10 Reasons We're Excited About the Samsung Galaxy S IV

Tomorrow kicks off the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, the sprawling convention that shows off all the latest and greatest gadgets on track to be released during the upcoming year. One of the products everyone was looking forward to gawking at this year was the follow-up to the best-selling Android phone of all time: the Samsung Galaxy S IV. Unfortunately, Samsung won't be showing off the GS IV in Vegas this year, leaving us to wait a couple more months before seeing the company's newest flagship phone. However, that hasn't stopped the rumors and reports from flooding in. So, as we wait for the GS IV to make its official debut, here's a run down of everything we know about the phone and why we're so amped for its release.

One of the best features of the Galaxy S III was the 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display that pushed out a beautiful resolution of 1280x720 pixels. But with handsets like the HTC Droid DNA sporting even higher resolutions, we expected Samsung to up the ante with its next handset. And according to recent reports, it will. The Galaxy S IV is expected to not only have a larger, 5-inch Super AMOLED display, but it will be fully HD with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. Yup, 1080 in the palm of your hand.

Thanks to the Samsung Exynos chipset that came in 1.4GHz quad-core and dual-core configurations, the Galaxy S III was no slouch. But reports say that Samsung plans on stepping it up once again with a quad-core 2GHz Exynos 5450 processor and a faster graphical processing unit. Even better, word the quad-core variant will make its way to the U.S.

While there's been no word on how much internal storage the Galaxy S IV will pack, word has come out that the amount of onboard RAM will be increased to 2 GB. This means, the lightening quick operation customers experienced with the S III will only get quicker. Apps will launch faster, multi-tasking will go off without a hiccup, and the overall user experience will be better. While it hasn't been confirmed, it will fall in line with Samsung's upgrade history.

When we reviewed the Galaxy S III, we remarked that the images taken by the 8MP camera were "sharp and vibrant" and that its video recording was the best on the market. That's all going to change as the Galaxy S IV will have increased photo and video capabilities. Reports say the rear-facing camera in the GS IV will pack in a whopping 13MP, while the front-facing shooter will be upgraded to 2MP. There's no word on what sort of new software Samsung will include to go along with the upgraded optics, but we expect the picture and video-taking experience to be second-to-none.

One of the features that made the Samsung Galaxy S III the premier Android handset was its inclusion of Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Unlike some other Android phones, the GS III gave users access to all the latest features to come out of Mountainview. It looks as if history will repeat itself for the fourth go-around as Samsung will install a version of Android 4.2 upon launch. There are even some whispers that the phone may come with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie which is also scheduled to launch in May 2013. Knowing Samsung's record of quick adoption, this wouldn't be too far-fetched.

Even though the Samsung Galaxy S III wasn't the thinnest smartphone on the market, it was one of the most ergonomic and comfortable handsets money could buy. For the next-generation, word is Samsung is going to somehow remove even more bulk to make the GS IV lighter and thinner.

Not only will the Galaxy S IV be thinner and lighter, the overall design, if rumors are to be believed, become more streamlined. Not that the Galaxy S III was a cumbersome tool, quite the the opposite. To make room for the larger display, word is Samsung plans to remove the ubiquitous home button found on the bottom of previous models. While this may disorient most users, it'll be interesting to see what Samsung plans to do with the new space and what software solutions will be used to replace the button.

One of the unsung technological heroes of 2012 was the S Pen, the stylus that accompanied the Galaxy Note handsets and allowed users greater productivity and more features. With the increase in screen size, there have been rumors that the Galaxy S IV will come with its own version of the S Pen and will have some of the same functionality of the tablet/smartphone hybrid. And seeing as how improved the S Pen experience was with the Galaxy Note II over the original Note, if true, we can't wait to see what Samsung has in store for the Galaxy S IV.

Wireless charging is finally taking off in a serious way. After first breaking into public the with the ill-fated Palm Pre and then with some later Android handsets like the recently-revealed HTC Driod DNA and the Nokia Lumia 920, wireless charging, it seems, is finally ready to go mainstream. Sources say Samsung is jumping on the wireless charging wave for the next Galaxy S. With the S3s awesome bevy of wireless features, we're sure Samsung will figure out a novel, yet useful way for this to happen.

Word on the street was Samsung was going to announce the Galaxy S IV at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, but that's since been shut down. Reports now say the phone will release around the same time the Galaxy S III was released, in May 2013. The release date would also give Samsung the jump on Apple which usually releases its new iPhones in the fall. It will be on the Cupertino crew to match Samsung's newest flagship.