Samsung Galaxy S3 US Release Confirmed On 5 Major Carriers Beginning In June; Price Starts At $199 On Contract

After the announcement of the models and availability details of the Canadian version of its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone last week, South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics made yet another encouraging announcement related to the device. The company announced Monday that it would launch Galaxy S3 in the US with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and US Cellular starting in June.

Although exact pricing and retail availability will be announced by each of the five carriers in the coming weeks, Samsung mentioned that the pricing of the smartphone would start from $199. However, there's no word on whether that pricing would be applicable to all five carriers.

According to The Verge, since the Galaxy S3 is optimized for peak performance on the nation's both 4G LTE and HSPA+ 42 networks, all the five carriers are expected to tout their models as 4G devices. In addition, the report stated that Samsung doesn't appear to be creating carrier-specific variants of its latest smartphone beyond customizing the radios.

During the launch of Samsung Galaxy S3 in Canada last week, some reports surfaced saying that T-Mobile will bring the Galaxy S3 to the US as early as June 20, same as Canada.

Phandroid reported that during a Vodafone livestream for the Galaxy S3 release in Australia Wednesday, it was revealed that the smartphone would make the first stop on its US tour in New York on June 20.

TMoNews recently reported that Samsung Galaxy S3 would be available on T-Mobile, with the metallic blue version of the smartphone (both 16GB and 32GB) slated to arrive June 20. The site also stated that the white version of the device won't be available until July 11.

Now, though Samsung has announced a time frame for the Galaxy S3s release in the US, it's yet to be seen whether or not the device would be released on all five carriers in short order. Samsung only said that the releases would be beginning in June.

According to the official statement, the entry level US version of the device looks cheaper than its Canadian counterpart. The preorders for Galaxy S3 in Canada have reportedly started at Rogers and Telus, with the latter offering the 16GB model for $159.99 and the 32GB model for $209.99 with a three-year contract.

However, both the US and Canadian versions share a special set of features different from the device's international model. In both the countries, it will sport a 2GB of RAM. In addition, the device will be powered by the LTE friendly Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5 GHz dual core CPU.

Here's 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.

Update: Samsung Galaxy S3 Preorders On US Cellular Announced, Launch In July; Verizon's Variant To Support Global Roaming

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