TOPIC: Could you please me which of the following terms is right?

Could you please me which of the following terms is right?
1)in the early 2004(meaning "at the begining of 2004")
2)in early 2004
3)in the late 2004
4)in late 2004
My question is whether we need "the" in the terms above.
Thanks in advace,

You asked about whether we need "the" in the following phrases:
1)in the early 2004(meaning "at the begining of 2004")
2)in early 2004
3)in the late 2004
4)in late 2004
Only#2 and #4 are correct.So, the answer to your question is,no,we cannot use "the" in thses pharses. However, we do use it in the following:
5)in THE early PART of 2004
6)in THE LATTER PART of 2004
And we also have:
7)EARLY in 2004
8)LATE in 2004