Samsung Galaxy S3 July Release Date: Fact or Fiction?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is availed with a reduced price tag of $259 on Newegg. Reuters/Choi Bu-Seok

The Samsung Galaxy S3 rumor mill is taking a similar turn to that of the Galaxy Nexus that was released last year.

With the Galaxy Nexus, everyday a new rumor was born about the phones release date, especially in the U.S., where the phone's launch was severely delayed on Verizon's network.

The highly anticipated Galaxy S3 is following suit, surrounded by rumors of a possible February, March, April and now July release.

The phones predecessor--the Galaxy S2--was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress last year, and then launched in April, which spurred rumors that the S3 would be out at the same time. But Samsung has said that Galaxy enthusiasts should not hold their breaths for a March release, as the phone is likely to come in the middle of the year, closer to the summer, according to a report obtained by News Sizzle.

Cell C, a mobile carrier in South Africa released a statement also saying the S3 would be released in stores by July, 2012, which has lead hopefuls to dismiss the possibility of a March or April launch.

The Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Nexus were heralded two of the most popular smart phones of 2011, with their all-powerful features packed into a slim, sleek case. The success of these phones could be a contributing factor to the S3 delay.

Some rumors also suggest that Samsung wants to use the Summer Olympics in London as a platform to advertise the new phone, which could result in the phone being released after the games.

The most popular rumor surrounding the S3 is that Samsung will launch an 8GB entry-level version of its Android phone. It will have smaller memory, but come at a reasonable price compared to the larger model, according to a report published in Planet Insane.

Here's a roundup of rumors surrounding the phone:

Release Date: The latest and most popular release date rumor is that the phone will launch on March.13 at an event in Turkey. While this is highly unlikely, S3 enthusiasts are hoping the Mobile World Congress in February will bring official information about the phone's release.

Processor: The next generation of Samsung is expected to boast an Exynos 4412 chipset with a quad-core unit, which will apparently be clocked at 1.5GHz. The phone is guaranteed to arrive with the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

Display: The S3 is expected to come with a larger screen than that of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, nearer to the 5-inch scale. It is rumored to have a AMOLED Plus screen with 1280x720 resolution. If the phone comes with a S5K2P1 chip, it will be able to capture 60fps HD video and 8.3 megapixel images.

Other rumored specs: