Handset-maker Samsung Telecommunications America on Monday announced that its Galaxy S II smartphone will be available this fall through AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA.
Samsung said it is launching the device in the United States following its launch in Europe and Korea, where consumers purchased 5 million Galaxy S II handsets in 85 days. The company said that figure represented its fastest selling smartphone in its history.
Powered by the Android Gingerbread platform, the Galaxy S II features a touchscreen display that can deliver brilliant colors and a powerful dual-core application processor, Samsung said. The handset also includes a wide range of entertainment, messaging, social networking and enterprise features.
The device arrives in mid-September, with Sprint getting its hands on the Galaxy S II on Sept. 16 and AT&T on either Sept. 18 or 19 – media reports vary, and there's no official announcement on AT&T's date. T-Mobile only said it would carry it in the fall.
Verizon Wireless customers who had been excited about buying the much-hyped smartphone will have to change carriers to do so. Monday's announcement essentially confirmed that America's No. 1 wireless company – in terms of subscriber numbers – won't carry the Galaxy S II.
Samsung is a giant in the U.S. mobile-phone market. For the three-month average period ending in July, the company ranked as the No. 1 original equipment manufacturer with 25.5 percent market share ahead of LG (20.9 percent), Motorola (14.1 percent) and other OEMs, comScore Inc. announced Tuesday.
In its second-quarter earnings, Seoul, Korea-based Samsung Electronics said that global demand for smartphones is expected to grow continuously yet competition is likely to escalate as well.
