Samsung Galaxy S3 Preorders Announced By AT&T, Price Starts At $199.99 Beginning June 6

After Samsung announced Monday about the launch of its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone in the US with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and US Cellular starting this month, AT&T has confirmed the arrival of the handset over the next few weeks with preorders beginning June 6 in company-owned stores and online.

In addition, the carrier announced that its customers would also have exclusive access to a red version of Galaxy S3 this summer, thus expanding the color options to three - white, blue and red.

Galaxy S3 will be available for $199.99 for the 16 GB model after a two-year contract. AT&T stores will also offer a 16 GB microSD card for $39 for a total of 32 GB for under $238.99.

The addition of the Samsung Galaxy S3 to our portfolio of 4G-LTE devices gives our customers another truly cutting-edge smartphone to choose from, said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility. With an exclusive red color this summer and the power of the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T delivers the best wireless experience for Galaxy S3 fans.

AT&T is claimed to be the nation's largest 4G network, covering more than 260 million people. The carrier has two 4G networks, LTE and HSPA+ that work together for customers.

Apart from AT&T, both T-Mobile and Sprint have also confirmed the arrival of Samsung's flagship super-phone June 21, with Sprint to start taking pre-orders Tuesday.

In case of the T-Mobile version of Galaxy S3, the device would support the carrier's HSPA+ 42 network, instead of 4G LTE connectivity. Rest of the features would be the same with other carrier models.

Earlier rumors suggested that T-Mobile's Galaxy S3 could feature the Exynos 4212 quad-core processor since the carrier did not have LTE networks in place. Denying all the rumors, the carrier confirmed in a statement that its Galaxy S3 model would indeed sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.5GHz.

When it comes to Sprint, the carrier will be charging $199.99 for the 16GB version and $249.99 for the 32GB version after a two-year contract.

Samsung Galaxy S3 has a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, which is surrounded by an ultra-thin bezel to maximize the viewing area of the handset. It weighs 4.7 ounces (133.24 grams) and is 8.6 millimeters thin.

The smartphone features AllShare Play, Group Cast and Share Shot functions allowing users to share photos with others. Another feature S-Beam allows easy transfer of large files from Galaxy S3 to another device by touching the backs of the two devices.

The much talked about feature of Galaxy S3 is S Voice, a language recognition technology allowing customers to control applications and services with words instead of touch. The handset also includes camera features like Best Shot to choose the best image from a series when taking a photo.

Have a look at a quick roundup of the key features and specs of the Samsung Galaxy S3 confirmed for the US:

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5 GHz dual core CPU

Display: 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen display

OS (Shipping): Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Data: 4G LTE and HSPA+ 42

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Dimensions: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm

Weight: 133g

Storage: 16/32GB internal memory, Expandable with microSD

Connectivity: NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, MHL Video Out

Camera: 8MP Rear-facing, 1.9MP Front-facing

Battery: 2100 mAh

Other: TouchWiz with Motion UX, S Beam, AllShare Play enhance functionality, MP3/ACC+/WAV audio player, DivX/Xvid/MP4/WMV/H.263/ H.264 Video Player.

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