Samsung Galaxy S4 Black Edition now available from Phones4U the UK

Samsung has officially brought its Galaxy S4 Black Edition handset to the UK in an exclusive deal with Phones 4U, asking £499.89 for the handset and its eye-catching faux leather design similar to that of the Galaxy Note 3.Although the Galaxy S4 Black Edition, announced by the Korean company back in January, has a new look, its internals match those of the standard Galaxy S4: a 5in 1920x1080 Full HD AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, expandable with micro-SD memory cards. Where the Galaxy S4 is available from a variety of retailers, however, the Galaxy S4 Black Edition is a Phones 4U exclusive - and buyers will be literally paying the price if they want the new design.Phones 4U has priced the Galaxy S4 Black Edition at £499.89 SIM-free and unlocked, which is actually slightly cheaper than the standard Galaxy S4 at £499.95. Phones 4U's SIM-free pricing is not the lowest: the Galaxy S4 can be purchased for as little as £300 from the company's rivals as a SIM-free handset. With an exclusivity deal with Samsung, however, the Galaxy S4 Black Edition won't be available on the general market - except, possibly, as a grey import which will bring with it difficulties when claiming for faults under warranty.The Galaxy S4 Black Edition is unlikely to stay at its premium price for long, thanks to the impending launch of the Galaxy S5. Rumours of low launch stock due to component shortages, however, suggest that it could be a while after launch before its predecessor, especially the exclusive Black Edition, sees a substantial discount over its current price.