Samsung Galaxy S4 release date 1 April 2013

Samsung Galaxy S4

It’s not an easy task to choose the right Android smartphone for you, that’s why some of you may ask about Samsung Galaxy S4 release date. Others may be forced to wait until 2013 to buy a new Android smartphone because they are tied on a contract with a carrier.
Since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S, each new flagship Android smartphone of the South Koreans was sold better than its predecessor. Samsung Galaxy S was outsold by Galaxy S2, Samsung reporting that 10 million GS2 units were shipped 5 months after the official launch. Galaxy S3 is by far the best selling Android-powered smartphone manufactured by Samsung: 30 million units were shipped in the first 100 days after the launch. Now, everyone expects the Samsung Galaxy S4 to be even more popular than its predecessor.

The analysts are estimating that 660 million smartphones will be shipped by the end of 2012, with a growth of 21.4% forecasted for 2013. Of course, both Apple’s and Samsung’s shipments will grow, but the South Koreans are seeking to bite an even larger chunk of iPhone’s market share, withSamsungGalaxy S4 on song.'

he first Galaxy was meant to be a competitor for the iPhone 4. It was released in June close to the debut of iPhone 4, with not enough time left to hurt iPhone 4′s sales. Next year the Samsung Galaxy S2 was made available for purchase in April, while Apple launched the iPhone 4S six months later, in October. By that time the Galaxy S2 sales were going down, as the customers already forgot about the smartphone launched by Samsung.

The war between Apple and Samsung is continuing to heat up. Days after the release of the iPhone 5, Samsung came out with an attack ad promoting their latest available smartphone – the Galaxy S3 (video below) and are reportedly readying the next generation Galaxy. While there no definitive reports of the Samsung Galaxy S4 release date, it is rumored to be released in February. This is slightly different than Apple’s releases as they have been known to tackle the holiday season, but it looks like Samsung Galaxy S4 release date will give Samsung a big boost in 2013. We have included everything that we know about the GS 4 below, check it out!

Statistics have indicated that the popular devices reach the sales peak in the first quarter after the launch, therefore the Samsung Galaxy S3 has hit the market at the right time and its sales were not affected by the iPhone 5 launch. I guess that the South Korean phone maker will have a similar approach for 2013. It will try to give the Samsung Galaxy S4 enough time (three months) to hit at the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, or whatever the guys at Apple decide to call it.

Samsung has yet to confirm any of the reports on specs, but here is what we know. It’s expected that the Galaxy 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) – most likely 5 minches. It will also sport 4G LTE connectivity and an Android OS. All of these rumored 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, and a reasonable contracted price of $199. We have included some of the mock ups of what the Samsung Galaxy S4 might look like.

Earlier it was rumored that Samsung galaxy S IV is to be released or launched in February or March 2013. The rumor surfaced just after few days of iPhone 5 release. I was certainly very suspicious to the claim and couldn’t digest it. After all, Samsung Galaxy S3 was just launched in May,2012. My doubts were cleared when Samsung officially announced on their twitter page that no such event or launch is planned for now. This means that the reported rumor was not true. This rumor already caught media sites like fire and had been published wildly on several news and phone sites and blogs. However, we expect the release date of Samsung Galaxy S IV to be around July/August of 2013.

Samsung Galaxy S IV Specification

A new rumor has caught our attention. It is about camera module of 13 megapixel. It is rumored that Galaxy SIV will have 13 MP rear camera, something which many people expected in S III as well as in Note II but unfortunately, Samsung remained intact with 8 MP in the current generation phones. I am amazed by the work Nokia does with camera, especially in Nokia Lumia 920 and PureView 808. If you are to ask me, I’ll say, instead of bumping more megapixels in our captures, provide us with a better camera with optical image stabilization, excellent low-light performance which can replace our point and shoot digital camera at all in every way. I have not been fond of camera on Samsung phones which, according to me, is not as better as in iPhone 5 (lets not talk about Nokia Lumia 920 here as it outperforms all other phones easily). To support the rumor of 13 megapixel camera in Samsung galaxy S4, we believe it likely to happen because of late, we’ve seen 13 MP camera in the new LG Optimus G also. Even, the front camera is expected to receive megapixel jump.

Another recent leaks suggest screen size of 5 inch in Galaxy S4 which seems true as per the tradition of Samsung to increase the screen size, as is evident from its history (Galaxy S has 4 inch display, S2 has 4.3 inch display, S3 has 4.8 inch screen). But I highly doubt this. In fact, let me ask you, do you want a bigger screen in Galaxy S4? To support my argument, I’ll say that a bigger screen will diminish the gap between note series phones and galaxy s series phones, which might not be good from marketing strategy viewpoint for both the phones. But you never know! Samsung is one such giant manufacturer which brought the trend of ‘bigger, the better’ android phones in market.

A phone description can’t be complete without talking about its fine design features. Samsung has always been negligent to providing aluminum or alike kind of body which supposedly offers premium touch and the same case will be with S4 also. Not much design change will be there.

LG introduced in-cell display in LG Optimus G and iPhone 5 display employ similar technologies to make the display thinner. Well, Samsung has always been forward and technologically advanced in display tech. At IFA event lately, we had witnessed transparent displays from Sam. Well, transparent display is not coming to smartphones at this time but flexible display might come as Samsung has already developed required technology to enable such display in the phones. Even, then flexible display in Galaxy S IV is far-fetched for now.

Since we’re talking about display, rumors in this regards says that Samsung Galaxy S4 will have 1080p Full HD screen, but it won’t has Super Amoled display, instead Super clear LCD (probably because of technical limitations arising in amoled display when it comes to pumping more pixels in small dimension). To support 1080p display in galaxy s4, we can take hint from the recently unveiled HTC J Butterfly which caused stir in smartphone industry with its ultra-gorgeous screen, and as we know that Samsung always want to stay ahead of its competitors when it comes to its flagship marksmanship.


The processor could be Exynos “Adonis” 28 nanometer quad-core ARM Cortex A15 powerful chip, which is being tested actively, and hence may be slated to power the featured phone we’re discussing. The new CPU is designed with ultimate motive to exhibit undying strength without consuming more of the battery. Adonis is the supposed code-name.

LTE(4G) will be ubiquitous in the next phone as opposed to the current generation which offers 4G support in select regions only.Samsung Galaxy S IV will of course feature the latest available version of Android OS, which at the time of release might be Android 5. Take my word, Touchwhiz UI will get complete makeover. As in Galaxy S III, Samsung will introduce few new and exclusive features in terms of exclusive free services and certain software and hardware tweaks.

Without any doubt, the battery life won’t just be improved in the next version of Android OS, but at the hardware level also, it will feature extended battery backup capacity with equipped battery of more than 3000mAh. Wireless Charging and better headsets and phone speakers, processors, RAM are going to be other areas of improvements and feature additions. Also, this time, Samsung will focus more on adding awesome accessories lineup to support the phone and extend its features. A wildcard(?) hardware level exclusive feature must be planned by Samsung to fully beat Apple’s next iPhone. About price of Samsung galaxy S4, we expect it to be little higher than close competitors at launch time as was the case with S3. No doubt, the handset will rock and reign the android phone market (Galaxy S3 sold more than 20 million in just 100 days). More about this phone will be updated in this article, so keep checking it from time to time to keep yourself abreast of all the knowledge, info and news there is about your favorite phone.

Apple iPad 4 review

Three Apple tablets in a single year. This is more than anyone asked for and yet, by some weird logic - or lack thereof, not too many for Apple to successfully sell. All fine and dandy, unless you got the iPad 3 - better luck next time if you were unfortunate enough to buy it in September.

Well, so much for the new iPad. Number 4 is the new new iPad. You must've heard the one about the double positives. Did we hear some iPad 3 owners say "Yeah, right"? To be honest, they're not without a point.

Apple iPad 4 official photos
Anyway, the tablet market is still Apple's to lose and the least it could do is send a message to the competition. The double November release may look like a knee-jerk reaction to Google and Microsoft's raid on the slate market but the fact is that Apple has the depth to compete on two fronts. The mini against compact droids and the iPad 4 against the Surface means Cupertino is leaving nothing to chance in defending its number one spot.

The fourth generation iPad is no major upgrade. It keeps the design, display and the main camera of its predecessor. What it gets is a new chipset and the new Lightning port. Oh, and there's an HD FaceTime front cam but that's barely worth mentioning.

Overall, it's the same tablet as the one released in March, with the class-leading Retina display and a welcome boost to the processing power. Plus, the Lightning port ensures seamless compatibility with the iPhone 5, which has sold by the millions.

Key features

• 9.7" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 2048 x 1536 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, carrier-dependent hotspot support
• Optional LTE connectivity (data only)
• Optional GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS support (for the 3G model only)
• Apple A6X SoC with 1 GHz dual-core processor
• PowerVR SGX554MP4 quad-core GPU
• 1GB of RAM
• iOS 6.0 with iCloud support and activation
• 16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage
• 652 grams of weight (662 grams for the LTE version)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Lightning USB port
• 11,560 mAh battery
• Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor
• 5MP auto-focus camera
• 1080p video recording at 30fps
• 1.2MP secondary camera capable of FaceTime HD calls
• Four and five-finger gestures
• 1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter (purchased separately for $39), 720p video streaming
• Supports magnetic cases

Main disadvantages

• iTunes still required for uploading most of the content
• Reflective screen struggles outdoors
• No standard USB port
• No stereo speakers
• No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi version
• No memory card slot
• Lack of basic iOS apps - stocks, clock, calculator, voice memos

It's an Apple device so things like a file manager and a memory card slot are not even up for discussion. They'll probably never be. Nothing on the list above should come as a surprise and, if you are still with us, you are OK with most of it.

The A6X chipset potentially doubles the processing power but let's be honest, the real life gain is not enough to make anyone throw away a still fresh iPad 3. Yet that's what Apple just did - you can think of that as investing in the future-proofing of the device more than anything else.

iPad 4 over iPad 3

• Apple A6X chipset with PowerVR554MP4 quad-core GPU for allegedly 2x faster performance
• 1.2MP front FaceTime camera with HD video
• GLONASS support (for the cellular version only)
• Lightning USB port

Whether or not Cupertino will admit to feeling the pressure from Microsoft, they knew the right thing to do is prepare. Apple could not afford to have development split between flagship devices running different hardware.

Someone had to take the hit and leaving iPad 3 users out in the cold was probably a hard decision for Apple. The new product launch schedule may've put the iPad 4's market prospects in question too - users are less certain whether they should commit to a new device that may soon become outdated. Apparently, the new Apple tablets are doing great, but the iPad 4 seems to be the one that's always in stock, while the mini takes about 2 weeks to deliver.

But the iPad mini already had its moment in the spotlight here, it's now iPad 4's turn to have our full attention. Before we get busy, we should note that numbers are the short and easy way to set the different generations of Apple tablets apart. What was until recently known as the New iPad (iPad 3) is now discontinued. The current model (iPad 4) is officially called iPad with Retina. The only older generation Apple tablet officially in circulation is the iPad 2. Quite a mess, indeed.

Apple iPhone 5 hits 55 more countries this month

Apple is expanding the iPhone 5 availability to 55 new countries this month. On December 7 the Apple's thinnest and lightest is coming to the Samsung's homeland - South Korea. A week later, on December 14, the iPhone 5 will land in 33 more markets. Those include Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. December 21 is when another wave of countries will get to join on the iPhone 5 fun - Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam. The iPhone 5 is already available in 47 countries and with these new addition the list grows to 102, making this the quickest rollout of any iPhone to date.

Google: Facebook is a 'social network of the past'

Google: Facebook is a 'social network of the past'

Google's Bradley Horowitz has chucked down the social networking gauntlet, saying that Facebook is "pissing off users". He argues that the 'Book has had its day, calling it a "social network of the past" and that its intrusive ads are what is killing it. Using a slightly laboured analogy of two people chatting while a guy in a sandwich board keeps trying to get them to sell them a sandwich, he said, "I'm trying to communicate in that sacred space of social connection. "It doesn't matter if I 'Like' the sandwich, it doesn't matter if it's personalised with my favourite mustard, that is the wrong moment to try and dangle [it] in front of me. "There is a time and place for sandwiches," he added, to soothe sandwich fans' potential ire. "It's called lunch at a restaurant." 

Mmm, sandwiches 

 He added that Facebook's ad strategy of "jamming" ads into people's news streams is "pissing off users and frustrating brands". Guess who's doing it better? That's right, Google's own social network, Google+. Horowitz says that Google's use of social recommendations rather than straight-up ads is a more "holistic" approach. That's all well and good but are your friends actually using Google+? The company reckons 100 million people are actively using the network each month but whether they're using it enough to make the recommendations engine work effectively is another story.

How to fix a broken touchscreen

How to fix a broken touchscreen
TUTORIAL A home touchscreen repair could be easier and far cheaper than you think

It's the modern nightmare: a slip of the hand, an absent minded moment and a split second later your life lies there shattered on the floor. As desperately depressing as a broken phone screen may look, it may not be as terminal or as expensive as it looks.

All phones are obviously different, but many use separate elements for the touch-sensing component called the digitser and the actual LCD/OLED display. The digitiser sits at the front and often when dropped it's this that shatters rather than the display.

A broken display usually results in rainbow effects and the display not working in sections. A broken digitizer will continue to work, just with the nasty cracks. NOTE:Future Publishing Limited provides the information for this project in good faith and makes no representations as to its completeness or accuracy. Individuals carrying out the instructions in this project do so at their own risk and must exercise their independent judgment in determining the appropriateness of parts, equipment, sealants and other adhesives for a particular use. 1. We're going to look at replacing the HTC Desire S digitiser element, while not identical it'll be a similar process on many other models. These cost as little as £10 and should come with a suitable pry tools. You'll also probably need a jeweller screw driver set and ideally a set of Torx (star shaped) drivers sized 4 to 7.

2. Clear the work area and light it well. We're going to be dealing with tiny screws that you should arrange in order, as you remove them. To begin remove any cover, battery, SIM and SD cards.

3. For the HTC Desire S we start by removing four size 5 Torx screws from the base around the battery cover. If in doubt it's a good idea to photograph your device as you go along.

4. The HTC Desire S is pretty forgiving there's only one area that needs the pry tool and that's the top camera cover. Some devices need their entire backs removing with the pry tool. These are tricky to use but start at a corner and try and work the pry tool under the edge. Once in work along the edge popping out the clips and lift away the cover.

5. Remove two more size 5 Torx screws that are revealed. Any visible connections can also be unclipped, on the HTC Desire S there are two at the base.

6. We can now carefully "push" the main device out of the metal chassis screen first. Be careful here to bend up the lower PCB, as it'll catch on the rear of the chassis. You shouldn't need to force it at all.

7. Remove two more size 5 Torx screws at the top and remove the plastic bracket that this releases. It'll just lift away.

8. At this point we're working towards separating the display elements from the phone motherboard. On the HTC Desire S spot the two ribbon cables coming in to the side, these are the digitizer and display connections. Using the pry tool remove any tape but save this. Lift up the white locking element and using the help of a small screw driver remove the ribbons.

9. We're now free to part the display and the motherboard. As with many tablets and phones these are glued together, using the pry tool carefully and slowly start to separate the two, the glue will give you just need to take your time and work around the edge.

10. Carefully fold open the phone and disconnect the final two connecting elements. Leaving you with the display section and the motherboard section.

11. This is the hardest part of the whole tear-down. An adhesive gasket binds the digitizer to the display chassis. This needs to be heated to loosen the adhesive and using the pry tool separate the digitizer from the display. We strongly recommend using a hair dryer, too much heat will damage the display. So point it away from the centre and just at the edge of the display. You can use a hot-air gun but be extra careful, use the lowest setting and keep it moving.

12. Start on just the bottom edge or the least broken section. Use the pry tool to test how "sticky" the adhesive is and reheat, repeat until it starts coming away. Move on to the next small section and repeat. Eventually you'll lift the entire digitizer out. The process takes a while but if you can save the gasket it'll help avoid the next step.

13. If you've damaged the adhesive gasket or part has some away, this will need to be replaced with 1mm or 2mm adhesive tape designed for phones. Ebay and Amazon has vendors that sell this. If any area of the digitizer touches the display or chassis it'll short and you'll get false-positive touches, sending the touchscreen crazy.

14. Remove any protective film on either side, feed the new digitizer's ribbon through the lower hole and carefully from the base, angle it back into place firmly pushing it down to make sure the adhesive holds well. Feed the ribbon along the back of the display and reverse this process to carefully rebuild your phone.

15. Cross your fingers and press the power button. If all has gone well your phone will spring back to life and the display will be sensing your touch again.