Galaxy S4 Advance Released in France

Starting with today, people will be able to purchase the Galaxy S4 Advance in France. The device is the same as the original S4 version with the upgraded processor and the LTE support. Orange France is now offering the Galaxy S4 model for €689.90 ($940) without contract. In the case of a contract, the smartphone will be only €69.90 ($95) upfront and €79.90 ($110) per month. The i9506 model is not a mystery because it was expected since it was already released in Germany in October.

Until now, the handset was called Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A or Galaxy S4 LTE+. The device does support LTE connectivity, with a theoretical download speed up to 150 MP per second, but for most people, the three numbers do not mean that much. In this respect, Samsung considered changing its name to Samsung Galaxy S4 Advance, a much easier to remember name. The “Advance” term is much easier, and in the same time, it describes the fact that the handset offers better specs than the “vanilla” S4.

Unlike the original model, that packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor inside, the enhanced version sports a Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset that empowers a quad-core processor clocked at 2.3 GHz and an Adreno 330 graphic processing unit. In what concerns the hardware configuration, the Advance model is similar to the original flagship smartphone.

In the case of software, Samsung fans might face to a small problem. The S4 LTE-A handset will run on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean platform, just like happened in Germany. On the other hand, Samsung has already released Android 4.3 for the standard model. However, this is nothing to worry about. I am sure that soon, this version will receive the well-awaited update, the firmware that will prepare your device for the KitKat update scheduled for January 2014.

So far, Samsung has not introduced the device officially, but an official launch is soon to be expected. As it was mentioned, Galaxy S4 Advance is available all over France beginning with today via Orange online store, and the carrier’s brick and mortar stores. If you live in France and you plan to make an order, or you just want to purchase Samsung’s latest device, you are free to check the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE specs and features.