Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy S4?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is going to be announced March 14 and this is going to be a major event in the mobile world. I'm sure many of you are anticipating this device but in this article, we'll answer one important question: Is it worth waiting for the Galaxy S4?

The competition

Before we look at the Samsung Galaxy S4, we have to look at what's available on the market or what will be available before the Galaxy S4 comes out.

In our Best smartphones for every carrier right now, we laid out what we think are the top dogs for each provider: iPhone 5 for AT&T, Samsung Galaxy S3 for T-Mobile, DROID DNA for Verizon and the iPhone 5 for Sprint. You can quibble with some of those choices but the bottom line is that there are some really nice devices availabile now. 

As we move ahead a few weeks, we should also have some more interesting choices. The BlackBerry Z10 will be landing soon and it's a fresh take on the BlackBerry way of computing. The early reviews were mainly positive but most didn't feel like it has quite reached the heights that devices like the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 have. Still, existing BlackBerry users should be very, very happy with the BlackBerry Z10. 

Another great phone coming soon is the HTC One. The HTC superphone should land right as the Galaxy S4 is unveiled and it's looking like quite an amazing device. It's light, thin and feels fantastic in the hand and the HTC One is jam-packed with power and specs. It is also using a 4-megapixel camera with improved optics, which may provide much better pictures than phones that have a higher megapixel count. 

Rumored specs, release date

Samsung has been able to keep much of the Galaxy S4 under wraps but the leaks and rumors have given us a good idea of what to expect. The Galaxy S4 should launch with a five-inch, 1080p HD screen, a powerful processor, a boosted camera, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, 4G LTE, a digital compass and more. 

There are still a few specs that are kind of cloudy, as we expected it to launch with Samsung's octa-core Exynos processor, but rumors suggest that it may use a Qualcomm chip in order to hit its shipping schedule. This shouldn't provide much of a performance dip, as Qualcomm has been pumping out some high-quality chips lately. 

If the Galaxy S4 does launch with a five-inch screen, there's a slight chance it could launch with the S Pen. This is not confirmed by any means but at the very least, I'd expect Samsung to make the next Galaxy S phone compatible with the S Pen. 

Look forward to Samsung Galaxy S4 to launch with Android Jelly Bean and the TouchWiz UI. Samsung has done a good job of including its own software features like Share Shot. We've heard rumblings that a new feature will be called "Orb," and this should bring PhotoSphere-like features to your Galaxy S4. 

Basically, we're expecting the Samsung Galaxy S4 to be an amazing smartphone that has powerful hardware and some next-generation software. It's going to be really, really good. 

Should you wait?

The thing that's tough about waiting for the Galaxy S4 is that we don't know when it will come out. Rumors have it hitting the streets in the second half of April and we're sure that it will be on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. Look for it to be roughly $200 on each carrier with a new, two-year contract. 

If your existing phone still works and you're just anxious to hop to a better device, you won't be disappointed by buying something like the iPhone 5 right now. It's a beautiful device that should continue to get better. I'd also suggest looking at the great and affordable Nexus 4.

If you're a die-hard BlackBerry fan, the BlackBerry Z10 is the right choice for you next month. It may not have the specs or features as some of the competitors, but you can rest assured that it will do messaging and play nice with your corporate infrastructure. 

For me, the real question is whether you should buy the HTC One when it comes out or wait for the Galaxy S4. I really think the HTC One will be fantastic and I prefer the aluminum finish of its body. The Galaxy S4 will likely retain the plastic casing that we've seen in previous versions. 

The bottom line is that if you pick up the HTC One, you'll probably be very happy, but I'm guessing that many of you are already planning to wait for the Galaxy S4. I'm confident in saying that the Galaxy S4 will be worth the wait.