Samsung Galaxy S4 tipped for 5-inch screen, February launch

Supermarkets have already started putting out their Christmas chocolates. If that annoys you, just wait until you hear the first rumours of the follow-up to the Samsung Galaxy S3 -- the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The first reports have emerged from Korea that Samsung is planning to unveil the S4 in February 2013.

Sources say the S4 will make its debut at Mobile World Congress, the annual phone-focused trade show in Barcelona.

And the early word on the street is that the S4 will pack a mammoth 5-inch screen, a quad-core Exynos processor and 4G LTE data. Samsung is also reportedly considering whether the S4 will sport a flexible display. Maybe it will have a selection of new colours too.

All very interesting, but I'm sceptical. For a start, the S3 didn't appear at this year's MWC for the same reason Apple's iPhone has never appeared there: the S3 and iPhone on their own are bigger than any trade show. So I'd be surprised if Samsung waded back into the scrum with the S4.

Plus a 5-inch screen is heading into Galaxy Note territory, which is a stretch when the S3 is already plenty big enough.

No doubt the rumours will continue, but if the S4 is as closely guarded as the S3, we won't know for certain for a good while yet.

Previous rumours have suggested we could be treated to a Windows Phone version of the S3. Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 software launches with a range of new phones in November, so by next year's MWC will be in several phones.

A new version of the S3 is expected this year with 4G. The Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE is one of the batch of LTE phones that will work on EE's 4G network, the next-generation data infrastructure from Orange and T-Mobile's parent company Everything Everywhere. 

Can Samsung improve on the S3? Are you annoyed another new version is coming out so soon? What would you like to see in the S4? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.