One major question about the impending release of the Galaxy S III has been answered: The Samsung superphone will arrive in the United States on all of the major U.S. carriers, according to a Samsung press release.
That means customers on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular will all be able to buy a Galaxy S3 when it is released later this June, a first for major smartphone launches in America.
Samsung did not announce prices or a firm U.S. release date, though in separate announcements, Verizon said that it would begin taking pre-orders on June 6th, and that the GS3 would cost $199 with a new two-year contract, while T-Mobile will make the Galaxy S III available on June 21. Sprint has also revealed its plans, announcing Galaxy S III availability for $199 (16GB version) on contract on June 21.
The Galaxy S III is one of the most anticipated smartphone launches of 2012, with worldwide pre-orders topping nine million, as of mid-May. The smartphone has since become available for purchase in several European and Asian countries, with American GS3 fans forced to wait for their country's model.
The wait, it appears, will be short, with Samsung promising an initial release date some time in June. The Galaxy S III boasts some impressive specs: Android 4.0 a.k.a "Ice Cream Sandwich"; 2GB of RAM; 4G LTE capability; a huge 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display. One of the most highly anticipated features won't be making the journey to America, however: The Samsung press release specifies a dual-core processor, meaning that yet another smartphone with a quad-core processor in its global model will receive the dialed-down dual-core processor in its U.S. version.
Otherwise, look for all the neat sharing and voice capabilities advertised at the Galaxy S III unveiling event from May: S-Voice, a Siri competitor; Smart Stay, which can turn off the phone's display when the user is not looking at it; and S-Beam, which allows GS3 owners to quickly share files with each other without a cellular connection.
If you're on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, or U.S. Cellular, it looks like you'll be able to try those features out for yourself pretty soon. Stay tuned for more updates on the American availability, as each carrier has been updating their plans throughout the morning.
A full list of what we think are the coolest Galaxy S III features can be found below.
