| MacUpdate Weekend Sale | :This weekend MacUpdate has slashed prices on Painter 12 and Painter Lite. Painter 12 retails for $429, but has been reduced by 54% to $199. Painter Lite has seen a 58% price cut from $69 to $29. Hurry, because these deals are only available until May 19th 2013. |
Samsung is expecting to hit the 10 million sales milestone for its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, in the next week. If reached, Samsung co-CEO Shin Jong-kyun believes it would become the fastest selling smartphone in the company's history, beating its predecessor to the very same sales barrier by almost three weeks.
Samsung is working on reducing the amount of internal storage in the Galaxy S4 that is taken up by the operating system. After a number of customer complaints and an investigation from the BBC consumer affairs show Watchdog, the company will try to shrink the room its TouchWiz implementation and other items it has added to the base Android installation.
Google has unveiled that a version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 with a stock installation of Android will be available to purchase, confirming an earlier rumor. The smartphone will be fully unlocked from purchase, will use an unlocked bootloader, and will apparently receive quicker software updates compared to the version of Android provided by Samsung.
A surprise rumor is circulating ahead of Google I/O suggesting that Samsung and Google will reveal a new version of the Galaxy S4 that runs stock Android instead of Samsung’s own version of Android, TouchWiz. According to reports, the device will be known as the Samsung Galaxy S4 ‘Google Edition.’ However, it is not expected to form part of Google’s Nexus line as it the hardware was not-co-developed with Google as is typically the case for Nexus-branded devices.
Apple has told the US District Court in California hearing motions for the upcoming second patent-infringement trial against Samsung that it intends to add the Galaxy S4 as an infringing device. In order to do so, the iPhone maker will have to drop one of its previously-listed infringing devices from the list, such as the Galaxy S III, S II, Note or Nexus (among other possible models). Judge Lucy Koh is attempting to keep both companies down to a minimum number of patent claims and infringing devices.
The anticipated ruggedized version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 has appeared for certification at the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The device had previously been alluded to by a Samsung executive who said that it would be releasing a device with water and dust resistance along the lines of the Sony Xperia Z and ZR. Its appearance on the Bluetooth SIG site is indicative that it is set to join the ever expanding range of Samsung Galaxy products in the next couple of months.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available in an extra shade of blue, according to a Japanese carrier's promotional material. The images from DoCoMo arrive at the same time as other photographs that claim to show the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, something which has been suggested as launching at some point this month.
A teardown of the 32GB US Samsung Galaxy S4 by research firm IHS iSuppli shows the device costs the Korean manufacturer just above $237 to build per unit. Many of the components are sourced within Samsung itself and is not far below the Bill of Materials (BOM) cost of the Galaxy Note tablet, which runs the company $270 per unit.
In addition to news from Consumer Reports that Apple's iPhone provided the best after-sale support, insurance firm SquareTrade has reported that the hardware is pretty solid as well. Tested against both the new flagship Samsung smartphone the Galaxy S4 and its predecessor the Galaxy S III, the S4 score very poorly on a "torture test." Though all three smartphones were considered "medium risk" on a scale of 1 (hardy) to 10 (fragile), the iPhone 5 scored a 5, the S III scored a 6.5 and the new S4 rated a 7.
A large number of tech press reviews of Samsung's Galaxy S4 have noted that it's design is inferior to HTC's premium-feeling One, and that would appear to be paying off for HTC. The manufacturer's North American president recently told Business Insider that the knocks on Samsung's design ethic are drawing the right kind of attention to HTC just when the company needs it most.
Samsung’s Australian Galaxy S4 launch has been hit by shipping delays. The Korean tech giant put on a glitzy launch in Sydney on Wednesday, even lighting up the Opera House to celebrate the occasion. Although the launch event was held just a few days before its promised arrival in stores on April 27, the company made no indication that customers may have to endure any shipment issues.
Samsung's Galaxy S4 has finally launched in the United Kingdom and Netherlands, with considerable crowds attending the release in at least one location. The new Samsung flagship handset has received positive reviews, and its launch comes at the end of months of hype. Samsung fans in Amsterdam appear to have gathered by the dozens, and possibly hundreds, in anticipation of the device's release.
Samsung is planning to introduce a ruggedized version of the Galaxy S4 this summer, according to a report. The Korean electronics producer is also plotting to put out a smaller version called the Galaxy S4 Mini, mimicking the product strategy of the Galaxy S III, as well as a new eight-inch Galaxy-ranged tablet sometime in June.
Due to some unexpected inventory difficulties Sprint has been forced to delay its full launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The company plans to make the Galaxy S4 available through its online store and telesales on Saturday April 27th as planned, while retail stores and other channels receiving devices will be supplied with inventory when it becomes available. Just today some early reviews started going live, with reviewers agreeing that the device is a nice advancement from the S3, but falls short in terms of build quality and features compared to its competition.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has seen mostly positive comments from technology publications, in reviews published today. The general tone across the board seems to be that the new Samsung flagship device is a nice step-up from its predecessor, the Galaxy S III, consumers will be forced to choose between the extra features the S4 provides with the design of the similar-in-specification HTC One.
Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone is one of the most anticipated handsets of the year, and some AT&T customers may be able to get their hands on the device a week earlier than expected. Reports have emerged of some customers ordering the Galaxy S4 on AT&T only to see that the device will ship on April 23, not the April 30 date that was previously given. A recent look at AT&T's site showed that some users still only have the April 30 option, but Engadget captured a screenshot showing it is at least possible that some will see their S4s shipping a week earlier.
Even as it prepares for the release of its next flagship handset, Samsung may be worried that its competitors have an edge on it. A new rumor has the South Korean conglomerate pondering a change in the build quality of its devices in light of the release of premium-quality devices like HTC's new One handset. Future Galaxy devices could therefore see a big boost in build quality, starting perhaps as early as this year.
AT&T has revised its pricing of the Samsung Galaxy S4 to be more clear to its customers, after announcing the price without noting which model it related to. The update on the company blog shows the $250 upfront and two-year contract relates to the 32GB version of the Galaxy S4, while the 16GB Galaxy S4 will be available at a cheaper $200, also on a two-year commitment.
After watching the sometimes-awkward public debut of Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone, research analysts Yankee Group are predicting that while the model will do well in the US, it won't stop the slow gains in Apple's North American marketshare. Calling the device "just another iteration on the Galaxy design to be slightly bigger, faster and with a few new apps," the company echoed widespread sentiment that Samsung may have overreached in marketing the phone as a major upgrade.
According to a preliminary "virtual teardown" by IHS, the HSPA+ version of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone holds $236 in parts, and the LTE version contains $233 in silicon, mostly produced in-house by Samsung. The bill of materials in the new device exceeds the equivalent version of the Galaxy S III smartphone by $30.40, a 15 percent increase.
