Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date Arrives: Device Now Available At Metro PCS

Metro PCS is the latest carrier to begin offering the Samsung Galaxy S5, which has been on the market for a week.

The pre-paid carrier has the Galaxy S5 available at its retail stores and online and is selling the Galaxy S5 for $649. The plans with no annual contract start at $40 and offer unlimited talk and text, 500MB free high speed data, five hours of music streaming, 30 minutes video streaming, 100 photo uploads and 10 app and game downloads.

Other carriers and retailers to recently announce their Galaxy S5 availability include Staples, which is offering the Galaxy S5 for AT&T; Verizon, beginning Sunday; and Ting, which is selling the Galaxy S5 for $597.

These sellers join many in the U.S. that are already offering the Samsung Galaxy S5. Check out a detailed list of Galaxy S5 availability and prices here. Find out where to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S5 unlocked here.

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, networking and connectivity that features 802.11ac MIMO and LTE Cat. 4 and a 2800mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is water- and dust-proof, and has 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 the Galaxy S5 also comes with an updated settings menu.

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