Samsung launches Galaxy S III
With much fanfare and spectacle, Samsung today launched its latest smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S III, available on all major carriers from lunchtime today.
Samsung Galaxy S III
(Credit: Samsung Electronics)
Samsung held off announcing the device until today, despite providing launch dates for other regions at the beginning of the month. The company launched the device at Sydney's Capitol Theatre this morning.
The Samsung Galaxy S III features a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich, an 8-megapixel camera with a HD Super AMOLED display at 4.8 inches, 1GB of RAM, near-field communication (NFC) and up to 64GB of storage, with only 16GB offered to Australian customers today. The phone comes in a choice of marble white or pebble blue.
Vodafone was first out with its pricing plans (below), starting at $29 per month on a 24-month plan, with a $20 handset repayment. This plan comes with 400MB of data per month in the first 12 months, and 200MB per month in the following 12 months.
Vodafone pricing
(Screenshot by Josh Taylor/ZDNet Australia)
Prices for Telstra start at $72 per month for $550 worth of calls, unlimited texts and 1.5GB of data per month, and plans go up to $129 per month for unlimited calls and texts and 3GB of data per month.
Optus plans start at $50 per month, with $12 per month in handset repayments. That includes $500 worth of calls, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. The highest Optus plan costs $99 per month, with unlimited calls and texts and 3GB of data per month.
Virgin Mobile has the device starting at $47 per month with $190 worth of plan credit and 250MB of data per month.
Virgin pricing
(Screenshot by Josh Taylor/ZDNet Australia)
Customers will be set back $899 to buy the phone outright, but Allphones is currently selling the device for $798 for the 16GB model.
In addition to working on existing 3G networks, the Samsung Galaxy S III is compatible with long-term evolution (LTE) or "4G" networks, but Optus has said that the phone will only support HSPA+ on its network.
Telstra told ZDNet Australia that it was in discussions with Samsung to bring a 4G version of the Samsung Galaxy S III to Australia, but it would likely be several months before the device hits Australian shores.