Outside of The HTC One X/S, the only other Android handset continuously talked about is none other than Samsung’s Galaxy S III. And while it was a given that at least a few U.S carriers would be joining in on the fun, it has now been confirmed by Samsung that a full 5 major U.S. carriers will offer the Galaxy S III at (or soon after) launch. What that means is, here comes the inbox flooding stream of carrier based emails from the announced launch carriers.
Galaxy S III U.S. launch carriers:
- Verizon: Pre-orders begin June 6th (No public release date given but almost certainly July 21st) – $199 (16 GB) | $249 (32 GB) – More info at Verizon’s official page
- Sprint: Pre-orders begin June 5th with release currently pegged for July 21st – $199 (16 GB) | $249 (32 GB) – More info and pre-order page on Sprint’s official page
- T-Mobile: Pre-order dates haven’t been divulged just yet. However, the carrier is echoing the same July 21st release date as the other “Big 4″. Look for it to be the usual $199 w/ 2-year contract and +$50 for the higher capacity 32 GB version. For more info on T-Mobile’s Galaxy S III, hop on over to the official page
- AT&T: Pre-orders begin June 6th. $199 for the 16 GB Galaxy S III. Also, AT&T will have an exclusive Red version. Pre-order page: here
- U.S. Cellular: Pre-orders begin June 12th with an actual launch “sometime in July”. Pricing is MIA at the moment. That said, we assume U.S. Cellular will mirror the other four carriers’ pricing for the 16 GB and 32 GB Galaxy S III devices
What excites us is that Samsung is finally starting to “get” it. They are using a unified branding in the U.S., simply “Galaxy S III” instead of the stupid mish-mash of names that the Galaxy S II took on with each new U.S. carrier it encountered. Granted, such naming schemes come at the request of the carrier as to “stand out” from the competition. Nonetheless, a single, unified name for a phone is the best thing for customers.
All that said, Samsung has stated that their will be individual software tweaks for each carrier as requested (read: custom bloatware) so they still have a few things to learn.
Overall, good news to hear five of the country’s largest carriers are already lined up and waiting to support one of the biggest Android devices of the year. Who’s pre-ordering/waiting in line?
