Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Release Date Arrives: T-Mobile Is First US Carrier To Get The ‘Phablet’

After much hype and anticipation, Samsung has begun its first wave of Galaxy Note 2 releases in the U.S. As of Wednesday, German-based service provider T-Mobile became the first carrier to start selling the “phablet.”

This news comes just as Samsung prepares for its New York City press event later today, where the company is expected to reveal more information about its tablet-smartphone hybrid. The Samsung Mobile US official Twitter account posted the announcement early on Wednesday morning:

“Retweet if you’re ready for the #GalaxyNoteII—it arrives today!” the tweet read.

T-Mobile is currently offering the 5.5-inch handset in Titanium Gray or Marble White at a price of $369.99.

A link to Samsung Mobile USA’s Facebook page was included in the Twitter post, which listed T-Mobile under the “Get It Now” category. Underneath the T-Mobile button, U.S. Cellular was listed under the “Pre-order is available at” section. Finally, U.S. carriers AT&T, Sprint and Verizon were named under the “Coming Soon To” portion of the webpage.

“Samsung innovation is at its best, the Samsung Galaxy Note II offers unmatched power with a large screen and new slimmer design,” reads the T-Mobile product page. “Create, produce and share with this fun all-in-one device.”

AT&T subscribers will have to wait a couple of weeks to get their hands on the Galaxy Note successor. The carrier announced on Tuesday that the Galaxy Note 2 will be available for sale on Nov. 9, with pre-orders beginning on Thursday. AT&T’s variant is listed at a price of $299.99 with a two-year contract, which is noticeably cheaper than T-Mobile’s.

Sprint is next in line to get the Galaxy Note 2, as the handset will make its debut on the carrier’s network Oct. 25. No additional release date information for Verizon has been revealed at this time, but the carrier is expected to get the smartphone by mid-November.

Samsung’s “next big thing” arrived overseas in South Korea nearly one month ago on Sept. 26 and quickly spread to the United Kingdom on Oct. 1. American network provider U.S. Cellular began its pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 2 around this time, ensuring that the phone would ship by the end of October.

The original Galaxy Note hit 10 million in sales this August, and its successor is expected to surpass this benchmark. Global sales could reach up to 20 million units, according to Samsung Mobile president Shin Jong-kyun, who spoke with Korea’s Yonhap News Agency in September.

The Galaxy Note 2 was officially unveiled just ahead of the IFA conference in Berlin this past August at a Samsung Unpacked event. The Korea-based company’s highly anticipated handset will feature a thinner and lighter body than its predecessor, a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, a Super AMOLED display, Near Field Communication, an 8-megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM , an upgraded camera and more.

One if the device’s most notable features is that it ships with the latest iteration of Google’s mobile operating system: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Various high-end devices on different carriers are still waiting for the upgrade, such as Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S3.

Samsung fans will have to wait until 7 p.m. EST tonight to see what surprises the company is planning to unveil.