Soon the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S4 will start making its way to smartphone buyers. It seems that customers will be receiving the handset sooner than expected as AT&T will start shipping the handset from April 23 onwards and Walmart will sell the AT&T version of the phone for $168.

U.S. carrier AT&T was the first to officially announce the availability and price for the Galaxy S4. AT&T has already started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S4 and the pre-order page indicated a shipping date of April 30. For a while the shipping date for the handset changed to April 23 giving a glimmer of hope to many smartphone buyers that their handsets will arrive sooner than expected. However, the carrier has not changed the shipping date again to reflect April 30.

Recently, many customers who pre-ordered the newly launched HTC One started to get ahold of their handset before the official release. An AT&T store also sold the HTC One to a customer who walked in to ask for the device. It should not come as a surprise if the Galaxy S4 is also shipped before the original release date of April 30.

If the early shipping date is not enough for you then U.S. retailer Walmart is selling the AT&T variant of the Galaxy S4 at a discount of $32. If you wish to buy the handset directly from AT&T then you will end up paying the full price of $199 on a two-year contract. Walmart is offering the Galaxy S4 at a reduced price to both new customers as well as eligible upgrades.

Walmart is selling both the Black Mist and the White Frost version of the handset for $168, so if you have not yet ordered for a Galaxy S4 the Walmart offer seems to be the best of the lot.

Let us know if you start receiving your Samsung Galaxy S4 from AT&T before April 30.