Samsung announced today that its next-generation Galaxy S4 smartphone will be available by the end of April on seven major U.S. carriers, as well as seven retailers.
The device runs Android 4.2.2 and includes a 5-in. Super AMOLED touchscreen and a 1.9 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, among other features.
Of the seven carriers, Sprint will have the GS4 on April 27 for $249.99 with a two-year agreement, the carrier said separately in a statement today. A customer switching from another carrier to Sprint will receive an instant $100 credit.
T-Mobile USA also said separately it will follow its low-subsidy approach and make the GS4 available April 24 for a total price of $629.99, or a down payment of $149.99, plus 24 equal payments of $20 per month.
AT&T disclosed Tuesday it would have the device available April 30 for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Without the subsidy, AT&T will carry the device for $639.99. It comes in black or white with 16 GB of storage.
Verizon did not disclose its plans for availability or pricing today, although Samsung said Verizon would have the device by the end of April, along with U.S. Cellular, Cricket and C Spire. U.S. Cellular was listing pre-orders on its Web site for $199.99 plus a two-year contract (with a price that varies by location) but no availability date.
The retailers that will carry the GS4 in the U.S. are Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Costco, Radio Shack, Sam's Club, Staples, Target and Wal-Mart.
The GS4 in all U.S. locations includes a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera, a 2,600 mAh battery, NFC and 4G LTE for those carriers that support LTE.
Samsung lists a number of software features with the new device. The GS4 is the first to include Samsung's KNOX for mobile security at the hardware BIOS level, which means customers can separate work data from personal data in what's been called a containerization or dual-personality approach. IT managers will be able to delete and control work content without touching personal content, although IT shops will need a form of back-office device management software to do so.
Samsung described KNOX in February at Mobile World Congress.
The GS4 was unveiled March 14 in an elaborate New York City presentation at Radio City Music Hall. Analysts noted that Samsung focused heavily on the phone maker's software features, without much mention of the Android mobile operating system.
