AT&T (T 1.58%) reportedly didn't fare too well with this past weekend's BlackBerry (BBRY 0.75%) Z10 debut, but now it will be Samsung's time to shine.
The wireless carrier will start taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S4 on April 16. The new Android device's features are off the charts, but the new smartphone will also hit the market at a slightly higher price point than usual. Galaxy handsets and iPhones typically come in at a $200 sweet spot, but the subsidized price of the S4 will be $250 with a two-year contract.
It's still a smart thing for Samsung to be doing. Staging its S4 unveiling just as BlackBerry's new device was ready to hit domestic retailers probably helped snuff demand for the BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system, and now it's drumming up pre-orders that won't kick in for another three weeks to keep BlackBerry -- and the iPhone 5, one would imagine -- down.
It's going to be an interesting year in the smartphone realm.
Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.
- SAIC (NYSE: SAI) declared a special dividend of $1 a share that will be payable in June. The defense contractor is getting ready to divide its operations in two, though investors may wonder why it didn't go this route last year, when the tax rates were kinder for many income investors.
- NuPathe (NASDAQ: PATH) posted a loss, as expected. The material nugget in the biotech's report is that it has enough cash on hand to funds its operations through the end of the year. NuPathe is in the process of commercializing its FDA migraine drug Zecuity.
- AuRico Gold (NYSE: AUQ) is the latest company to turn gold into cash for its shareholders. The Canadian gold miner has initiated a quarterly dividend policy. The $0.04-a-share quarterly rate may not seem like much, but it adds up to a decent yield, given AuRico's share price in the single digits.
