A phone these days can't properly make it to customers without an iFixit teardown, and the industrious folks at the site wasted no time breaking into the Galaxy S4.

Let's just say, it got a big thumbs up from the iFixit crew.

When all was said and done, the S4 walked away with a high-five worthy eight out of 10 on the reparability scale.

That compares to the one out of 10 bestowed on the brilliant yet unfixable HTC One and one more point than the iPhone 5. The whole reverse-repair was so straightforward, the entire S4 iFixit guide is one perusable page long.

'I passed!'

The S4 needed no tools to take of the back panel, while the battery was a quick snap away from exiting and entering the device, meaning consumers shouldn't have to slap it against their palms or do whatever other methods they employ to extract the 2,600mAh juicer.

Peeling off the layers of the S4 was relatively effortless, and as many components are modular in nature, users need just replace something like a kaput microSD card instead of swapping out their phone entirely.

There were parts stuck together with adhesive, so iFixit knocked it's reparability score for those. The screen's glass is fused to the display and display frame, which while not a big surprise would lead to more charges in a fix-it job.

However, the relative straightforwardness of the phone's components make this Galaxy easy to navigate and, at the end of the day, easy to repair.

Now, happy smashing! No, wait, please don't do that.

Android toppled iOS last year in terms of raw users, but Apple may soon take back its throne.

A new survey of 16,000 U.S. smartphone users found that almost one quarter of Android users had no plans to upgrade to another Android phone.

The survey was conducted over the past 12 months by research firm Yankee Group, which determined that "Apple's 'black hole' ecosystem captures subscribers who never leave" and that "at the checkout counter, Apple continues to eat Samsung's lunch."

The group said that one out of every six Android customers will eventually switch to other systems, which should allow Apple phone ownership to leapfrog past Android by 2015.

Drops in a bucket

The survey found that over the last year 50 percent of the smartphone owners used Android, while 30 percent were on Apple's iOS.

The numbers are evenly split for those thinking about getting any kind of new phone in the next six months, with 42 percent saying they intend to get an Android device and another 42 percent planning to pick up an iPhone.

It's not the biggest drop, but it's worth pointing out that more phone owners plan on purchasing an iPhone than currently own one, while the exact opposite is true for Android.

Even more telling is that fact that 91 percent of iPhone users surveyed planned to buy another iPhone when the time came to upgrade, while 6 percent intended to switch to Android. When the same question was asked of Android users, only 76 percent planned to stay loyal to Android, while 18 percent expressed a desire to switch to iOS.

Yankee Group Vice President Carl Howe compared the two mobile operating systems to leaky buckets with customers dripping in and draining out; in his analogy, Android's is leaking just a tad faster than Apple's.

It's clear that Apple inspires (or demands, depending how you look at it) a significant amount of loyalty from users, something that so far, Google's Android has been unable to match.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 proper hasn't even arrived everywhere globally yet, but rumors of Samsung readying a newer, more durable version of its flagship are already making the rounds.

Those initial reports gained a little more traction on Friday, when sources revealed to the Wall Street Journal Samsung was indeed working on a tougher Galaxy S4.

The brawnier Galaxy S4 is believed to be aimed at business and government clients looking for a bit more ruggedness from their phones.

However, the news doesn't end there, as those same sources claimed Samsung was also readying a new 8-inch Galaxy tablet for June, as well as a smaller Galaxy S4 mini for July.

Hangin' tough

Unfortunately for Samsung Galaxy S4 hopefuls in the U.S., supply demands have caused the standard variation to be delayed at carriers Sprint and T-Mobile.

According to the WSJ's sources, that's due to the Galaxy S4 receiving an overwhelming four-times the amount of pre-orders as the Galaxy S3.

By the time the Galaxy S4's actually arrive, the tentatively-titled Galaxy S4 Active may be closer to release, which could ease the burden of supply and demand around the world.

Also, the addition of the smaller (4.3-inches according to the sources) Galaxy S4 mini could also shoulder some of the intense demand for Samsung's top-tier smartphone throughout the rest of the year.

The only other comparable device due to arrive this year would be Sony's Xperia Z, which too will be dust- and waterproof, but doesn't quite carry the same recognition as the Galaxy line of smartphones.

Samsung is also looking to take a bit of the business clientele away from BlackBerry, whose Q10 is aimed squarely at the same corporate market.

In spite of the Galaxy S4 shortages, Samsung has still been tearing up sales charts around the world, and the added variety and options reportedly in the works should only help distance the Korean manufacturer from rival Apple.

If you've pre-ordered a Samsung Galaxy S4, you may have more of a wait on your hands than expected as Samsung is struggling to provide enough handsets to meet demand.

The handset is meant to be landing in stores and on the doormats of organised pre-orderers on April 27 (tomorrow) but some will be disappointed.

"There has been unprecedented demand for the Galaxy S4 in the UK," Samsung told us in a statement.

"Samsung is working hard to ensure that pre-orders and sales across all channels are fulfilled as soon as possible."

Price of popularity

What does that mean for you? We've had a word with all the UK networks to see what's what.

An O2 spokesperson told us that some handsets should be on time: "For us, some customers (who've pre-ordered their handset before 19 April) will get their handset on 26 April. These customers will receive an SMS to let them know, if a contact number has been provided at point of order.

"For other customers who've ordered their handset before 19 April they'll receive their handset from 27 April." - from being the operative word, there.

Over at Three, it's a similar story in that some customers will get their handsets on launch day.

The network's spokesperson told us, "As Samsung have stock issues, we're unable to deliver the S4 to all customers who have pre-ordered. We're working closely with Samsung to do everything we can to get the S4 to our customers as soon as it's available."

We're waiting for word back from EE, Vodafone and Virgin so we'll keep you posted on those networks as and when we hear from them.

To find out more about when and where you can get a Samsung Galaxy S4, get involved with our comprehensive round up.

The free calling and messaging app Viber could be letting hackers gain control of your Android phone by bypassing the lock screen.

Discovered by a Vietnamese security firm, the possible security breach allows attackers to scoot round the phone's lock screen before gaining access to the phone's controls and everything else stored within.

Much like Skype, Viber allows you to make calls and send messages using your data connection instead of munching through calls and minutes included in your contract.

Vibraphone

The attack is carried out through messages sent and calls made to the victim through Viber; it uses the fact the that the app lets you reply to a message through a pop-up without having to unlock the handset.

"The way Viber handles to pop-up its messages on smartphones' lock screen is unusual, resulting in its failure to control programming logic, causing the flaw to appear," said Nguyen Minh Duc, director of Bkav's security division.

Viber is aware of the loophole, and is "currently working on fixing this issue"; in the meantime it advises users to uncheck 'unlock for popups' in their settings menu to safeguard against attacks.