Samsung Galaxy S III comes to the US: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and more

There have been a couple of delays, but Verizon Wireless customers can now pick up the Samsung Galaxy S III at brick-and-mortar locations or online. The phone is available in both white and pebble blue in either 16GB or 32GB capacities for $199.99 or $249.99, respectively, with a two year contract. Those who pre-ordered the device have been receiving it over the past week, and it looks like all of those orders have dried up online supplies: if you try to buy the phone from Verizon Wireless online today it's not expected to ship until July 16th. We've called a couple of retail locations, however, and the phone is in stock, so heading down to your local store is likely your best bet if you're looking to get your hands on Samsung's latest-and-greatest today. As usual, if you're willing to wait a bit, Amazon Wireless is undercutting Verizon's price by $50, but it's not expected to ship the device out for another week or two. With Big Red finally offering the phone, the Galaxy S III's US launch is officially complete, with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular all selling the device — just keep in mind that Verizon has seen it fit to lock the S III's bootloader.

Regional carrier US Cellular is releasing its Samsung Galaxy S III only a few days after AT&T. The company has confirmed that the 16GB version of its Galaxy S III will be available to buy online by Wednesday, July 11th; it will be available in stores by the end of the week. As we reported previously, the 16GB version will sell for $199.99 on contract, but only after a $100 mail-in rebate. The 32GB version, which will be only available in white, isn't coming at the same time, though: it will be available "shortly" after the initial launch. We haven't heard when pre-ordered phones are arriving, but we wouldn't be surprised if they started showing up soon. Meanwhile, Verizon's version has been pushed back until July 12th.

We've chronicled the Samsung Galaxy S III as it trickled to carriers across the US, so it's only fitting to close the book on one of the top two. AT&T, which has been accepting pre-orders for the phone since a month ago, finally released the Galaxy S III today: it's currently selling for $199.99 on contract in both white and blue. We already anticipated the phone would go on sale today, but considering how many delays we've seen across carriers, it's good to see it finally arrive. Pre-order customers have likely already received their units, and everyone else can either pick it up in stores or get overnight shipping online. Once again, there's no sign of a 32GB model, nor of the exclusive red version. Verizon customers, meanwhile, will be waiting until early next week to pick up the phone.

US carrier release dates for the Samsung Galaxy S III have shifted a bit over the last month — but Verizon largely kept its mouth shut. However, the carrier is now finally letting customers know that the Galaxy S III will be available in stores and online as of July 10th. Not coincidentally, this is the same day that all its pre-orders will be shipping out, and the phone will still cost the same $199.99 that it has cost since Verizon's pre-orders started. While Verizon may not be the first to market, the combination of excellent hardware with the carrier's maturing LTE market will make a pretty compelling option for buyers in the US.

Update: We've heard from several readers who say they've received shipment notices from Verizon. it looks like the S III could be arriving even earlier for those that got their pre-orders in right away.

Last we heard, the Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy S II had moved over 52 million units worldwide between them, and it doesn't look like the latest in the series is going to struggle to live up to the lofty precedent. According to Reuters, Samsung's head of telecommunications JK Shin expects the Galaxy S III to top the 10 million unit mark by the end of July.

It's not clear whether this refers to units shipped to retailers or sold to customers, but either way it's an impressive figure — we heard before launch that the device had over 9 million pre-orders, and Sprint has already had to delay its launch due to "overwhelming demand." It's easy to see why the Galaxy S III might spark such excitement, too, as we were more than a little impressed with it in our review.

We've heard that a number of carriers will be delaying the launch of the Galaxy S III, and now AT&T has joined the ranks. We just received a statement from the carrier noting that "manufacturer supply contraints" of the Galaxy S III "have caused a delay to expected pre-order shipments." Now, some of the buyers who expected to get their phone today will end up receiving their device "no later than Monday, June 25th." If you're one of the customers that is affected by this change, AT&T will be emailing you and sending an SMS to let you know when your phone will arrive. We also heard that some customers should still receive their phones today — so if you placed a pre-order, keep your eye out for that email or SMS. As for "future pre-orders," AT&T believes it'll take about 10 business days to fill an order.

The full statement we received from AT&T is below:

There's no updated release date yet, but in practice, the news doesn't have much effect: Sprint had already said that customers would only be able to buy the phone online and through telesales tomorrow, while brick and mortar locations would be part of the second wave. Additionally, those who pre-ordered the 16GB model should still start to receive their phones on schedule tomorrow — 32GB pre-orders, meanwhile, should start to arrive next week.

Here's the full statement:

Samsung's new flagship phone is coming to America. Actually, it might be more appropriate to say it's blanketing America — the Galaxy S III is coming to all four major US carriers, plus a couple of smaller regional companies like US Cellular and C Spire. AT&T's model is shipping now, starting at $199.99 with a two-year contract, and we got a chance to test the new device ahead of its release.

When we reviewed the Galaxy S III's international version a few weeks ago, we discovered a phone that immediately jumps to the top of the Android heap. Its display and build quality can't match the HTC One X and its gorgeous Super LCD 2 screen, but the GS III is well-built, screaming fast, and filled to the brim with software that actually improves on the Android experience. It has an excellent 8-megapixel camera, fantastic call quality, and solid battery life. We still worry about Samsung's tendency to not update its devices on time (or at all), but as it stands now the Galaxy S III is one of the best Android phones you can buy.

The HTC Evo 4G LTE's undisputed reign as Sprint's best Android phone might be over — Samsung's Galaxy S III is coming to the carrier starting tomorrow. We reviewed the international version of the handset a few weeks ago, and unlike most devices that review holds nearly all the information US customers need too. That's because Samsung pulled an impressive coup and was able to release the same phone with the same name on all four major US carriers — Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile — along with C Spire and US Cellular. No matter where you buy it, you're buying the Galaxy S virtually unchanged from the device we reviewed across the pond.

We spent some time with the Sprint Galaxy S III variant ahead of its launch, and by and large found we're not jealous of our UK friends. The international version of the Galaxy S III has a lot going for it: its quad-core Exynos processor is blisteringly fast, its camera is excellent, and from S Voice to Kies Air its software adds features to Android that actually make sense. On the flip side, the build quality and display are solid without equalling the HTC One X (or the Evo 4G LTE), and Samsung's unwillingness to provide timely updates for its phones remains a problem. Still, we'd place the Galaxy S III among the best two or three Android phones on the market, and almost nothing was lost in translation as the phone came to America.

Here's the carrier's full statement:

Meanwhile, TmoNews reports that T-Mobile's Galaxy S III launch will be restricted to just 29 markets on day one — June 21st — while the remainder of the country will get it a few days later on Wednesday, June 27th. "Customer demand will exceed the expected launch quantity available," T-Mobile says, which more or less echoes Sprint's sentiments.

A little over a week ago Verizon opened up pre-orders for the Galaxy S III, and today it has changed the shipping date — by one whole day. Previously scheduled to ship by July 9th, the S III is now slated for a July 10th ship date. Of course, this date doesn't quite tell us when the phone will actually be in the hands of consumers, and the "by" means that there's always a chance that it could end up shipping a bit earlier than listed. But either way, a July 10th makes it very likely that Verizon will be later to the party than the likes of AT&T and Sprint.

US Cellular, the only regional carrier in the United States to offer the Galaxy S III at launch, has announced its pricing for Samsung's flagship smartphone. The 16GB version will be available for $199.99, while the 32GB model will cost $249.99. Unfortunately, these prices include a $100 mail-in-rebate, even if purchased online. Both models can be ordered in "Marble White," but only the 16GB version will have the added choice of a "Pebble Blue" finish. Pre-orders with US Cellular begin June 12th; shipments will be sent out some time in July.

Verizon opened up its pre-orders for the Galaxy S III this morning, right on schedule, and along with that we now have a rough timeframe of when the phone will be getting into consumers' hands. The pre-order page for all four models of the Galaxy S III says the device will ship by July 9th — so even if you order today, you might be waiting a whole month for your new phone. Of course, "by" July 9th certainly leaves open the possibility of the phone shipping sooner, and there's still no word on when the phone will be in stores, so it's still rather hard to nail down when this handset will actually make its way to consumers. Unless that shipping date gets moved up by quite a bit, it looks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint will all beat Verizon to marked with Samsung's latest and greatest.

AT&T started its pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S III earlier this week, with the 16GB model priced at $199.99 on a two-year contract. The company now says that orders are scheduled to begin shipping on June 18th, just ahead of Sprint's release on June 21st, but there's still no mention of a 32GB model — unlike Verizon, Sprint, and US Cellular who are offering 16GB and 32GB versions.

AT&T's Samsung Galaxy S III will run on the company's LTE and HSPA+ networks. The four major US carriers all have the S III available on pre-order but AT&T is also stocking an exclusive red version. We were impressed with Samsung's latest Android 4.0 handset in our review, describing it as a technological triumph with one of the best cameras for an Android device.

Sprint has started accepting pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S III, a day before the same offer shows up for Verizon and AT&T and week before regional carrier US Cellular. Both the "marble white" and "pebble blue" versions of the phone are being offered, each of which will be equipped with a 1.5GHz dual core processor (presumably, the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4). As usual, Sprint is the only US carrier offering Google Wallet installed on-deck. As previously announced, the 16GB model is priced at $199.99 with the 32GB version at $249.99. Shipments are expected to reach their new owners by June 21st.

More and more details are starting to emerge about the US-bound versions of Samsung's Galaxy S III — the latest word is that Verizon's model will support global roaming, though not right out of the box. PhoneScoop reported that global roaming would be turned on down the line through a software update, and we've since reached out and confirmed with Verizon that this is the case. Verizon also mentioned that it plans to update "a number" of other devices this year to similalry make them global-capable, something we've heard was in the works for some time now. There's no word on exactly when this software update might come — hopefully for international travelers, it won't be too long after launch.

It's been a big day for Samsung — earlier today, we heard that the Galaxy S III was coming to the biggest four US carriers, and pre-order dates for Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have already all been announced. AT&T's finally joining the party, letting us know that the Samsung Galaxy S III will be up for pre-order as of June 6th, just like at Verizon. Just like the other carriers, the 16GB model will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract. Unlike the other carriers, however, AT&T will exclusively offer a red version of the phone in addition to the standard white and blue models — though it sounds like this color won't be available right at launch.

Unsurprisingly, the phone will run on both AT&T's new LTE network as well as its HSPA+ network, but unlike the other Verizon, Sprint, and US Cellular, AT&T makes no mention of offering the 32GB Galaxy S III model — it only says it'll offer a 16GB model with the option to bundle in a 16GB microSD card for an additional $39. There's no release date available yet for AT&T's version of the Galaxy S III, but it wouldn't surprise us to see this phone land right around June 21st.