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T-Mobile delays online ordering for Samsung's Galaxy S4

Wireless carrier reschedules first day of online availability for Monday, citing inventory issues.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
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Watch this: Samsung's Galaxy S4 powerhouse

T-Mobile customers expecting to place their online orders for the Samsung Galaxy S4 on Wednesday will have to wait until next week to order the hotly anticipated device.

Formerly expected to be the first to offer the device online, the wireless carrier said Tuesday that the beginning of online ordering has been rescheduled to Monday, blaming an inventory issue for the delay.

"Due to an unexpected delay with inventory deliveries, the Galaxy S 4 will not be available on www.T-Mobile.com as planned on Wednesday, April 24," the company said in a statement. "Instead, online availability is expected to begin on Monday, April 29. We apologize for any inconvenience and are working with Samsung to deliver the device to T-Mobile customers as soon as possible."

The delay puts the fourth-largest carrier at a bit of disadvantage in the race to release Samsung's new flagship smartphone, which T-Mobile is offering for $149.99 down and monthly service payments of $20. The announcement comes a day after AT&T announced that its customers who preordered the smartphone could expect delivery as soon as Thursday, much earlier than the previous target of April 30.

Samsung's new smartphone sports an improved design over the Galaxy S3 and is packed with a ton of high-end features and specialized software. The device, which runs the latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, has a super-size screen and higher resolution, more battery capacity, and faster processor than its predecessor.