5 Octa chipset. What this means is that if you’re living in regions who are pegged to receive the Galaxy S4 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset, you’re out of luck, at least for now. If you’re interested in checking out the instructions, maybe to bookmark it for a later date, head on over to the XDA forums for the details. As always we caution you to proceed carefully when performing such actions as it is possible to ruin your device if not done properly.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: 3DMark Android Edition Set To Rock And Roll, Sprint HTC One Available On April 19 For $199.99 With Two-Year Contract,

Component shortages have delayed the U.S. launch of HTC One. The manufacturer is obviously not happy about that, since unavailability of the product might see prospective customers shift their interest to other latest offerings such as the Galaxy S4, which too is yet to hit U.S. soil. HTC has got its marketing guns blazing nonetheless. The image shows HTC One signage that RadioShack is starting to receive and display on its stores. Promotional signs for both AT&T and Sprint versions are being received.

On a two-year contract with Sprint, the HTC One will cost $199.99. A couple of extras have been thrown in to sweeten the deal. Customers that sign up for a new two-year contract will receive a $50 Google Play gift card. RadioShack will also be shaving off $10 on the contract price of the HTC One, which then comes down to $189.99. As far as the other carriers are concerned, Verizon is not getting the HTC One, though recent rumors have us believing on the contrary, whereas T-Mobile is no longer in business with RadioShack. Does this sound like a good enough deal to you?

[Image via AndroidCentral]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 Launch Sparks Galaxy S3 Price Drop, Nokia Lumia 720T Headed For China,

Hot on the heels of AT&T announcing their pre-orders for the Samsung GALAXY S 4, US Cellular is announcing that they’ll be opening up pre-orders for the new device on the same day of April 16. However, the carrier didn’t say much else. No price is listed on their website yet, but we’re guessing it’ll be right on track with AT&T’s price tag — hopefully a bit cheaper, though.

So far, AT&T and US Cellular are the only two major US carriers who have announced pre-order details, but T-Mobile is actually the only US carrier who has announced availability of the new phone, which is set for around May 1. T-Mobile announced availability of the GALAXY S 4 earlier this week during an event.

Pre-orders for the GALAXY S 4 are actually already live over in the UK, with an availability date of April 26 for UK residents. A handful of carriers will have the phone available, as well as a few retailers, such as Carphone Warehouse and Amazon, where you can grab the new device for £630 without a contract.

The GALAXY S 4 comes with a 5-inch 1080p display and a 13MP camera. The US version of the phone will pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor clocked at 1.9GHz with 2GB of RAM, while the UK version will sport Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa chip. The phone also has a huge 2500 mAh battery. We’ve already gotten our hands on the new toy, but we’ll have a full review coming up soon.

[via Android Community]

US Cellular Samsung GALAXY S 4 pre-orders begin April 16 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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While the Samsung Galaxy S4 will not arrive out of the box with wireless charging capability, those who want to take advantage of what could very well be the future of smartphones and other mobile devices can do so by changing the back plate of said handset, and throwing in wireless charging capability so that it will be able to play nice with a wireless charging pad in a jiffy. What you see above are actually leaked images of the charging back cover as well as wireless charging dock, although to date no exact price or rollout timetable has been confirmed.

The images shown arrive fresh out of China, and of course, the charging pad itself will need to be hooked up to a power outlet directly, otherwise how else is it suppose to draw its juice from? While the Samsung Galaxy S4 sports a whopping 2600mAh of power right out of the box, making it one of the largest capacity smartphones at the moment, this does not mean it should be excluded from the wonders of wireless charging, right?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook Invites Folks To Check Out Its New Home On Android This April 4th, HTC One Scores Extremely Low On Repairability Scale On iFixit,