The world now knows officially what the new Samsung Galaxy S4 has to offer consumers and first impressions are really good, and already we have the handsets UK availability and pre-order status as carriers and retailers start to show their hands. UK galaxy S4 We have been pretty impressed with the Galaxy S4 specifications and all of the country’s carriers will be stocking the handset once it is released, and some of them have already begun taking registrations and revealed release dates for the device. EE is already inviting customers to register for updates with pre-orders set to start on March 28th, and the Galaxy S4 will be available in stores starting on April 26th. Rival carrier Three has had a pre-register page up for a couple of days now but there is currently no news about pre-orders. The Carphone Warehouse has a register your interest page with the retailer saying the Galaxy S4 will be available from April 25th, while rival Phones 4u has the device down for April 26th. Vodafone also has a registration page but strangely O2 currently has no information about the handset but expect that to change in the coming hours. Both Expansys and Clove have pre-registration pages but there is no information regarding availability or pricing for the handset. Obviously this information will quickly change in the coming days as we start to get the all important pricing for the Galaxy S4 on monthly plans and unlocked.

Rumors abound that Samsung may not include a stylus when the next Galaxy Note “phablet” (phone-tablet hybrid) is released. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 might feature technology that eliminates the need for a stylus. And manufacturers hope this new model will build upon the success of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, becoming one of the best cell phones of 2013.

Some, on the other hand, believe that Samsung will choose to include the stylus even if people do not need it: Android Geeks reported that the Galaxy Note 3 will still come with a stylus, but that it might not be necessary to use the stylus for most tasks.
The inclusion of a stylus in the first place was controversial: The tool recalls images of stone-age devices like Palm Pilots or credit-card verification machines. But Samsung made the gamble anyway, and it paid off: According to CNET, Samsung shipped 3 million units of the Galaxy Note 2 in the first 30 days after its release, and 5 million in the first two months. T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and Sprint all carry the model.

AirView—Without the Stylus

So why, then, would Samsung veer off a proven track?
It appears they might have something better.
Though, as Autoomobile’s Cecelia Dahl notes, Sony used similar technology in its Xperia Sola; Samsung may be using technology that allows users to use their fingers to hover over the screen when writing, making selections and otherwise operating the phone.
Of course, this hovering feature is nothing new for the Galaxy Note line of phones. It’s the possibility that it will be available sans-stylus that’s exciting.
AirView, experts say, was one of the reasons for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2’s surprising success. The innovative interface helped the Galaxy Note 2 become one of the most popular phones of 2012. Here’s how it works, essentially: An indicator shows up on the screen whenever a user places the stylus anywhere near the screen. From that point, users can operate the Galaxy Note 2 without even touching it. Email, calendar and most other basic apps work with the AirView interface.

Questions Still Unanswered

So how would something like AirView work without a stylus? Samsung has not released any sort of demonstration of the technology. Though consumers are familiar with Sony’s method, they are also eager to see how Samsung adapts it to the Galaxy Note 3. They have questions: Will Samsung employ multi-touch technology that would enable users to wear gloves while operating their device, as Dahl hopes? Will fingertips be accurate enough to operate the phablet without a great deal of frustration?
Samsung will answer these questions and more when it releases the device later this year.