Verizon's Samsung Galaxy S IV Passes Through FCC

[dgstorm]

The Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 just passed through the FCC "rings of fire." The VZW version is the the SCH-i545 model, and includes the required LTE radio on both Verizon's main 700MHz band and the carrier's newly acquired AWS frequencies. It also includes the HSPA-based 3G, so users can take the phone abroad. Now we are just waiting on the AT&T and T-Mobile FCC filings and that will cover all the major U.S. carriers. How many of you guys plan to get the phone on Verizon?

Source: FCC

 

[mastrheadhunter]

I'd like to get it, considering my contract is now up and I have the antiquated HTC piece of crap Thunderbolt; however price may be an issue. I may just go with the S3; i'm sure Verizon will discount them to get them out of the stores.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Unfortunately it doesn't mean anything as to when it will be launched. We could be waiting months for this phone if Verizon's track record has anything to say about it. Takes a long time to strip away cool features to make room for ridiculous bloatware and branding marks. I love their service but their business model is put together by monkeys and lemurs.

Verizon, where last is the new first.

 

[equake]

Could this phone be the holy grail for All carrier portability if it ever comes unlocked. The baseband seems to cover all protocols. I wonder if the ATT version is the same?

my 2 cents.

 

[jseah]

Unfortunately it doesn't mean anything as to when it will be launched. We could be waiting months for this phone if Verizon's track record has anything to say about it. Takes a long time to strip away cool features to make room for ridiculous bloatware and branding marks. I love their service but their business model is put together by monkeys and lemurs.

Verizon, where last is the new first.

Didn't Verizon wait until a month or a month and a half after AT&T and T-Mobile released the S3 before they released it?

 

[jgmecarter]

Didn't Verizon wait until a month or a month and a half after AT&T and T-Mobile released the S3 before they released it?

If I remember right att released there around the 20th of may and Verizon was around 2 weeks after them.

 

[jseah]

If I remember right att released there around the 20th of may and Verizon was around 2 weeks after them.

No, Verizon started taking pre-orders around the end of May, beginning of June, but they didn't ship until the beginning of July. I distinctly recall that the S3 was the one phone that you could pre-order and still keep unlimited data when Verizon rolled out Share Everything at the end of June. I had pre-ordered two for my sons and they got them around July 9th.

So that confirms that Verizon waited a month and a half, if your recollection is correct and AT&T rolled it out around the 20th of May/

 

[kodiak799]

Sometimes carriers pay for a period of exclusivity (i.e. get a phone for a month before anyone else).

As for bloatware, hopefully VZW is backing away from that as they recently shutdown their app store.

Doesn't really matter to me. As a grandfathered unlimited, the latest crop of phones doesn't inspire me to pay retail, and I won't pay retail for something not easy to root and flash.