Samsung Galaxy S4 - release date, specs and everything else you need to know 2013

The Next Galaxy from Samsung is almost here and it’s already shaping up to be the year’s most highly anticipated smartphone launch. In this comprehensive run down we’ll be detailing all the nitty-gritty to prepare you for the fourth flagship kit’s imminent debut. So grab some popcorn, sit back and read on…

Samsung has sent out press invites to one of its Unpacked events in New York on March 14th where it’s certain to officially raise the curtain on the Galaxy S4.

The actual release date is still a tightly guarded secret. However, a reliable source close to a major UK retailer has revealed that it should go on sale sometime between April 15th and April 22nd.

Pre-orders for the handset should begin at least two weeks before it hits shop shelves. So you should be able to reserve your unit as early as late March or early April.

If months and months of insider leaks and industry forecasts are to be trusted, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be crammed with some of the most cutting-edge technology ever to grace a smartphone.

Here, we’ll discuss some of the best features and specs expected to be on board.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is tipped to feature a 13-megapixel camera that you can expect to take stunning photos and record videos in full high-definition at a silky smooth framerate that would give even digital SLRs a run for their money.

Also expected on board is a two-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls and self-portraits in HD, and numerous features on the camera application itself, including the ability to take 360-degree panoramic shots of your surroundings and share them instantly on Facebook.

Samsung Galaxy S4 processor

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is mooted to debut the tech giant’s latest, most powerful system-on-chip yet, the Exynos 5 Octa.

This is a state-of-the-art eight-core processor that comprises four high performance cores and four power-saving cores to handle multitasking with real sense of snap, while conserving battery life when carrying out everyday tasks.

Based on ARM’s ‘big.LITTLE’ architecture, the Exynos 5 Octa ensures a perfect balance of power versus power efficiency and consumes up to 70 per cent less energy compared to the current chip designs.

Samsung Galaxy S4 screen

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is rumoured to feature a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED display with an eye-popping full HD (1080p) resolution and 441 pixels per inch density that’s over a 100 pixels higher than even the iPhone’s Retina display.

Naturally, as the world’s leading panel-maker, Samsung is sure to squeeze all its expertise and high-tech display technology into making this truly stand out from rivals.

Samsung Galaxy S4 design

Although details remain thin on the ground, supply-chain chatter suggests the Samsung Galaxy S4 could debut an aluminium unibody design to make it sturdier than its predecessors, while building on the much-loved ‘nature-inspired’ form factor of the Galaxy S3.

Samsung Galaxy S4 connectivity

As with most high-end smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be loaded with a host of connectivity options. At the very least it’s expected to offer 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, Near Field Communication (NFC), Assisted GPS and a microUSB port.

Reports also suggest the Galaxy S4 could boast the latest, fifth-generation (5G) chips for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, offering even faster and more reliable data transfers than before.

Samsung Galaxy S4 wireless charging

Based on patent filings and an FCC certification, it’s believed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be capable of wireless charging, making fiddly charger cables truly a thing of the past.

While wireless charging is not new to smartphones, Samsung’s take reportedly uses a more advanced method enabled by resonant magnetic coupling technology that would allow the Galaxy S4 to be charged from up to two metres away.

Android Jelly Bean and Nature UX user interface

Samsung Galaxy S4 will run on Google’s superb Android operating system – most likely the latest Jelly Bean edition.

Along with features such as Google Now, a personal voice-guided assistant that sorts and displays all kinds of information in a nifty card-based interface, Android Jelly Bean is also home to all of Google’s best apps and services installed out of the box, plus offers hundreds of thousands more to download from Google Play.

Of course, because this is a Samsung smartphone, the Galaxy S4 will feature the latest iteration of the Nature UX user interface, as well as upgraded versions of all the ‘smart’ features that are exclusive to Samsung devices.

Better still, if Samsung’s recent patent filings are anything to go by, this will bring intuitive touch-free gestures and eye-tracking technology to enable you to control the handset with minimum physical contact and possibly even pause videos and scroll pages using your eye movements alone.

Memory and Colours

Based on reliable intel, the Galaxy S4 will be available in three storage variants of 16, 32 and 64GB.

A microSD slot should be included to expand that by a further 32GB, plus free cloud storage from Dropbox to easily access your files on a host of other devices.

Initilally, the Galaxy S4 is likely to land in two colour options: black and white. However, down the line we expect Samsung to release more colourways, along the lines of the nature-inspired pebble blue and marble white hues of the Galaxy S3.

YouTube Updates iOS App, Adds Send-to-TV Feature

YouTube updated its iOS app Thursday, adding the Send-to-TV feature it introduced for Android in November of last year.

With the update you can use your iOS device to send YouTube clips to Google TV, Xbox or PlayStation 3 and watch them on the big screen.
In January, we spoke to YouTube reps about the company's plans for TV, a future it feels will be smartphone-oriented, with your phone replacing your television remote.

We're trying to build this infrastructure that scales everywhere, from watching 1080p HD-quality video on your TV all the way down to using a dial-up modem in a developing country," YouTube's director of product management Shiva Rajaraman told Mashable in January. "We'd like to be all things video, and that means getting video into all places," he added.
Thursday’s iOS update also adds improved streaming over slow Wi-Fi connections, stability improvements, and the ability to record and upload video via YouTube Capture.

Curious how it works? Check out the video below for a quick demo of the Android version of the app.

A Password You Wear on Your Wrist

A mobile security startup called PassBan thinks the best way to keep mobile devices secure is to allow people to choose from a bevy of different authentication options—including one that you wear on your wrist.

“We didn’t want to be in the business of forcing one factor or another on the user,” says cofounder and CEO Kayvan Alikhani.

Most of us have to remember countless passwords for different online services, and we are often asked to choose complicated strings of characters to make them harder to guess. A growing number of companies offer alternatives to conventional passwords, including various forms of biometrics.

More than half of cell phone users in the U.S. also own smartphones, and many apps keep users perpetually logged in, thereby bypassing the usual security controls. People also use smartphones and tablets to store and access an increasing amount of personal data, making them ever-more valuable if they’re lost or stolen. And yet, while there are plenty of companies focusing on securing desktop and laptop computers, the market for mobile security is still in its infancy.
PassBan released a free Android app in February called Passboard that allows you to secure individual apps on a smartphone with any of more than a dozen verification techniques, including identifying your voice, face, location, or a specific gesture. Initially available in private beta, the company says, anyone will be able to use the app starting Friday.
And at a developer event at the company’s San Francisco office on Wednesday, the company showed off a wristband that can unlock a phone or tablet when the wearer makes a simple gesture in the air. It also showed off tools that will let third-party developers incorporate PassBan’s technology into their apps.
The wristband will be available in a couple of weeks, Alikhani says, and the company hopes to sell it for less than $20. He expects such sensors to ultimately be embedded in watches or other things we carry with us.
PassBoard works by intercepting the launch of any app that a user has secured it with. Once you’ve secured your Facebook app, for example, when you tap on it, a PassBoard popup commands you to verify your identity with whatever method you’ve chosen.
For those with a wristband, it can be set up to authenticate you with a shake or tap on the wristband, or with just your proximity to your smartphone. Whichever method you choose, it must be registered and transmitted via Bluetooth to your handset to unlock an app.
Alikhani says it is possible for someone who has the wristband and your smartphone to access data on the handset, assuming they know your signature gesture. But if you secure a phone with a wristband gesture and also require another factor—like choosing a sequence of colors—that could make it trickier to access.
Dan Wagner, a professor of computer science at UC Berkeley, doesn’t think PassBoard offers anything particularly unique or useful, saying that his research suggests that only a minority of users employ even a simple passcode to lock their phones. He expects this is because there isn’t much of a security risk for most people—someone who steals your phone probably just wants to wipe the data and resell it.
He is intrigued by the idea of wearable authentication, however, though PassBan will have to convince users it’s worth spending the money to get it.
PassBan isn’t the only company that thinks wearable authentication may be the next big thing in security. Google is apparently exploring the idea of using items a user is likely to have on them anyway—such as jewelry—to log in to a computer.

Spotify vs. Pandora: Which Is Better?

With so many ways to listen to music these days, how do you choose the best option?
Here's a look at how two of the most popular music streaming services, Spotify and Pandora, compare to each other. Spotify may have a chance to gain a larger share of the market, since Pandora announced Wednesday that they were going to cap mobile streaming at 40 hours per week.

Although the two competitors are both music providers, the services they offer are quite different. While Spotify is available is 23 countries, Pandora is only available in three. However, Pandora boasts 65.6 million active users, while Spotify has only 20 million.
Check out the infographic below courtesy of The Music Bed to get a breakdown of Pandora and Spotify's services. Which do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.

FTC Settlement: HTC Must Patch Security Vulnerabilities

HTC America has been ordered to develop and release software patches to address widespread security vulnerabilities that have potentially affected millions of HTC devices as part of a settlement deal announced by the Federal Trade Commission Friday.
As included in the terms of the settlement, the phone manufacturer will be subject to independent security assessments every other year for the next 20 years. HTC is additionally required to start a program that will address security risks during the hardware development process.
HTC said in a statement that it has addressed several of the security flaws noted by the FTC in its complaint and is working on fixes for those that remain unaddressed.
"Privacy and security are important, and we are committed to improving practices that help safeguard our customers' devices and data," said HTC spokesperson Sally Julien in a statement about the settlement. "Working with our carrier partners, we have addressed the identified security vulnerabilities on the majority of devices in the US released after December 2010. We're working to rollout the remaining software updates now and recommend customers download them once available."
The FTC's decision can be interpreted as a signal to other phone manufacturers that the commission expects them to pay careful attention to consumer security and patch flaws as close to immediately upon their discovery as possible.

SEE ALSO: FTC Says You Should Be Able to Block Smartphone Tracking

Several issues were at the heart of the FTC's complaint against HTC: Permission re-delegation, the use of unsecured manufacturer-provided application markets and vulnerabilities in communication mechanisms used by HTC phones.
Permission re-delegation occurs when a user grants one application access to certain information, then another application uses that first application's approval to access data without the user's direct consent. The FTC found that HTC failed to address this problem in custom-built preinstalled applications on several devices, giving third-party apps the ability to record audio, access geolocation data and send text messages without users' permission.
The FTC also found that HTC included on its devices a pre-installed custom app store that allowed users to download apps outside of the Android Market/Google Play ecosystem. The custom HTC app, however, "failed to include appropriate permission check code to protect this pre-installed application from exploitation," per the FTC. Thus, third-party apps downloaded via HTC's custom app could sneak other software onto users' phones unbeknownst to the user.
Two "insecure communications mechanisms," as the FTC calls them, are also involved with the settlement: HTC Loggers and Carrier IQ.
HTC Loggers, discovered by researchers in October of 2011, was a security flaw that allowed third-party app developers to intercept users' sensitive data transmissions, including text messages, financial account passwords or geolocation data, from users' phones without their knowledge or consent. HTC quickly admitted the flaw and got to work on a fix.
Carrier IQ, meanwhile, was software embedded on some HTC phones at the behest of wireless providers, who used it to monitor potential problems on their networks. However, researchers discovered in December of 2011 that data picked up by Carrier IQ could be intercepted by third-party apps and that vulnerabilities in Carrier IQ could be manipulated to cause a phone to send text messages without users' permission. Several unofficial solutions for blocking or removing it from customers' phones were discovered soon after Carrier IQ came to light.

50 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

It has been another action-packed week here at Mashable. We've been covering the newest gadgets coming out of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Pope's last Tweet and the fate of Groupon CEO Andrew Mason.
We know you've been busy with your own lives, so we rounded up the most important updates in tech and social media to keep you informed. So read below for tons of digital media resources, new innovative apps and much more.

Judge Cuts $450 Million From Apple's Jury Award in Samsung Case

Apple's $1.05 billion victory against Samsung in its patent infringement lawsuit is now $450 million smaller.
Judge Lucy Koh, the judge in the Apple v. Samsung lawsuits found on Friday that the jury improperly calculated damages on 14 different Samsung products, and vacated $450 million from the jury's finding as a result.
A new trial will will take place that focuses solely on the damages for the 14 products, which include the Galaxy Prevail, Gem, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Captivate, Droid Charge, Epic 4G, Galaxy Tab and the Nexus S 4G.
While this doesn't necessarily mean Apple will permanently lose $450 million in damages (the new trial could find damages higher or lower), it does prolong the case as a whole.
In other patent lawsuit theater news, Samsung and Apple are moving forward in a separate case covering Samsung's newer smartphones and allegations that they copy Apple's Siri voice and search function. As The Mercury News notes, the trial is supposed to start in spring 2014 but Judge Koh is trying to persuade both companies to put it on hold until this case is resolved in appeals courts.
In other words, this whole protracted legal battle won't be settled any time soon.
What do you think of the Judge's decision? Are you looking forward to yet another damages trial? Let us know in the comments.