U.S. carriers gear up for a Samsung summer

Summer is here and with it a hot new smartphone – but this June it’s not an iPhone that will have consumers lining up outside retail stores. While Apple is widely expected to delay its new iPhone launch until fall as it did last year, Samsung is hitting the U.S. market hard with the new Galaxy S III.

 Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA and U.S. Cellular will get the Samsung Galaxy S III this summer. Samsung is calling the phone “the most anticipated launch of the year,” and its success so far with pre-orders makes that claim sound plausible.

The Galaxy S III features a 4.8-inch screen (versus 3.5-inch for the iPhone 4S), and weighs in at 4.7 ounces. Its Music Hub service will compete with Spotify and iCloud, offering a 19 million song library thanks to Samsung’s recent purchase of MSpot.

Verizon Wireless says the Samsung Galaxy S III will be available online for pre-order starting June 6 at and will be available in retail stores shortly thereafter. Verizon Wireless has not yet announced pricing details.
Sprint Nextel says online pre-orders will start on June 5 and the phone will be available on June 21. With a two-year service agreement, the 16GB model will retail for $200 and the 32GB version for $250.
T-Mobile USA will have the phone June 21, and U.S.

Cellular says the phone will be available for customers to pre-order on June 12 and will be in stores and online in July. Neither carrier has announced pricing yet. AT&T Mobility has not yet released dates or details, but the company has posted a preview page to share updates on the Galaxy S III.

---