The Samsung Galaxy S4 (S IV) may be several months away but the hype building for the next in the Galaxy S line of smartphones is bigger than we can ever remember it before. Although no specs have yet been confirmed for this handset, leaks and rumors suggest that Samsung is pushing out all the stops for the Galaxy S4, leading tech bloggers and consumers to expect big things. It seems this is now being backed up as we have heard that Samsung is setting phenomenal sales goals for the Galaxy S4.

We recently told how one analyst spoke about an “upgrade frenzy” likely to occur once the Galaxy S4 releases and how he feels the handset is likely to be so good it will also attract buyers who would usually buy an iPhone. Samsung seems to think this too as we learn that the giant manufacturer has set a sales target of 100 million units and that’s a record high goal.

Samsung has continued to drive its brand forcefully in a bid to push Apple away from the top-end of the market and although the two giants of the smartphone world are likely to dominate the market for some time Samsung is certainly setting out its intentions. It has been rumored that the Galaxy S4 will be unveiled at a Samsung Unpacked event being held in London on March 22 with a release coming sometime in April.

Samsung expects to sell 40 million units of the Galaxy S4 during 2013 and also another 7 or 8 subsequent models to the tune of another 60 million units, according to the Korea IT Times. The Galaxy Note 3 is one of the follow-up models and is due in the fall and as the Galaxy Note 2 has been another big success for Samsung there’s no reason to think the Galaxy Note 3 won’t be just as big a hit.

We recently heard talk of a stylus pen for the Galaxy S4 and this led to subsequent rumors that the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note phones would merge into one smartphone. However, the same Korean source says that is not the case and that the Galaxy Note line will still be produced. This news should please many potential customers who have a definite preference between the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note handsets.

A very brief rundown on rumored specs so far for the Galaxy S4 include a 1.8GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor, 4.99-inch Super AMOLED display full HD display with 440 ppi and 2GB of RAM. Other inclusions rumored are a 13-megapixel rear camera and also a 2-megapixel front facing camera, 2600 mAh battery and hopefully it could be running Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, the next major revamp for the Android operating system. Remember though that at this time none of the above has been confirmed.

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S4. Are you surprised at these extremely high sales targets that Samsung has set? Do you think that Samsung is about to come up with something that’s simply so good that everyone will want it, regardless of a previous preference for a device using an alternative operating system platform? Let us know with your comments.