Samsung Galaxy S4 specs & features

It was announced yesterday that Samsung will be releasing the latest version of its S series smartphones in February, the Samsung Galaxy S4. The English publication in Korea, The Korea Times reported  that anonymous company officials and local part suppliers were preparing for a February Samsung Galaxy S4 release date and retail availability in March. The unveiling is slated to take place at this year’s Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. The release date was determined a mere three days after Apple showcased its much anticipated iPhone 5 and nine months after Samsung released its Galaxy S3. It’s been suggested that the release date was designated so that the iPhone 5 hype would simmer down and Samsung could position itself better against its heated rival.

The announcement came on the heels of the iPhone 5 release last week, and though there aren’t any definitive reports on the Galaxy S4’s specs, they are poised to vie with the iPhone’s. It’s expected that the S4 will sport a quad-core processor and depending on the country, will feature Samsung’s Exynos processor or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. The OLED screen will be larger than that of its predecessor, the S3 (4.8 inches), and the iPhone 5’s (4 inches). It will also sport 4G LTE connectivity and an Android OS. All of these specs look to build upon the already impressive Galaxy S3 which boasts a 4.8 inch 720p HD display, 4G LTE connectivity, Android’s 4.0 OS (the Ice Cream Sandwich), and a reasonable contracted price of $199.

The heavyweight battle in the smartphone arena between Apple and Samsung took a big turn last month when Apple won a $1 billion lawsuit against Samsung for patent infringement. Subsequently, Apple’s stock jumped immediately to record highs. The iPhone 5 release marked more record numbers for the California-based tech giant with over 2 million pre-order sales in the first 24 hours, more than double those of the iPhone 4S. Samsung is looking bolster its swagger with the S4 and believe it or not, could seriously compete. Since the release of the S3 three months ago, Samsung has sold over 20 million units and expects to top 30 million by the end of the year.

Last week, we live-blogged during the iPhone 5 release and covered everything from specs to pre-order availability. The release was surprisingly lackluster and the iPhone updates are less than impressive. The smartphone finally has LTE capabilities, a 4 inch display, a longer battery life, and peculiar new headphones. The biggest improvement will be the A6 processor for more powerful computing. But, despite those upgrades, the flagship smartphone is still without 4G and NFC. For a complete list of specs, click here.

We want some feedback from all of you avid smartphone users out there. Which device do you prefer, iPhone or Galaxy? Do you think Samsung can overtake Apple in the smartphone game? Were you impressed with the iPhone 5 release? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

September 24, 2012