The Samsung Galaxy S III / Galaxy S3 Android phone is available from each of the four major U.S. wireless carriers, a rare thing in the world of smartphones.  What isn’t so rare is that three of the four carriers (other than T-Mobile) are selling the 16GB models of the S III for the exact same price on contract: $199 after various promotions, rebates, etc.

But the carriers are getting a great deal of competition from third-party sellers. 

The best  price comes from Amazon for the Sprint 16GB Galaxy S III.  If you’re signing up for a new account, Amazon Wireless has the phone for $119 with free shipping; if you’re already a Sprint customer, the upgrade price is $149.

Want the AT&T version?  The price at Amazon Wireless is $149 for an upgrade, $189 for a new account.  The Verizon Galaxy S III at Amazon is $149, whether you’re upgrading or signing up for a new account.

By the way – if you do want the T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy S III but don’t want to pay the higher $279 price, WireFly has the phone for $199. 

The Android Samsung Galaxy S III superphone was by no means a secret before today, but this is the day we got official details for three of the four major U.S. wireless carriers’ plans for the handset.

Sprint and T-Mobile announced this morning that their own versions of the Galaxy S III will ship on June 21 – just a few weeks from now.  Each carrier will offer both 16GB and 32GB versions of the S III, and each will have a dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM.  The price will be $199 and $249 respectively, and the phone will be available in either blue or white.  Pre-orders begin soon. 

Verizon will also begin selling the Samsung S III “in the coming weeks”  with 2GB of RAM and a dual-core 1.5GHz processor onboard.  Pre-orders begin June 6th. While the press release didn’t give an exact date, chances are the LTE Verizon version will be available for sale around June 21. Same price tiers, $199 for 16GB and $249 for 32GB.

Other features of the Samsung S III include Android 4.0, a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display, an 8MP primary camera, and a 2MP front-facing camera. 

Learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S III Android 4.0 Smartphone…

UPDATE – AT&T has joined in, too.  The Galaxy S III is taking over!

It’s been a long wait for this high-end smartphone, but the wait appears to be over. Sprint now has the HTC EVO 4G LTE in stock and ready to ship for $199 with a two-year service contract.

Third-party retailers are slowing getting the handset as well.  Amazon and Wirefly have the EVO 4G LTE ready to ship in days or weeks, and for $50 less than Sprint, $149.

Last week’s blocking of select HTC smartphone shipments into the country by U.S. Customs seems to be coming to an end.  Over the weekend the handset manufacturer posted a statement indicating some models have “been released to our carriers.” There were no further details.  The HTC One X, the HTC EVO 4G LTE, or both, may now be on their way into customers’ hands.

According to various reports, the HTC EVO 4G LTE, which was supposed to be released by Sprint on May 18th, should arrive by Thursday (a date confirmed by the Wall Street Journal), though there could be further delays given the number of pre-orders.

The HTC One X situation is a bit murkier, with some reporting that the One X was included in the weekend release of handsets, while other news sites are claiming the opposite. 

If you’re an AT&T customer planning to upgrade to the HTC One X, or have been looking forward to purchasing Sprint’s upcoming HTC EVO 4G LTE, your wait will be longer than expected.  According to several reports that surfaced yesterday (since confirmed by HTC), U.S. Customs is blocking shipments of both handsets into the country because of an International Trade Commission investigation concerning HTC’s violation of patented Apple technology.

“The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order,” an HTC spokesperson said in a statement. “We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval… [W]e appreciate [customers’] patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.”

Continue reading »