S4s are pretty cheap now, as no bugger wants them. I believe the S5 launch is probably being brought forward due to poor sales of the S4.
You keep saying that. I have yet to see any real report of poor sales. And the cheapest you can buy a UK S4 is still £400+. So not really cheap as you say? If you could find me a cheap one for say less than £300 and not from Hong Kong, then I would be eternally grateful.
A colleague of mine was looking 2 or 3 months ago (for one of his kids), and contract free, unlocked, it was easy enough to pick one up for £350, I think even Amazon (not marketplace) had them well below £400. I know he got one - bloody enourmous thing, but think he went down the contract route in the end, as he got the phone free (I think) on a £20pm/2yr contract.
A premium/flagship phone is around the £500+ mark, it was always supposed to sell (retail) for approximately the price of an iPhone. In fact, from memory, I think the cheapest S4 had a RRP of £600 at launch, £70 more than the equivilent iPhone. So £350, or even £400, counts as cheap.
Back in the autumn, the retail channel press was full of stories about the S5 being launched very early in the new year (Jan/Feb) due to poor sales, and advising the channel not to commit to too many S4s for fear of being stuck with old stock. If prices have increased, that may be why.
Not looked recently (Android doesn't meet my needs), but would expect prices to be high at xmas, and for the next couple of weeks following.
As always, if buying mobiles, avoid ebay, Amazon Marketplace sellers, Play etc.
HTH