A Bank Robbery in Lagos , Nigeria ( Jokes )

During a robbery in Lagos, Nigeria, the bank robber shouted to everyone in the bank:
"Don't move. The money belongs to the State. Your life belongs to you."
Everyone in the bank laid down quietly.
*This is called "Mind Changing Concept” Changing the
conventional way of thinking.

When a lady lay on the table provocatively, the robber shouted at her: "Please be civilized!This is a robbery and not a rape!" *This is called "Being Professional” Focus only on what you are trained to do!*

When the bank robbers returned home, the younger robber (MBA-trained) told the older
robber (who has only completed Year 6 in
primary school): "Big brother, let's count how
much we got." The older robber rebutted and said: "You are
very stupid. There is so much money it will
take us a long time to count. Tonight, the TV
news will tell us how much we robbed from
the bank!"
*This is called "Experience.”Nowadays, experience is more important than paper qualifications!*

After the robbers had left, the bank manager
told the bank supervisor to call the police quickly. But the supervisor said to him: "Wait!
Let us take out $10 million from the bank for ourselves and add it to the $70 million that
we have previously embezzled from the bank”.
*This is called "Swimming with the tide.” Converting
an unfavorable situation to your advantage!*

The supervisor says: "It will be good if there is a robbery every month."
*This is called "Killing Boredom.” Personal
Happiness is more important than your job*.

The next day, the TV news reported that $100 million was taken from the bank. The robbers counted and counted and counted, but they could only count $20 million.
The robbers
were very angry and complained: "We risked our lives and only took $20 million. The bank manager took $80 million with a snap of his fingers. It looks like it is better to be educated
than to be a thief!"
*This is called "Knowledge is worth as much as
gold!*"

The bank manager was smiling and happy
because his losses in the share market are
now covered by this robbery.
*This is called "Seizing the opportunity.” Daring to take risks!*

So who are the real robbers here??

40-year-old man finds out he did not father any of his 3 children after 10 years of marriage

It is really terrible and painful as a 40-year-old businessman on Friday in Lagos, Nigeria  sought the dissolution of his 10-year-old marriage, over paternity of the three children they supposedly had from the union.

Ambali Muraina told an Ikorodu Customary Court that he had confirmed that he was not the father of the children.

The plaintiff said that a DNA test confirmed that the children were not his.

He submitted that he went for the test after repeated comments by his wife, Mariam, that he was not the father of the children.

The plaintiff told the court that Mariam gave birth to all the three children while living with him.

He said: “She was always saying jokingly that I am not the father of the three children, anytime we had a misunderstanding.

“Please separate us, I don’t want to waste my money on another man’s children and I don’t want to live with them again.”

Thirty-year-old Mariam did not deny the allegation.

200 Students on Drugs With 54 Pregnant Girls In Lagos ( Nigeria ) Public Schools

TWO hundred student on drugs and 54 pregnant girls have been uncovered in Lagos public secondary schools.

This was part of the statistics released by the Office of Youth and Social Development, an arm of the Lagos State Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development.

The statistics revealed that 54 pregnant girls were counselled by the school social services of the office in the last one year out of the 378 schools visited. Out of the 54 pregnant girl students counseled, 18 of them with serious depression were brought under supervision of the social welfare service.

Also, 200 cases of drug abuse were uncovered, while the students involved were counseled and 61 of them placed under supervision, 2,095 students involved in truancy were also counseled among the students, with 213 students placed under supervision.

The statistics further revealed 427 cases of gangsterism among students and placed 73 of such students under supervision, while 461 students were counseled on sex education, with 103 students placed under supervision.

Also, 154 cases of sexual assault were uncovered and the victims were counseled, while 27 of such affected students were placed under supervision. 91 victims of physical abuse were counseled, with 27 placed under supervision.

The department also counseled 102 students who absconded with 50 of such students placed under supervision.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru said the school social work section of his ministry had been going round schools to check delinquent acts of pupils in schools, which are detrimental to learning among students of primary and secondary schools the State.

“Their work is that of identifying, managing and adjusting bad behavior among students as a result of negative influence from peer group, modifying the behavioral attitudes of delinquent students in schools and offering counseling services to students from dysfunctional families.

“The School Social Workers have been working in collaboration with the School Guidance Counselors to counsel pupils and reform those in need of correction. Some of these cases were referred to Family Courts and the affected pupils were placed on supervision to enable them settle down well both at home and at school.

“In the last one year, 378 schools were visited and a total of 2,601 students were counseled in individually and in groups, while 567 students were placed on supervision,” he disclosed.

He added that an investigation into the alleged sexual harassment of a girl-child by her guardian, a Naval Officer was carried out, saying that she was temporally sheltered at the Special Correctional Centre for Girls, Idi-Araba till when she was released and re-united with the biological parents in Bayelsa State.

10 Reasons Why Your Man Hasn’t Asked You To Marry Him

Still waiting for you man to pop the big question to you? Wondering why it is taking him so long?

Here’s a list of ten possible reasons why your significant other hasn’t asked you to marry him yet.

1. You Are Already Playing House;
You live together. You have children. You share bills. You have essentially taken on traditional wife duties without the title. Why should he get married?

2. He’s Already Said No, You’re Just Not Listening
Please keep in mind that no amount of love can make someone do something they don’t want to do.

3. You Are a Liability
Do you have excessive debt, several children (not his) or other responsibilities he doesn’t want? Bottom line, most men “hold on an average hand” and only marry when the perception is we’re gaining an asset.

4. You Are His Vegas Girl or his “good time girl”
If you always get the call to hang out with him and his boys, or to accompany him on the business trip to a fun city but you don’t get the invite to any company events or family gatherings, he’s basically saying, we can have a good time together but it stops there.

5. His Other Woman Doesn’t Like You
If he grew up in a household with mama or grandma (or big sis, auntie, etc.) at the helm, chances are, no matter his age, those “other” women carry heavy influence on his decisions.

6. You Are a Nag or have a bad attitude.
If your words or actions create constant irritation, there is no way he’s going to want to bond with you for life.

7. He Doesn’t Respect Your Boundaries
You came into the relationship saying you have rules and standards. He then broke every rule and you lowered your standards to accommodate being with him.

8. He Is Commitment Phobic
He’s cool with calling you his girl, truly loves you and desires to spend the remainder of his days on this earth with you, however, the discussion of marriage is taking it to a level he is psychologically uncomfortable with.
9. He Doesn’t Feel Like You Need Him If he doesn’t feel like you need him for anything, why would he marry you?

10. He’s Simply Not Ready
Getting married is serious business. I applaud those who take time to assess not only if their partner is a good fit, but also if they are mature enough for marriage.

Paris Travel Guide and City Guide For Your Trip

Paris

Paris, the City of Light, is filled with thousands of hotels, attractions, shops and restaurants. Get help focusing on where to stay, where to eat, where to go and more basics before you go to Paris.

Getting There

Paris is one of the most popular destinations in the world, which makes it quite easy to access. It is a major hub for many airlines, and a great starting point or stopover during a European vacation. Since it is so popular, there are also many great bargains on airfare, lodging or vacation packages.

Getting Around

Paris is divided into arrondissements, or neighborhoods. These arrondissements run in a circular spiral starting at the center of the city and winding outwards. The city is also divided by the Seine River, and the two sides are the Left Bank and Right Bank.
Public transportation in Paris is extensive, including the popular Metro trains, France's train system running to points outside the city, a bus system, and more.

Where to Stay

There are hundreds of hotels in Paris, which can make it a pretty daunting task to isolate the right one for you. The best thing to do is to determine which attractions you want to see most and which arrondissements there are within (the map link above will help). Once you do that, search for lodging within that arrondissement or close by. Many of the most popular attractions are within the first five arrondissements.
Once you've done that, you need to decide how much to spend and whether your room should be luxurious or basic. The French government regulates the star ratings, which is quite helpful. You will pay the least (and usually get the least) with one and two star hotels. Three star hotels are usually reasonably-priced and comfortable enough for most travelers. Or you can live it up in four-star accomodations.

Where to Eat and Drink

One of the most divine indulgences on a visit to Paris is definitely the food. Some of the best gourmet restaurants in the world are located here. Even cheap cafe eats or street crepe vendor food is wonderful.
It can help to do some research first about where you want to dine. For some of the most popular restaurants, you can even make reservations online. You can also ask your concierge for help booking reservations, or for suggestions on where to eat. Note that in Paris, dinnertime is commonly later than in the U.S., and is around 7 or 8 p.m. Unlike smaller French cities where it can be tough to find an open restaurant between lunchtime and dinnertime, however, there is always somewhere in Paris to grab a bite.
Paris is also packed with several hip nightclubs, jazz clubs and fun cafes.

Paris Attractions

The city of light has many of the world's most visited attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Arc de Triomphe. It's impossible to see them all, but do your homework first and prioritize. With a numbered list, you can start with the most important. Then, anything you miss will be less important.

Staying Connected

Even during a vacation in Paris, you might need to stay in touch with work, friends or family while visiting. No need for concern, though. There are several cyber cafes in the city, wi-fi (wireless internet connection) is increasingly surfacing, cell phones can be rented and calls to home are relatively inexpensive from public pay phones (with the use of phone cards, or telecartes available at any convenience store.

Travel Documents You Will Need For Your Trip to Brazil

There are several documents that you should take with you on a trip to Brazil.  Some of these are required and others are simply a good idea.

Required Travel Documents

Passport: Everyone entering Brazil is required to have a passport from their country of origin that is good for at least 6 months after the date you will enter the country.  Your passport should be carried on your person while traveling, but we recommend using a copy of your passport when walking around Rio.
Visas: Americans, Canadians , and many other countries also require a visa to enter.  In fact, you will not be allowed to board your flight until the airline has seen your passport and visa.  If you are not sure, check with the Consul General of Brazil in your country or area.  See Brazil Entrance Requirements for more information.  The visa is stamped inside your passport.
Tickets: Most people use electronic ticketing these days, but sometime paper tickets are still used.  Don't forget these.  You may also need vouchers for your travel package, airline identification cards (are you a lounge member?), and frequent flier information.

Recommended Travel Documents

Driver's License
This is a very handy alternate method of identification, although it will not take the place of a passport.  If you want to drive in Brazil, you may also want to obtain a Pan American Driver's License.  See Brazil Entrance Requirements for details.
Emergency Home Contact Information
You should always carry on your person a method of contacting your friends, family, or business associates in an emergency.  This should include names, relationship, phone numbers, addresses, and email if possible.  This should be simply stated, keeping in mind that it may be used by a doctor or a hotel employ should you become ill.  Include your full name and passport number on this document.
Brazil Contact Information
How do people in your home country find you in an emergency?  Include hotel names, addresses, and phone numbers.  This list is left with trusted persons in your home country.
Reservation Information
Do you have reservation numbers?  Telephone numbers for a driver, friend, or business associate in Brazil.  Perhaps you were given directions.  Be sure to include as much information as possible about the hotel, including a complete address.  Sometimes you can just show this to a taxi driver that does not speak English.
Itinerary
This is at least a copy of your flight schedules.  If you will be staying at more than one place in Brazil, this should be merged with your Brazil Contact Information and your Reservation Information.
Phone List
Want to give your cousin Susie a call from Brazil on her birthday?  Don't forget to include a printed copy of the phones numbers that you might need to use from Brazil.
Shopping List
Planning to bring back purchases from Brazil?  Maybe you have thought of a list of people that your want to surprise with a souvenir.  Don't forget the list.
Portuguese Phrases
While you will find English in most tourist areas in Brazil, the majority of people in Brazil speak only Portuguese.  You should have with you a small Portuguese phrase book or a list of common Portuguese phrases.  For the latter, check out http://www.sonia-portuguese.com/text/phrases.htm .  There are other links in our links section.
Money and Credit Cards
Don't forget your cash, credit cards, and debit cards.  See the separate section on Brazil Money Matters for full recommendations.  Make a copy of the front and back of all credit cards that you take in case they are lost or stolen.  This will facilitate reporting to your credit card company.
Miscellaneous Documents
Other things that generally fall into the document classification include your health insurance card, your driving insurance card, and perhaps a long distance calling card.  There may also be other documents necessary for your trip.  Maybe these include business cards, business documents, password lists, or local business numbers and addresses.
Copies
We recommend that you make copies of certain documents.  This makes it easier to safeguard the originals and to leave copies in helpful places.

How you should carry your Travel Documents

The table below summarizes our recommendations for travel documents and where they should be kept.  What documents should be copied are also indicated.

Document	In Transit	In Brazil
Passport and Visa*	on you	in safe.  Carry a copy on you.
Tickets*	on you.  Copy in carry on if you have a paper ticket.	in safe.
Drivers license*	on you	in safe.  Carry a copy on you.
Emergency Home Contact Information*	on you	In hotel room drawer.  Carry a copy on you.
Brazil Contact Information*	carry on	not critical
Reservation Information*	carry on	not critical
Itinerary*	carry on	not critical
Phone List*	carry on	not critical
Shopping List	carry on	not critical
Money - dollars	on you	in safe
Money - reals	on you	in safe.  Carry only what you think you will need.
Credit/Debit Cards*	on you	in safe.  Carry only when you think you will need it. Leave copy of numbers in safe.
Portuguese Phrase Book	carry on	on you

* Leave a copy of these items back home with a trusted person

What You Need to Before About Traveling to Greece Now

The intensity of the Greek debt crisis, along with clashes between protestors and police, have some travelers rethinking their plans for a Grecian getaway. An interviewed with True Greece's Christos Stergiou, one of our meticulously vetted top travel specialists of 2011, to find out what travelers need to know.

How are things in Greece now?
Christos Stergiou: In the last month or two, things have been very quiet in terms of strikes and protests. And when you look at it from the perspective of international media—blasting out protests and riots—it’s kind of a skewed image that one is getting. This is what always happens in Greece. When I was a kid, there were protests, and there were strikes. And all this happens in the very center of Athens. It’s an area of about ten blocks. Though the intensity was higher this year, people seem to get an image of fire in Athens. I think it’s a big misconception.
Have you seen an effect on travel reservations?
CS: We hosted as many people this extended summer season as we had hosted last year. Recently, we got all our feedback. I was very concerned that given the strikes, customer satisfaction would be hurting this year. We had our highest customer-service rating ever. So yes, there are strikes, and things are quite edgy. But we all know as Greeks not to go down to these ten blocks on the days when it happens.
Which area of Athens should travelers avoid?
CS: Overall, I would be cautious of the area in front of the Greek Parliament and the surrounding areas. If protests turn ugly, I would not go down there. But we do monitor the strikes. It’s not a social media thing, where people say, “in a half hour, let’s go down and destroy the square.” They are usually announced a day or so in advance.
So should people feel safe?
CS: Overall, I think people are extremely safe. They are no less safe in Greece than they would be in any other country in the world that does not have radical phenomenon. Greece does not have radical phenomenon. Some of our guests, during one of these days, were wandering around, took a wrong turn, and found themselves in the midst of tensions between police and protestors. They were clearly shocked, turned around, and said they had to get back to their hotel. Someone holding a rock stopped, gave them instructions very politely, said “Welcome to Greece, enjoy your stay,” then went back to fighting the police.
It’s very much like Occupy Wall Street. It’s like saying it’s not safe to go and have a walk in Central Park. There’s not going to be a coup d’état or anything like that. Greece has been a democracy for many years now, and a very strong one.
What about the Greek islands?
CS: If you’re on the Greek islands and not in Athens or a major city, you won’t know what’s going on in the rest of the country. If you’re vacationing on Mykonos or Santorini, people are cheerful. It’s sort of like a different country. Hotels are fully booked, restaurants are full. You have all the Greeks feeling depressed in Athens because of the financial instability. And you go to the islands, you wouldn’t know. It’s like being on an island in the Caribbean.
What if you’re a particularly paranoid person?
CS: Let’s say you have the ubersensitive person that really wants to be very safe. There are two ways to field this. One, don’t stop in Athens. If you don’t stop in Athens, you have zero risk; except for a strike when you are arriving or departing, which is as bad as your flight getting delayed or canceled. You can sleep at the airport, there’s a hotel right at the terminal, which is great for an airport hotel. But my life in the suburbs, life in the airport; things are very calm

Health

There are no immunization vaccines required for a trip to Greece if you are traveling from the USA or Canada. For all other countries, consult the Greek Embassy near you.

Visa

For US and Canadian citizens visiting Greece for a period less than three months, only a valid passport is required. For visits longer than three months consult the Greek Embassy near you. Greece has ratified the Schengen Agreement concerning the visa issues. The Schengen Agreement covers the following ten member-states of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

All visitors to Greece who hold a tourist visa must have travel insurance. Visitors from EU countries must bring along their European Health Card (EHIC) or their county's Social Security service documents. 

Travel to Rio de Janeiro for your next vacation

At once both a cinematic cityscape and a grimy urban front line, Rio de Janeiro, known as the cidade maravilhosa (marvelous city), is nothing if not exhilarating. Flanked by gorgeous mountains, white-sand beaches and verdant rainforests fronting deep blue sea, Rio occupies one of the most spectacular settings of any metropolis in the world. Tack on one of the sexiest populations on the planet and you have an intoxicating tropical cocktail that leaves visitors punch-drunk on paradise.

With the seductive sounds of samba as their rallying cry, Rio’s residents, known as cariocas, have perfected the art of living well. From the world-famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to the tops of scenic outlooks of Corcovado and Pão de Açúcar to the dance halls, bars and open-air cafes that proliferate the city, cariocas live for the moment without a care in the world. This idea of paradise has enchanted visitors for centuries, and there are dozens of ways to be seduced. You can surf great breaks off Prainha, hike through Tijuca’s rainforests, sail across Guanabára, dance the night away in Lapa or just people-watch on Ipanema Beach.
While Rio has its share of serious problems, there are plenty of residents – expats included – who wouldn’t dream of relocating. It’s no coincidence Christo himself sits arms outstretched across the city. So, God will be with you as you travel around Rio.

Vine Video Sharing App Now Available for Android

Twitter on Monday announced the availability of Vine for Android smartphones. Vine is a simple video-sharing app that allows users to record six-second videos with audio and share them with friends on the Vine network and also on Twitter. The app launched back in January for Apple’s iPhone, and Twitter said it would release an Android version at a later point in time. The Android app is now finally available according to a post on Twitter’s blog, and it includes all of the functionality included in the iOS version. Vine for Android can be downloaded for free from the Google Play app store.

Samsung Galaxy S4 review

It's finally here and it looks very similar to its predecessor S3

It's hard to know where to start with the Samsung Galaxy S4. After months of rumours, leaks, hyperbole and more than one launch event, this is undoubtedly the most lusted after Android smartphone to date. In fact, we'd say that interest in the phone before launch was at least as high as for upcoming Apple phones, including the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6.
Now we finally have an S4 to review, just two simple questions remain. Most importantly, is this the best smartphone you can buy today? But also, has Samsung taken a big step forward over last year's S3 or is this more an evolution of that handset?
At first glance you'd have to err towards an evolution. The S3 certainly isn't a phone to show off with; not that it doesn't look rather pretty, but more because it's almost unrecognisable from its predecessor unless you look up close. This is no bad thing in our opinion as it didn't attract any unwanted attention on the train home, unlike an iPhone 5 just after its release.
The new handset appears to retain the same white plastic finish, but look closer and you'll see a fine diamond pattern beneath the gloss surface. It's a nice touch, and one subtle enough to avoid accusations of unnecessary bling.
Given its big 4.99in display, the S4 is surprisingly svelte. It measures just 136.6x69.8x7.9mm and weighs only 130g. That makes it both smaller overall and lighter than both its immediate rivals, the Sony Xperia Z and our current favourite, the HTC One.
From the front the most obvious change is the thinner screen bezels, both down the edges and at other end. This puts the screen just 2.5mm away from the edge of the device and it's becoming hard to imagine this distance getting any smaller without seriously compromising the survivability of the handset when dropped. The sides have been squared off, compared to the S3, which makes it easier to grip though it looks a little chunkier for it.
The areas above and below the screen are now far smaller, which has significantly reduced the amount of space for the physical home button and touch sensitive menu and back commands. This could have made them awkward, but the button needs an appreciably lighter press and we had no trouble hitting the touch sensitive controls.
Despite the back being removable, which has advantages we'll discuss later, the S4 doesn't suffer overly for this practicality. The rear panel fits snug against the body with no flex or shift. When in place, the handset feels like a single piece of tech.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is among the best-looking plastic phones we've ever seen. It's a decent evolution from the S3, ironing out plenty of the minor flaws that its predecessor had. These include a USB port that didn't look very well cut out and a rear case that had quite a loose fit; with the S4, it feels that much more finished and as though more attention has been paid to the detail.
Having said that it's a very conservative design. Purely from a look and feel perspective we prefer the aluminium HTC One. The curved back and sharp corners make it look far more striking that the rather amorphous blob of the S4; plus HTC has squeezed in a pair of front mounted speakers onto the One, as we'll discuss later. However, as a piece of practical engineering the S4 is simply superior, because it fits a noticeably larger display into a similarly sized handset. You simply can't get more screen than this in your pocket for the size or weight.
The S4 is better designed from an ergonomic point of view. The HTC One's power button at the top of the phone is beautifully designed, it doesn't stick out but it responds reliably when you press it (once you've got the hang of where it is). The problem is its position, having pressed it with your forefinger, you can't then reach the buttons below the screen with your thumb. The S4's right-hand-side power button has a far more traditional and boring look, but at least you can use the handset one handed without having to shift your grip constantly.

DISPLAY

This is the first smartphone to use an AMOLED display with a Full HD resolution. Measuring 4.99in across this gives it an on-paper pixels-per-inch figure of 441, up from 306PPI on the Galaxy S3. As always, it's worth noting that the display uses a pentile arrangement of subpixels - with two colours per pixel, rather than three – which means its actual resolution is less than equivalent LCD displays.

This is less of a problem on a Full HD display than it was previously. The incredibly high number of pixels-per-inch makes the lack of refinement, usually apparent on the edges of text, practically unnoticeable. Furthermore, the incredible contrast you get from an AMOLED display more than makes up for any small perceivable loss of detail.

In practical use there's far less difference between this and the LCD HTC One than their technology would suggest. The pentile pixel arrangement doesn't seem to noticeably effect detail on the S4, while the contrast on the HTC One was also excellent. The colours on the S4 are a little richer at any given brightness, but then the HTC One is far brighter at its maximum setting, handy on sunny days - although run it that way all the time and your battery life will be severely diminished.

Speaking of brightness, Samsung's controls are far better, with a brightness slider always present on the notifications drop down menu. This also lets you tweak the auto brightness settings, allowing you to have it a few steps brighter, or dimmer, than the variable default. By comparison the HTC One makes you dig in the menus to adjust it and offers no such tweaking of the auto setting

Having said all that, the biggest difference is simply that the S4's screen is bigger. It's not a huge deal when using apps day to day, sending texts, or hammering out a quick email, but for browsing desktop website sites, playing games and watching video clips it's a big plus.

SPEAKERS

The S4 may have a bigger, higher resolution screen than its predecessor for enjoying such content but the audio from its speaker hasn't improved by the same degree. The speaker is still a rear-mounted, mono design and so you have to carefully position your hands to avoid muffling it accidentally. Sound quality isn't bad for such a speaker, but if you like to entertain yourself and friends with your handset then the HTC One's front stereo speakers are far superior.
While we're talking audio, the HTC One (and Xperia Z) also have FM Radios, which is missing from the S4 for the first time in the series. A disappointment, and one that may sway some radio fans.

HARDWARE

In the run-up to the launch of any exciting new smartphone or tablet, much is made of the exact nature of the hardware contained and its processing power. For the Samsung Galaxy S4 the talk was of an eight-core CPU, though the reality turns out to be far more complicated than that.
Yes, there's an S4 (the GT-I9500) with a Samsung designed and produced Xynos eight-core CPU, but that actually consists of a four-core main CPU and a four-core low-power CPU, which the handset switches between in realtime to maximise performance and battery life. It's an idea that's been around a while, ARM calls it big.LITTLE, but it's good to see it finally implement on a quad-core flagship device.
But, and it's a big one, that eight-core Galaxy S4 isn't the one you'll be buying in the UK. Instead when you turn on your shiny new S4 the first thing you'll see is that it's a GT-I9505 handset, which uses a Qualcomm designed quad-core chipset instead. This is because the other model doesn't include 4G/LTE support, something that Samsung obviously feels is key for a new handset launching in the UK.
The S4's version of Android is bang up to date
Given that there's no option to buy the eight-core S4, unless you import one yourself and pay full price for it plus a hefty import duty, there's little point in comparing the two in detail. We haven't been sent an I9500 for testing, but looking at reputable sources online it appears to be a little quicker with slightly improved battery life.
We'll be looking forward to seeing a big.LITTLE device released in the UK then, but the Qualcomm chipset in our version of the S4 is no slouch. It uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset as the HTC One, though the S4's runs at 1.9GHz rather than 1.7GHz. We couldn't detect any noticeable change in browser speed in real-world testing, but the GeekBench 2 benchmark showed the faster S4 edge ahead by 3,227 to 2,688. In use, everything feels incredibly slick, apps launch quickly and everything flows along, very impressive stuff.
The S4 also uses the same Adreno 320 GPU as the HTC One. It's a powerful chip and a huge step forward over the S3. We hit 50fps in the recent 3Dmark Ice Storm test, and managed almost 30fps in the far tougher Extreme version of the same test. We doubt anyone will make an Android game in the near future that will trouble this hardware overly.

BATTERY

Beneath the removable rear cover is a rather large-looking battery, with a hefty 2,600mAh capacity. That's over 10% bigger than the 2,300 and 2,330mAh examples in the HTC One and Sony Xperia Z respectively. The results though were even more impressive than that figure might suggest.
The S4 retains the S3's highly practical design
In our continuous video playback the S4 managed an impressive ten hours and 43 minutes, a score we'd largely attribute to its more power-efficient AMOLED display. The Sony Xperia Z has a 5in LCD display and it only ran for five hours and 48 minutes, while the smaller-screened HTC One put in a much more respectable eight hours and 32 minutes.
If battery life is a big concern for you then the S4 stands well above its main rivals then. In addition to this its removable back means you can switch out the battery if required. Samsung sells spare batteries and an official charger for them too, so if you fear running out of power, the S4 is the phone for you.

STORAGE

Also behind the cover is the Micro SD slot, which can take a card with a capacity of up to 64GB. Such a card will cost you about £35, with a 32GB card costing around half that. The Sony Xperia Z also has this option, but it looks to be another point scored over the HTC One which is internal storage only.
However, the HTC One comes with 32GB of storage as standard, of which around 25GB is available for you to use. Comparatively, the S4 only comes with 16GB as standard, of which only a measly 8GB is immediately available for your use, we managed to quickly clear another 1GB, but we still reckon a memory card will be a good idea for most users.
Of course, many people prefer to store much of their data in the cloud now, and Dropbox is Samsung's preferred partner. The handset comes with two years of free storage with a huge 50GB limit. Disappointingly for anyone who's making a quick upgrade from an S3, buying the new handset doesn't reset the two year time limit on this offer. The S4 handily backups all your camera shots to your Dropbox account automatically when a Wi-Fi connection is available.

CAMERA

Samsung has opted for a 13-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor and the resulting images are excellent. There was plenty of fine detail to be seen in our still life tests and exposures were consistently well judged throughout the varying light levels. It was notably crisper than the HTC One's four-megapixel camera, you won’t notice on Facebook, but even a Full HD TGV they were noticeably sharper, with better refined lines. The extra resolution also helps when cropping images without resulting in too much pixellation.

Taking the camera out and about in the spring sun also produced good results. Its exposures dealt with the strong contrast created by the sunshine, and colours looked accurate. It also has a 20-shot burst mode that's activated by simply holding down the shutter button. The front camera has a 2-megapixel BSI sensor and takes pretty decent little snaps too.

PHOTO MODES

There's lots more to Samsung's new camera than good image quality and specifications, though. With a raft of playful extras that should provide at least momentary amusement and possibly a lot more than that.
DUAL SHOT
By far our favourite of the various fun photography modes is dual shot. The concept is actually quite simple, the S4 uses both the front and back cameras to simultaneously capture two images, which it combines into a single image.
Now you might just ask why not just take two shots and fit them together later, but that would miss out on the immediacy of Samsung's take. This way you take one picture, hit share and get a great shot up on Facebook, plus your smug, smiling mug in one easy step. It's the next logical step for the much-beloved 'Selfie' style of photography, and unless Samsung has a patent we can see this appearing on every other smartphone by next year.
Now Samsung's take on Dual Shot is to put proud parents in the shot with the mewling darlings – not a bad idea given that one parent is often noticeably absent from a whole holiday's worth of snaps. In practice though we found it a great little creative tool, the ability to juxtapose two images together on the fly is great fun and can create some quite striking compositions.
You can change the size and shape of the second, superimposed image, with various shapes or just a plain box. It will even take the two full images and tag them side by side into a super-widescreen effort – good for more serious efforts or adhoc vistas. You can also switch the cameras around at a tap, making you fill the screen with just a small image of your surroundings to add context.
Best of all, it just works, what you see is what you get. It can be a little hard to line up at first, but you soon get used to it and then you're away. It even has its own shortcut, so no messing with the mode menu to activate it.
The fun doesn't end there though, as Dual Shot can also be used with video. You get all the same options as to how it combines the two images and the ability to switch. It really adds something to short clips and could be great for those who love to shoot and talk to camera. And there is so much more this wonderful phone has to offer.