The Samsung Galaxy S4: An unboxing

We at the Gadgets Magazine HQ have been waiting for Samsung’s latest and greatest to arrive at the lab for weeks now, but because of the demand for the device, it seems that they have been a little hard to come by. This afternoon, though, one happened to have landed on my lap, and you get to share the joy with us.

Behold. The Samsung Galaxy S4.

Well, the box, at least. The box is a very tiny, understated, recycled deal, and we rather like it. Nothing fancy, nothing terribly special. Once you tear into it though, you see the S4 itself, taking up most of the inside.

The phone itself has been called plasticky by some who have had the chance to hold it. That is a little true; it’s a little light for the size, but it feels solid. Nowhere near as toy-like as some people make it seem. It’s no aluminum unibody, for sure, but it’s pleasantly rigid, and not creaky at all.

We got the black model, whose back panel is covered in a nice, shiny, dark metal finish, despite being plastic. It lends to giving the S4 a more solid look than plain white, and works very well to make it feel like the top-tier device it is.

The bezel is very thin, and the front of the device is almost completely screen. It makes it look larger than it really is, despite actually being a little thinner than the old SIII.

The phone is also quite thin. Not so thin as to make handling it difficult, and just thin enough so that it disappears nicely into a pocket.

The screen is large, gorgeous and sharp and one of the best screens we have laid eyes on in the history of mobile devices. This is going to be a great phone on which to watch videos, view pictures and browse websites.

It doesn’t come with very much else, just a few documents, a simple wall charger and cable, and a nice set of isolating headphones. We’ll really be putting this phone through its paces, so stick around for updates on the Samsung Galaxy S4.