Boom — there it is. After a month of intense speculation, the device has been officially announced on stage. The design and feature set isn’t entirely surprising, considering that much of it was leaked prior to the announcement. The device physically resembles the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note 2.

Samsung’s JK Shin stated that the device would begin shipping to more than 150 countries at the end of April, so roughly a month from now. On the marketing front, it seems as if Samsung is pushing this device as a “Life Companion,” or a device that is designed to help accomplish actual goals that everyday users need.

LG, a manufacturer who is quickly ramping up its Android devices, has preemptively taken on Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 marketing blitz, starting with Time Square. Playing on Samsung’s advertisements that highlight the number “4″ as a reference to the device they will announce later today, LG even went as far as buying the billboard space directly above Samsung.

LG’s Optimus G has been positively received by most, although it is nowhere near the success of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy products. However, a gutsy marketing campaign like this may well be the shot in the arm the Optimus G needs to succeed.

Four videos were uploaded to YouTube last night that show off what is supposedly a Galaxy S 4 running the latest (and as-of-yet unannounced) version of Samsung’s Android skin. New features apparently include a new lock screen, floating touch, SmartPause, and — of course — improved performance.

Floating touch is exactly what it sounds like. The technology has been included on various devices over the past year, with Sony in particular having used the technology in its previous-generation flagship product. However, it seems as if Samsung has implemented the technology in a much more cohesive, almost using it as a “right-click” function to revel more information about a given data set. It’s interesting, if not entirely unique. SmartPause — video above — is another feature that may or may not be useful: to pause a playing video, simply look away. The software pauses the video when it detects the head facing another direction. Again, interesting — though only time will tell how useful the feature is. The remaining three videos can be seen after the break.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 event is in just under a week, but the video above may already reveal what the device will be. Posted to Chinese forum 52samsung.com, the video shows a device that is very reminiscent of the Galaxy S III. It’s obviously difficult to ascertain any technical specs based on this video, but the Galaxy S 4 is rumored to include a 5″ display with a 1080p panel, as well as an octa-core processor. If that’s the case, the tech specs will likely be the highlight of the device, given the familiar design of this particular model.

The software shown in the later part of the video is also very Samsung-y, and is obviously from the same company that created the software on the Galaxy S III. (more…)