Welcome to Samsung Day, 2013. While we wait on some big (and little) product launches this afternoon, here's a quick bite to keep us going: an interesting processor spec mentioned in the user manual for the SHV-E330S, which we think will be the new LTE-Advanced variant of the Galaxy S 4 intended for South Korea. How the folks at RBmen spotted it we have no idea, but one of the pages (shown after the break) confirms the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974), which not only supports the new double-speed LTE standard but is also something of a beast when it comes to general performance. This isn't especially relevant to a Western audience, perhaps, except that it marginally increases the probability that we'll see this same powerhouse inside the rumored Galaxy Note III, since Samsung evidently feels comfortable with Qualcomm's flagship silicon -- and it can't have failed to notice that LG's engineers are fond of it too.
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Samsung's already doing a pretty good job selling its new flagship GS4, not to mention preparing a Google-fied stock version for the summer. There's another variant now confirmed, however, with Samsung's co-chief exec, JK Shin, telling Reuters today that a modified Galaxy S 4 will be the first smartphone to commercially launch on LTE-Advanced, the next step up from existing LTE. (Not forgetting that the new tech is already live in parts of Russia.) On the new radio technology, data speeds could theoretically double what you currently experience on a 4G signal. For Samsung's new smartphone, this will involve using Qualcomm chips compatible with the next-gen networks, notably sidestepping its homemade Exynos silicon. "As operators seek to provide more data-centric mobile services, I think this will become mainstream 4G technology globally in the coming years," Shin said, though he refused to name any specific networks that the new GS4 would eventually launch on. when.eng("eng.perm.init")
