Following its official debut of the Galaxy S 4 last month, Samsung today spilled a few more details on when and where its new flagship Android smartphone will be available in the U.S. Samsung confirmed last month that the Galaxy S 4 will be released on AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon, and now it's revealed that the device will also be offered on C Spire Wireless as well. The Galaxy S 4 will also be on offer at Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Radio Shack, Sam's Club, Staples, Target and Walmart.
As far as availability goes, Samsung says that the Galaxy S 4 will be sold in the U.S. starting in April. Specific launch and pricing details will be spilled by each carrier in the coming weeks. AT&T recently confirmed that it'll sell the 16GB Galaxy S 4 for $199.99 with a two-year commitment and $249.99 for the 32GB flavor, while U.S. Cellular will have the 16GB model on offer for $199.99 with a two-year contract. T-Mobile has said that it expects its Galaxy S 4 to launch on May 1.
The specs for the U.S. flavors of the Galaxy S 4 will remain fairly similar to those found on the international models. That means that interested consumers can expect the U.S. Galaxy S 4 units to pack a 5-inch 1920x1080 HD Super AMOLED display, 13-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, 2,600mAh battery, 2GB RAM, 16GB/32GB internal storage (no mention of a 64GB model for the U.S.) and a microSD slot with support for cards up to 64GB in size. As we learned last month, the U.S. Galaxy S 4 variants will also include a 1.9GHz quad-core processor.
The software found on the U.S. Galaxy S 4 models will also be similar to the other versions of Samsung's new handset. Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean will come preloaded on the S 4 and will be running beneath Samsung's TouchWiz overlay, complete with a multitude of software features. Some of those software goodies include Group Play for sharing content wirelessly, S Translator, Samsung Adapt Sound and Adapt Display, glove-friendly High Touch Sensitivity, Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, Air Gesture and Air View. A 6-minute demo of the software features found on the Galaxy S 4 can be found right here.
Finally, Samsung plans to offer several different accessories for Galaxy S 4 owners that want to protect their new phone from the harsh world (or themselves). First is the standard Flip Cover that's similar to what Samsung made for the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. The regular Flip Cover will be available for $39.99 in a handful of colors. There will also be a new S View Flip Cover that, in addition to protecting the S 4, also features a clear window that can display information like the time and date, battery status, unread text messages and incoming calls. The S View Flip Cover will be sold for $59.99 in White Frost or Black Mist. Samsung will also sell a $29.99 Protective Cover+ accessory that'll shield the S 4's backside and a $49.99 spare battery charging system.
Just like it did with the Galaxy S III, Samsung will be hitting many different carriers with the Galaxy S 4, giving most wireless customers the chance to pick one up without having to switch operators. Also like with its older sibling, the U.S. Galaxy S 4 variants will feature the same look and feel as the international model, though there will be carrier branding involved on the U.S. versions. Samsung has posted images of several of the units that show what that branding will look like, all of which you can find in the gallery below (it appears Sprint has opted not to brand its S 4). Now we just need the carriers to come forward and announce when they'll be selling the things, which will hopefully happen over the next few weeks. We'll give you a shout once we hear more.