This next bit of news will come as a huge surprise to Verizon Wireless customers. Samsung has announced that it will be releasing their Galaxy S4 Developer Edition smartphone on both Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Yes you read that right. Verizon Wireless is actually going to allow a bootloader unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 on their network. Keep in mind though that these phone will not come subsidized, so customers will be paying full retail for the handset. The handset will be available with 16GB of onboard memory and in one color (Black Mist.) There is no official word on release dates or how these handsets will be offered, but that info should be hitting the web sometime soon.

Anyone going to pull the trigger when this handset is released?

Source: Samsung/Samsung

The launch of the HTC First, (aka the Facebook Home phone), in the UK has been cancelled. We've recently heard rumblings that the phone was a colossal failure for HTC, and this seems to confirm that. Apparently, due to poor feedback from US customers, they decided to pull the launch in the UK. Here's the quote,

“Following customer feedback, Facebook has decided to focus on adding new customisation features to Facebook Home over the coming months. While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience, they have recommended holding off launching the HTC First in the UK, and so we will shortly be contacting those who registered their interest with us to let them know of this decision.

Rest assured, we remain committed to bringing our customers the latest mobile experiences, and we will continue to build on our strong relationship with Facebook so as to offer customers new opportunities in the future.” ~ Online Retailer EE

It looks like the cost to launch the device was going to be greater than the expected numbers on sell through.

Source: SlashGear

For folks who have been yearning for the HTC One on Verizon, and building up false hope because of the rampant rumor-mill, you should probably stop torturing yourselves. Sadly, HTC indirectly confirmed for the second time, that the HTC flagship will not be coming to Big Red. HTC’s Senior Global Online Communications Manager, Jeff Gordon (one of the execs who recently left the company) said,

“it’s always a great thing to have our phones on as many operators as possible, but we’ve got nothing to announce in terms of Verizon.”

This quote was his response to the direct question of why Verizon doesn't have the HTC One. Reading between the lines it's obvious that Verizon didn't want it, again probably because they already have a similar device with the HTC Droid DNA. There is another small rumor floating around that the reason the HTC One didn't come to Verizon was because Verizon wanted their own special branded/named version of the device but HTC wasn't willing to comply with this.

There was one other bit of news from HTC. They also explained why there is no MicroSD card slot on the the US and UK versions of the HTC One, yet the Chinese and Japanese versions do. Apparently space was the issue. The Chinese and Japanese cellular radios take up less space, so they were able to squeeze a MicroSD slot in for those devices. The larger radios in the US and UK versions wouldn't facilitate that.

Source: TalkAndroid

LG has a new water-proof active-lifestyle phone in the works. They just officially announced the LG Optimus GJ E975W. It will be priced at $599.99 without a contract, and will first go on sale in Taiwan. There is no word yet on if/when it will launch in other markets, but we will keep an eye out just in case it does. Here's a spec breakdown:

• IPX7 certification – up to 1m underwater – for up to 30 minutes
• 4.7 inch IPS HD display
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 13MP rear camera
• Quad-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 16GB of internal memory
• MicroSD card slot
• 2,280 mAh battery

As you can see, the specs are pretty robust for an "active lifestyle" phone. Is this something you guys would like to take to the pool or the beach?

Source: UnWiredView

Today's the official day. You can now get the Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 from Verizon online or their retail stores for $199.99 on a new two year contract. For now this is the 16GB version only. The 32GB version is unavailable at the moment.

If you want to save some cash, Amazon has the same phone on the same new contract with Verizon for twenty bucks cheaper, at $179.99. Here's a link below to both companies so you have your choice.

Verizon - Official Launch day of the Samsung Galaxy S4 for $199.99 On Contract

Amazon - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 for $179.99 On Contract

AT&T has announced that they will be carrying the Galaxy S4 in a new color known as “aurora red” in the US. The 16GB version will be the one coming in the new color option and is exclusive to AT&T customers. The 'new device' will go up for pre-order May 24, 2013 (tomorrow), and the brick and mortars should have it by June 14.

Source: AT&T