If you’ve been chomping at the bit for the latest Samsung smartphone, the Galaxy S III, then today is your lucky day. Amazon has posted the Galaxy S III for preorder today. You can get either the white or pebble blue version, and have it arrive in your hands shortly after it releases on June 1.
Now, before you get too excited, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is, these particular Galaxy S IIIs are unlocked, which means all you have to do is get a SIM card and a contract from your carrier and you’re good to go. The bad news is that it’s an unlocked phone, so you won’t be getting the carrier subsidy you get when you purchase your device and your 2-year contract at the same time. That means that the price tag on this particular phone is $800. Certainly nothing to sneeze at.
But wait, there’s more. Not only does this particular Galaxy S III come with a hefty price tag, it’s also a very particular model. As PCWorld points out, this particular model – the GT-i9300 – is the international GSM version. That means a few things: first, it’s not 4G LTE-capable. Second, it’s not CDMA-capable, which means it won’t work on Verizon’s network, or Sprint’s. Third, while it will connect to T-Mobile’s voice network, it will not connect to their data network, which means you’ll be stuck using wi-fi for data. Pretty much the only network where you can get anything like full functionality will be AT&T, as the phone will connect to both their voice network and their HSPA+ (not-quite-4G) network.
So, if you prefer AT&T, live in an area where AT&T doesn’t have 4G LTE coverage yet, and have an extra 800 big ones to shell out for a new phone, then this deal is for you. Failing that, it might be better to just let this one slide on by, and wait for the U.S. carriers to announce the phone themselves.