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Well, that was fast. It was only hours ago that Samsung announced the US’s five biggest carriers would be carrying the Galaxy S3 starting this month, and Sprint has already confirmed pricing and availability. A pre-sale opportunity will kickoff tomorrow, and the device’s launch date is slated for June 21st.
Two versions will be up for grabs: a 16GB version will run you $200, while a 32GB version will run you $250. The latter version will be available exclusively online. Sprint’s Galaxy S3 houses a 4.8 inch Super AMOLED HD display, an 8 megapixel 1080p camera, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, LTE, and a lot more.
These devices unfortunately won’t house Exynos, but that’s due to the LTE radios inside that still aren’t ready (or aren’t readily available) for chipsets other than TI’s OMAP4 and Qualcomm’s S4. We’re sure the latter is what’s inside powering one of the biggest, most anticipated devices of the year.
The carriers seem to have finally gotten it right. Users aren’t interested in having a carrier-specific devices, design wise. Slap the necessary and compatible radios in there, keep the name the same, and allow Samsung to provide a timely launch across ALL launch titles. We’re glad to see that things have changed for the better for at least one carrier. We’ll see if any others decide to follow suit. Be sure to read on for full press details.
Samsung Galaxy S III Comes to Sprint, the Only Wireless Carrier to Offer the Device with Unlimited Data Pricing Plans and Google Wallet Pre-Loaded, on June 21
Pre-order begins June 5 at www.sprint.com/galaxysiiiOVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), June 04, 2012 – Sprint (NYSE:S), the only national wireless carrier offering truly unlimited data for all phones while on the Sprint network1, will offer Samsung Galaxy S® III beginning on Thursday, June 21. Manufactured by Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S. and the No. 1 smartphone provider worldwide2, Galaxy S III is powered by Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, and boasts a brilliant 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED™ touchscreen and access to the Sprint 4G LTE network when it launches later this year.
Sprint is the only national U.S. wireless carrier to offer Galaxy S III preloaded with Google Wallet™ enabling the phone to act like a personal wallet using Near Field Communication (NFC) to make safe purchases at more than 100,000 participating retailers.
Samsung Galaxy S III will be offered in a 16GB version for $199.99 and 32GB version for $249.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement at Sprint Stores, Sprint Business Sales, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and Web Sales (www.sprint.com). The 32GB version will be available exclusively through Web Sales.
Customers can pre-order the device beginning Tuesday, June 5, at www.sprint.com/galaxysiii. It will be available in two color options – Pebble Blue and Marble White.
“Sprint and Samsung take another leap forward together in bringing our customers the best in mobile technology with Galaxy S III on the Sprint 4G LTE network,” said Fared Adib, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. “Sprint is the only U.S. carrier to offer this device with the simplicity of unlimited data plans. Our customers will appreciate being able to use the robust features and capabilities of this device without worrying about data caps, throttling or silly overage charges.”
Galaxy S III offers the speed of a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM for multitasking, amazing graphics and rich HD multimedia content. It also has two cameras – an 8-megapixel rear-facing zero shutter-lag camera with LED flash, 1080p video capture, intelligent camera features and facial recognition and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. New features designed to make the phone easier to use include:
S Voice™ is the advanced natural language user interface that enables search and basic device-user communication. It can be used to turn the volume up or down on the music player, answer or reject incoming calls, shut off or choose to snooze the alarm clock or take a picture by saying “smile” or “cheese.”
Motion simplifies the user experience by understanding the motion of the user. If the user is messaging but decides to call the person instead, they simply lift the phone to the ear and ‘Direct Call’ will dial the phone number. Motion includes quick camera access, missed event alert, double tap to top of list, screen shot, quick pause, quick rotate, turn over to mute, shake to refresh and raise phone to ear to make a call from messaging.
Smart Stay uses facial recognition technology and the front-facing camera to identify the user’s eyes. Smart Stay disables screen timeout if the device detects the user’s eyes are looking at the screen. Galaxy S III is “smart” enough to recognize the user is reading an e-book or browsing the web and maintains a bright display for easy viewing.
Galaxy S III also takes sharing to a new level by making it fast and easy to share pictures, videos and presentations between devices or with friends and groups of people.S Beam expands on Android Beam™ to enhance device-to-device sharing through NFC technology by adding the ability to share photos, videos, documents and other DRM-free content to Android Beam. This allows a 1GB file to be shared within minutes and a 10MB file within seconds by simply touching another Galaxy S III phone.
AllShare® Play allows users to wirelessly connect Galaxy S III to their PC, tablet or television to immediately share files, stream music, user-generated videos, photos and other DRM-free content to AllShare-enabled devices using Wi-Fi®. It also allows the user to remotely access files on up to six Samsung devices.
AllShare Group Cast lets the user share a presentation or photo album in real time with multiple friends on the same Wi-Fi network.
Share Shot allows photos to be easily and simultaneously shared with a group of friends directly from the camera using device-to-device Wi-Fi Direct.
Samsung Galaxy S III customers enjoy an unlimited data experience with Sprint Everything Data plans. Sprint’s Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $79.99 per month for smartphones – a savings of $40 per month versus Verizon’s comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB web, or $10 per month savings versus Verizon’s 450-minute plan with unlimited text and 2GB web (excludes taxes and surcharges).Sprint announced Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio are expected to have 4G LTE and enhanced 3G service in mid-year 2012. The anticipated launch of these large metropolitan areas demonstrates the continued commitment by Sprint to invest in its network through Network Vision. Sprint customers in these areas should soon enjoy ultra-fast data speeds and improved 3G voice quality. For the most up-to-date details on Sprint’s 4G LTE rollout, please visit www.sprint.com/4GLTE.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 56 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers and most improved in customer satisfaction across all industries during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.Android, Google Wallet, Google+, Google Play, Android Beam, YouTube and Google Voice are trademarks of Google, Inc.
Samsung, Galaxy, AllShare, S Voice and Super AMOLED are all trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Other company names, product names and marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and may be trademarks or registered trademarks. 4G used in connection with the Samsung Galaxy S III refers to the fact that the device is capable of operating on Sprint’s 4G LTE network.1Everything Data Plan with no data overages or throttling
2 Samsung is the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the United States and the No. 1 smartphone provider worldwide claims according to Strategy Analytics, Q1 2012 U.S. Market Share Handset Shipment and Global Smartphone Shipment Reports.Contact(s):
Sprint
Mark Elliott, 603-621-4511
[email protected]Related Assets
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I hope that the hardware home button isn’t going to be there, but will deal with it if remains.
It’s there.
Decisions decisions. EVO LTE or SIII? I’m leaning towards EVO given Samsung’s poor history with radio quality (My Epic Touch/SGII radio is awful compared to older EVOs). Looking forward to checking out both – will go for one or other by end of month. LTE should be in my area too by July.
Not sure why you got down voted man, but I agree. My parents live in an area where radios really matter because of the poor service. When we were with sprint my 3d could get 2 bars or so, but my mom’s epic was constantly searching for signal
he was down voted due to indecisivness
Yeah, I’m surprised it’s getting voted down. I’ve had both and have tested dozens of times where there is a very weak signal. Samsung does not have a good history with radio quality and it’s not hard to demonstrate. Many have broadly posted about it.
The good news is that the US version of GSIII will have a Qualcomm S4 chipset, so maybe it will help radio quality.
Or did Samsung get it right and said “no” to carrier tweaks? Judging by the S2 being such a hit, I’d lean towards Samsung saying no.
I’ve been waiting for the Asus Padfone (minus the tablet portion) but after looking at this, it’s tempting. The S4 cpu holds its own and with 2gigs of RAM, wowzers. Add in the HTC One and it’s going to be a great year for Android phones.
It’s a great year to be a Sprint customer with all the new LTE phones hitting the market. Though I’m strongly leaning towards the GSIII, I also can’t wait to see what the LG “Superphone” is all about when it’s finally released.
Wow sprint is getting the SIII first, I’ve been with sprint since 08 for the price and have had the Evo 4g since day one, but its time to move on, I’d rather pay more to always be able to connect to the web fast, if your not on 4g you can forget it and don’t think about watching a video and to get the SIII on their site with no LTE, no way and when they do get it who knows how good it will be and if you’ll always be able to connect to it. I’m going to make the switch back to AT&T and get the galaxy note and if the SIII is all that maybe I’ll get it over at AT&T. Let me know what you people think.
Sprint got the GSII first as well.
They are doing the pre-orders first, but Sprint and T-Mobile are releasing on the same date, June 21st.
So if LTE is not yet in my area, does it pay to get the galaxy s3?
No! but one of the reasons I jumped on a Sprint Lte phone (GNexus) is, just in case they don’t stay unlimited on 4g Lte I might be able to be grandfathered in. unless they do like Verizon!?
It’s up to you and how the data speeds are in your area currently. If your 3G speeds are fine then I say go for it.
If your with sprint your phone will use 3g only just like Iphone 4S until sprint brings up their LTE network. Peps who just bought the new Evo are finding that out now and who knows when it will be up, but if sprint wants the Iphone 5 they will have to have it up and running by the time the phone hits or they won’t get it till LTE is up.
Don’t make the same mistake i did with the Gnexus. The internet on my old evo was 15x faster than my new phone. Too bad i traded my old evo. 3G for sprint is the worst.
I am kinda shocked it’s coming so soon. I would LOVE the white version. But with all the issues I’ve had with my S2, I may end up with the EVO LTE
What issues have you had with your GSII? I’ve had the E4GT since day one and zero issues.
I really just want a road map on the Sprint Lte roll out!?, Sprint’s 3g is really bad!! I have the GNexus on Sprint and it doesn’t matter how good/cool this phone is or the New Evo or S3 are without 4g Lte they suck!! Epic Touch 4g is better than these right now, WiMax makes the Sprint data speeds on it tolerable.
In a nutshell, 6-8 cities get Sprint 1900Mhz LTE (and enhanced 3G) this summer starting in July. Will be rolled out to about 130 million population by end of year (they are ahead of schedule) and plans to cover entire Sprint network by end of 2013. In 2014 they’ll start rolling out 800Mhz LTE/3G, which will allow for more coverage and better building penetration. When Clear starts to rollout LTE, is likely Sprint will use it to augment Sprint’s 800/1900 LTE capacity.
More here…
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6m5k0tjsegmms75/Sprint%20Vision.PDF
You are 1000% correct with everything you just said about sprint. Thats why I’m jumping ship to AT&T to get better speeds and galaxy note.
Ehh, that’s subjective as hell. Not EVERYONE on Sprint suffers from the poor data speeds. I sure as hell don’t, and I’m in a major market.
My buddy has the Note, its awesome!!!! but make sure you get the White one. The Blue on his is kinda ugly..
@Pnutt916 I will get the white one. Does your bubby know when the offical update release of ICS for the note will be, I hear it’s sometime this month.
2 gb rams. I’m in! I was debuting on the this or HTC one x. I’ll grab a Sammy.
Honestly the big thing isn’t the amount of ram for me, but rather that tenacious S4 processor. Very happy with my GNEX still though, stock ICS is… fantastic. I’ve used the CM9 with the S3 software, it’s pretty cool, not sure there is enough of a diff between this and the Nex though for me to consider trading.
It’s a nice spec to boast but really won’t do much. I have over 200 apps loaded, many running in background and my 1GB SGII tends to have 300-400MB available. The downside to 2GB is that if games are written to need 2GB, we then have another Android fragmentation. Seems a bit too early have 2GB.
Hate sprints network but I love the hardware/ specs of this phone I really wish they would have released it in black as well..
I am looking for go out of Sprint.
Today I asked about the early upgrade service and their answer was it is over.
But, some stores has this option yet and depend of the manager store to whom he gives this option.
Always you account will say “you don´t qualify” but with one year contract and if you are friend of a manager store, maybe he can give it to you…
If you are referring to the two week early upgrade, ya think it’s done.
If you are referring to your contract not up for a few months to a year, call top tier Sprint support and request nicely. You will have to pay, but for me was worth it. $115 to move my upgrade from June 2013 to now. Got the EVO LTE for free, so worked out. Loving this phone.
There are decent specs on GS3.. Always liked HTCs frequent updates.
Going to play with the EVO 4G LTE tomorrow and possibly pre-order this in the morning as well. Decision, decisions…
Any word on when best buy is taking pre-orders?
I’ve been wanting to know the same answer . I’m also with bestbuy sprint
HEY – is it just me or is the back on that photo different than the Int’l version? Looks flatter until it reaches the edge. Looks nicer to me.