Now, it seems that T-Mobile’s supply difficulties were a sign of things to come.

Samsung has issued a statement to Bloomberg making it clear that supplies of its new flagship Android smartphone will be short for weeks after its release.

The statement:

“Due to overwhelming global demand of Galaxy S4, the initial supply may be limited. We expect to fulfill inventory to meet demands in the coming weeks.”

Pre-orders for the Galaxy S4 are already being taken by AT&T, Sprint, U.S. Cellular and some retail locations. (Consumers might want to steer clear of pre-ordering at Best Buy, though, as the store has a history of overbooking smartphone pre-orders.)

Over the past two years, the Galaxy S series has begun to dominate the Android landscape as the only Android smartphones that regularly put up sales numbers even in the ballpark of Apple’s iPhone sales. Being unable to meet high demand is a challenge that Apple has dealt with for years now, and one that Samsung will have to contend with now that it is Apple’s largest rival. Though Samsung is the largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, even its prodigious manufacturing capabilities can’t keep up with demand for the next Galaxy-branded smartphone.

AT&T announced today that the BlackBerry Z10 will indeed be available on March 22. The device will cost $199 under a two-year contract. There’s no mention of how much the device would cost off contract, but another U.S. seller was selling the Z10 for $999.

“AT&T customers were the first to experience BlackBerry smartphones and services in the U.S. and we are thrilled to bring the next evolution, the BlackBerry Z10, to the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices and Developer Services, AT&T Mobility. “Customers who have grown to love the tried and true BlackBerry experience will continue to enjoy the easy typing and the secure platform they expect with a fresh platform that lets them get more out of their smartphone with easy access to all their messages in BlackBerry Hub.”

Enterprise customers will be happy to know that AT&T will also be offering BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 alongside the Z10′s launch. It will be added as one of the many Enterprise Management options offered by AT&T.

There’s still no word on when the Z10 will be available on other carriers. The official story for all carriers is that a March release is still in the cards so we’ll probably see some announcements from Verizon and T-Mobile later this week.

If you find yourself craving a BlackBerry Z10, AT&T says that preorders for the device will open tomorrow.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google has begun laying off 1,200 employees at its Motorola Mobility hardware division. The cuts are a result of Motorola’s inability to return to profitability as the smartphone maker attempts to compete against the likes of Samsung and Apple.

The email announcing the layoffs said that the company “is optimistic about the new products in our pipeline,” but says that high costs and operating in non-competitive markets has led to a situation where the newly christened subsidiary of Google just isn’t making money. The layoffs will affect employees in the U.S., China and India.

The new round of layoffs is apparently a continuation of the layoffs announced last summer that affected over 4,000 employees at Motorola shortly after Google bought the company for $12.5 billion. Since then, the company has struggled to create a smartphone that could be certified as a hit.

Despite its struggles, Google is still trying to get the most out of its purchase. The company is reportedly working closely with Motorola on something called the “X Phone.” The rumored device is said to be “a real breakthrough” and will go on sale in July. It’s unknown if Google will announce the phone at May’s Google I/O, but it very well could be if the device is chosen to house the next version of Android.

Slate reports that both the Texas state Senate and House have introduced bills that would amend the Texas code of criminal procedure to stop what it feels is the warrantless surveillance of its citizens. Both bills would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before requesting location data from any cellular carrier.

In even better news, the bills would require any and all carriers that operate in the state to produce annual transparency reports. These reports will detail the number of surveillance requests made, and tell citizens which agencies requested the information. For now, we only know the total number of data requests made so a list of the agencies making the requests would be valuable.

Under the proposed bills, the government wouldn’t be able to keep court orders for surveillance hidden either. The court would only have 180 days of secrecy before being forced to unseal the order and make it available to the public.

Some may be concerned over the proposed bills impact on law enforcement, but there are some exemptions in place to keep serious investigations under wraps. For starters, law enforcement can still get a court authorized surveillance order without a warrant if the situation is deemed exceptional. The court order will also remain under wraps if it being made public would hurt the investigation.

There are similar bills being proposed in Washington, such as Al Franken’s Location Privacy Protection Act of 2012, that would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant when seeking smartphone location data. Unfortunately, the bill died with the old Congress at the end of last year, but Franken will no doubt bring it up again. Even then, it has little chance to pass as too many in Washington feel that the needs of law enforcement to trample on your Fourth Amendment rights take priority over your personal privacy.

That being said, the states are the next battleground for this important issue. You can expect some opposition to show up, but the Texas legislature has a track record of defying the folks in Washington. We might even see some serious fireworks if the bills progress far enough.

The HTC One unveiling is now up on YouTube for all to see. Check out 30 glorious minutes of HTC trying to sell the press, and you, on how it’s latest smartphone is going to take the market by storm. Expect plenty of buzzwords and some ham-fisted acting.

The HTC One will feature a 1080p 4.7-inch display, a 1.7GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. There’s no price or release date announced for the product yet, but the company is offering a buyback program that will give you the value of your old phone in cash when you buy the HTC One.

Ah, but where are my manners? You may be short on time, and can’t watch the full 37 minute unveiling event. For those who can’t sit around all day watching executives pretending to be excited about their products, you can watch the condensed highlight reel from the event below.

[h/t: Droid-Life]

The device will feature a 4.7-inch screen with a 1080p resolution and 468 pixels per square inch. It has a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 2300mAh battery. It also has NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities, and includes most of the features expected in a premium-priced Android smartphone, plus support for infrared remote control. Also, it has the requisite Beats audio branding for the devices two front stereo speakers.

It will ship running a heavily modified version of Google’s Android platform called HTC Sense, which has been updated to a more Windows Phone-like style. The phone’s body is fully metal, which should help make it one of the more durable smartphones on the market. HTC is known for making durable phones, and last year’s HTC One X made a capable hammer.

HTC announced that AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile will all carry the HTC One in the U.S. The smartphone will come in two models, one with 32GB of memory and one with 64GB of memory. The device will be offered in two defferent colors: steel grey and black.

Prices have not been announced, but HTC will be offering a trade-in deal for old smartphones. Users who send the company their old phone and proof of purchase for the HTC One will receive $100 or the value of the old phone, whichever is greater.

Sortable has reviewed the BlackBerry Z10 by not comparing it to other phones, but rather testing it out in a variety of situations. The review should help you come away with a better understanding of what the BlackBerry Z10 is truly capable of.

The BlackBerry Z10 has proven itself as a decently popular smartphone (in Canada), but it still has to prove that it’s the savior RIM BlackBerry is punching it up to be. We might be able to get a better grasp on its potential fortunes once the phone launches across all major carriers in the U.S. next month.

Instructables user mstyle183 has recreated a miniature Iron Throne that will comfortably seat an iPhone 5 or other mobile devices. The beauty of 3D printing is that the creator can adjust the size of the dock on the fly for any type of phone without changing the overall design.

Check out a few pictures of the dock complete with iPhone 5:

You can download the dock’s design from its Instructables page. If you don’t have a 3D printer, you can purchase it from the creator’s Web site for $49.99.

[h/t: 3ders]

According to Phone Scoop, AT&T sent out an email saying that the 30-day return policy window has been reduced to 14 days. Customers who return a phone after 14 days will be responsible for paying an early termination fee. In other words, you’ll be responsible for paying the rest of your two-year contract if you return a device after 14 days.

Fortunately, the customers who need the most time will not have the return policy reduced. Those on business plans will still have 30 days to considers the pros and cons of sticking with a device on AT&T. For everybody else, you’re stuck with your purchase (and AT&T) after 14 days.

It’s hard to imagine what made AT&T reduce their return policy. Some people may have been abusing the return policy to the detriment of AT&T’s bottom line. Regardless, we’ve reached out to AT&T for the reasoning behind the reduction.

While the 30 day return policy was nice, it shouldn’t have that much of an effect on regular consumers. Two weeks is usually enough time to determine if a phone, or any other personal device, is a good fit for your life. The business folk would obviously need a longer testing period, and that’s why AT&T have left them alone for now.

Earlier this year, Samsung was able to release its current flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III, on all the major U.S. carriers. Having this type of broad reach no doubt helped that smartphone sell more than 20 million units since the end of May.

Even so, the Galaxy S III launch was still a confusing mess, with the different carriers offering different release dates, color options, and memory sizes. Sadly, this is common for smartphones in the U.S. Though HTC’s One X might have had the features and hardware to compete with Samsung’s hit, it was only released through AT&T (where it received a hardware downgrade from the European version) and Sprint (where it was heavily rebranded as an EVO product).

BriefMobile’s source claims that Verizon’s version of the Galaxy Note 2 will have a quad-core processor and LTE capabilities. It will also, of course, have Verizon branding on the phone itself – even on the home button. The report claims that an announcement is imminent, but that each carrier will have their own release date, meaning the Galaxy Note 2′s launch will likely be as messy as the Galaxy S III’s was.