The Galaxy S4 lowdown

Samsung's Galaxy S4 will be on sale from tomorrow at 10am.

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Pricing and packages for the Samsung Galaxy S4 have been revealed, following the unveiling of the device to the South African market in Johannesburg last night.

Director of mobile communications for Samsung SA, Craige Fleischer, believes the company has set an innovation benchmark with the release of the Galaxy S4.

The S4 hosts several innovations by the Korean manufacturer, including "Smart Pause" and "Smart Scroll", which allow users to control the screen using only their eyes, as well as the "S Translator" that provides instant translation, using text or voice translation on applications including e-mail, text message and ChatON.

The "Air Gesture" feature also allows the user to change a music track, accept a call or scroll up and down a Web page with a wave of their hand - without touching the screen.

Samsung has also taken advantage of the S4's 13MP camera and integrated features such as "Dual Camera" and "Dual Video Call" (which allows the user to show friends what they are looking at while on the video call). Among the 12 shooting modes available are "Drama Shot" (which creates a continuous time-lapse) and "Sound & Shot", which records and stores sound and voice along with the photo.

Users will also receive Samsung's 24-month "accidental damage from handling" warranty that covers screen and liquid damages to the device, at no extra charge.

The service will be available to Pan African countries and will be incorporated into the existing 24-month standard factory warranty on the Galaxy S4. After purchasing the device, customers will need to register it through the Samsung e-Warranty service at www.samsung.com.

Samsung said last night that the Galaxy S4 would be available on all mobile networks in SA. The smartphone will go on sale tomorrow at 10am.

The S4 model that supports LTE will only be available to South African consumers in the next six weeks.

The S4 is available on pre-order through Dion Wired, for R8 450, while Incredible Connection has not yet released pricing on its Web site. Hi-Fi Corporation only has the device available in white on its Web site, with a price tag of R8 499.99.

Cell C released its tailored package deal for the S4 last week, boosting its Straight Up packages to include 1GB of data. It will be available on the Straight Up 100 for R399 per month, which includes 100 minutes, 100 SMSes and 1GB of data, topped up from 100MB.

Customers can purchase a Straight Up 200 package with the S4 for R499 per month, which will include 200 minutes, 200 SMSes and 1GB of data, topped up from 200MB. The device is also available on the Straight Up 400 and 800 packages for R649 and R899, respectively.

Vodacom announced its package deals for the S4 this morning, saying it will be available on a Smart S plan that includes 75 anytime minutes, 75MB mobile Internet and 150 anytime text, at R429 per month.

Vodacom is also offering double the data on mobile Internet for the first two months of the contract, free Voicemail 2 SMS for three months valued at R35 per month, and free in-store set up. The S4 is also available on Vodacom prepaid for R8 999, with pricing to vary at retail stores.

Virgin Mobile and MTN have not released pricing on the S4, but have it on pre-order on their Web sites.

First National Bank (FNB) has also boarded the S4 train by introducing a deal for customers who switch to the bank. Valid only until 30 June, new customers can get the Samsung Galaxy S4 at R299 per month (for 24 months) as part of FNB's discounted device offering.

Vodacom packages for the Galaxy S4:

*In addition to double the Mobile Internet bundle for the first two months of the contract, customers on the Smart S, M, L and XL plans will receive an additional 250MB of data.

Cell C packages for the Galaxy S4: