Samsung Galaxy S4 landing in Australia through Telstra on April 27, ‘rugged’ version could be in the pipeline

Telstra has announced it is launching the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone in Australia on April 27.

“Tens of thousands of customers have already registered their interest proving there‘s tremendous appetite for this new smartphone which promises to change the way we answer calls and preview text messages,” Telstra director of mobile Andrew Volard said.

“When teamed with the Telstra 4G network, customers using the S4 will experience download speeds up to two times faster than Australia’s fastest 3G smartphones and tablets so they can upload photos and videos or post status updates faster.

“Telstra customers using the Samsung Galaxy S4 will also enjoy more than double the 4G coverage of any other network.”

The announcement comes amid speculation has emerged that Samsung could be working on a rugged version of its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, with the news coming as senior Microsoft figures including Bill Gates held meetings with the electronics giant.

AndroidCentral reports Samsung Gulf Electronics president Young Soo Kim would unveil a rugged dustproof and waterproof version of the Galaxy S4 during a presentation in Dubai.

This has led to speculation Samsung could be working on a version of the Galaxy S4 which would resemble Sony’s flagship XPeria Z smartphone.

Meanwhile, Sammobile reports senior Microsoft officials, including Bill Gates, have met with Samsung a week ahead of talks with Android-developer Google.

Gates met with Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong, Samsung Group head of strategy Choi Gee-sung and Samsung Mobile president JK Shin.

“We discussed cooperation opportunities with Windows 8 and other IT devices with Samsung,” Gates said.