Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date Arrives: AT&T Models Reaching Customers Before Global Launch

AT&T customers eager to get their hands on the Samsung Galaxy S5 may get their handsets as early as Wednesday.

Gotta Be Mobile advises preorder customers to check the estimated shipping date for their AT&T Galaxy S5 models. If the shipping date is as early as April 8, the device could arrive as early as April 9, two days before the April 11 global launch of the Galaxy S5.

The AT&T Galaxy S5 sells for $199.99 with a two-year contract. In addition, consumers can participate in AT&T’s Next program: With the Next 18 plan, the Galaxy S5 will cost $25 per month for 26 months, and with the Next 12 plan, the device will sell for $32.50 per month for 20 months. The noncontract, full retail price of the Galaxy S5, when purchased through AT&T, is $649.99. The carrier will sell the Galaxy S5 in Charcoal Black and Shimmery White. Preorders can be made online and in stores, and the Galaxy S5 will arrive in stores on April 11.

Other carriers, including Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular, are also accepting preorders for the S5; however, none of these networks are shipping their models early. These carriers' customers should expect their handsets to arrive on April 11, though Verizon says its S5 handsets should ship by April 14. T-Mobile guarantees that customers who preordered the Galaxy S5 by March 31 will receive their handsets by April 11, or they can pick up their handsets at a T-Mobile store on that date.

Retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target and Costco, are also accepting preorders for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Metro PCS says it will have the Galaxy S5 in April, but its not accepting preorders; C-Spire says it will begin selling the Galaxy S5 in May. The other confirmed Galaxy S5 carriers and retailers are Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile and Walmart.

About the Samsung Galaxy S5

The Samsung Galaxy S5 includes a 5.1-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, a 2.5GHz quad-core ARM chip (believed to be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801), 2GB mobile RAM, 16GB and 32GB internal storage options with microSD expansion, and networking and connectivity that includes 802.11ac MIMO and LTE Cat. 4, and a 2800mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is water- and dust-proof, with an Ingress Protection Rating of IP67. That means the device can function in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. The 16-megapixel-rear camera on the S5 includes auto-focus technology, selective focus and HDR rich tone. The device also includes a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. New sensors on the Galaxy S5 include a heart rate sensor and fingerprint scanner. The latter acts as a simple means of security that can speed up the online purchasing process. The phone also has a "private mode," which acts as a personal storage area for confidential documents, and a "kid mode," which allows parents to choose which apps their children can use.

The Galaxy S5 is 142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, and it weighs 145g. It features USB 3.0 and runs the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system. The device’s exterior design features a perforated back panel and four color options: blue, white, black and gold. Samsung updated its onscreen environment with a user interface that's less-cluttered than the S4's interface, and it comes with an updated settings menu.

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