In what’s sure to come as a shock to fans of high-end Samsung smartphones, Verizon Wireless will not offer the brand-new Galaxy S II after it is introduced next week, according to a new report.
The Korean manufacturer will introduce the long-awaited device to the United States at a special event Monday in New York City. Sales of the Galaxy S II will start sometime in September, but America’s biggest carrier won’t be among those that offer it, the Wall Street Journal quoted sources as saying on Thursday. Samsung didn’t confirm the report in so many words, but a spokesperson told the Journal that Verizon carries plenty of devices from her company's portfolio, “including the Samsung Droid Charge."
This wouldn’t come as such a shock – after all, the market is getting pretty saturated with Android-based phones – if the Galaxy S II hadn’t already been a big seller around the globe. The smartphone actually outsold the iPhone in the U.K. back in April, the first month of the Galaxy II’s release there. In South Korea, 5 million of the phones sold in the first three months of release.
Just yesterday, Samsung introduced a new naming structure – with the “S" label, short for super-smart, given only to its highest-end devices. Apparently that didn’t impress Verizon Wireless. Sprint is said to be the first U.S carrier to get its hands on the Galaxy S II. It will reportedly set you back $200 with a new, two-year service agreement.
So what was shaping up to be a battle royale among the Galaxy S II, Apple’s iPhone 5 and the Motorola Droid Bionic next month, appears now to be just a one-on-one matchup. It’s hard to see the Galaxy S II being a huge seller without Verizon in its court. Of course, the Next Big Thing is always just around the corner.
