Samsung Galaxy S III hitting 5 U.S. carriers soon for $200

The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone will launch on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and U.S. Cellular in the next few weeks and will start at $200 with a 2-year contract, Samsung announced this morning.

[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":466122,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"mobile,","session":"C"}']

The Galaxy S III smartphone is the next evolution in Samsung’s Galaxy S line, which has sold more than 50 million units to date. To make sure it’s larger than life, the Galaxy S will feature a monster 4.8-inch screen with 720p resolution, but it somehow only weighs 4.7 ounces and measures 8.6 millimeters thin. It also has an 8-megapixel camera, 1.9-megapixel front camera, and 50GB free cloud storage from Dropbox.

“The Galaxy S III is the most innovative smartphone on the market today,” said Todd Pendleton, CMO for Samsung America, in a statement. “It is an industry first to see five major carriers align behind the launch of a single device virtually simultaneously. To support the immense excitement for the Galaxy S III we will execute our biggest marketing campaign ever.”

Verizon Wireless has elected to be the first carrier to let people pre-order the device on June 6. The Galaxy S III will cost $200 with a 2-year contract and run on Verizon’s 4G LTE network with fast next-generation data speeds. Verizon said the unit will be available in stores and online “in the coming weeks.”

AT&T pre-orders will start on June 6. It will be the only carrier to offer three color options: black, white, and red. The carrier plans to only sell the 16GB model for $200 with a two-year contract. AT&T stores will let Galaxy S III buyers pick up a 16GB microSD card for $40 if they want to double their storage. AT&T has not revealed what day the phone will go on sale.

Sprint will offer the phone in stores and online starting on June 21. There, it will cost $200 for the 16-gigabyte version, while the 32GB version costs $250.

T-Mobile has also opted for a June 21 launch date. The carrier has not offered up any pricing details, but we’d guess it will most likely be $200 to $250 depending on the model.

U.S. Cellular will offer pre-orders of the device starting on June 12. Pricing will be available on that same day.

Check out our hands-on impressions of the Galaxy S III and a slideshow of pictures of the device below:

[aditude-amp id="medium1" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":466122,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"mobile,","session":"C"}']

[vb_gallery id=428477]

Photo credit: Sean Ludwig/VentureBeat

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.