AT&T has officially announced it will begin taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S4 on April 16. Pricing begins at $250 with a new two-year contract. This announcement comes a day after T-Mobile confirmed it will begin selling the Samsung Galaxy S4 on May 1 for $99 down. It appears that AT&T is positioning itself as the first U.S. carrier to offer the Samsung Galaxy S4 but has not indicated a date on which the smartphone will go on sale.
AT&T posted the following Samsung Galaxy S4 information to its consumer blog page:
"Continuing our legacy as the first carrier to launch Samsung's Galaxy series, we are excited to announce AT&T customers will be able to begin pre-ordering the Galaxy S4 beginning April 16 for $249.99 with a two-year commitment. We are proud to offer this iconic device and continue to offer our customers the best smartphone line-up, with a variety of devices for every lifestyle and budget. For more information and to pre-order, please visit https://www.att.com/galaxys4."
The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a thinner and lighter design over the Samsung Galaxy S3. The smartphone has a 5-inch 441 ppi (pixels per inch) 1920 x 1080 full HD display protected by Gorilla Glass 3, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, 1.9GHz quad-core processor or 1.6GHz Exynos 5 octa-core processor, depending on the region, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, microSD expansion slot with support for up to 64GB microSD cards, 13-megapixel rear camera with auto flash and zero shutter lag, 2-megapixel front camera, full HD 1080p video capture at 30fps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n//ac, Bluetooth 4.0, 4G LTE radio, infrared LED universal remote control, will be offered in choice of Black Myst or White Frost, and will be powered by a large 2,600mAh removable battery.
Ever since T-Mobile and AT&T's merger didn't work out, the carriers have been taking shots at each other. A few weeks ago T-Mobile began a public lovers' quarrel ad campaign against AT&T. But AT&T isn't innocent, it slammed T-Mobile the day of its "Uncarrier" event in NYC, where T-Mobile announced it would finally begin selling its own iPhone. When CNET contacted AT&T for comment, a representative replied with a short and simple, "Whatever."
AT&T just wants to remind you it has always been the first carrier to launch Samsung's Galaxy series, but whether that means it will be the first U.S. carrier to sell the Galaxy S4 is unconfirmed. Pre-orders begin April 16, and it'll set you back $249 depending on which size Galaxy S4 you order.
