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The Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone will be shipping a couple of days later than previously announced, according to a landing page on Verizons Website. The smartphone will be released online via Verizon Wireless on July 12, two days later than the originally advertised date. The handset is already available from rival carriers Sprint, where it launched on July 1, and AT&T, where it launched last week.
Verizon is offering the phone for $199.99 for the 16GB version, while the 32GB version costs $249.99, both requiring two-year contracts. According to the tech news blog Engadget, some customers who preordered the phone have already received it. Samsung recently stated sales of the smartphone, seen as a major rival to Apples iPhone, are projected to exceed 10 million units in July.
The phone features a large 4.8-inch display, is 8.6mm thin, weighs 4.7 ounces, runs the latest version of Googles operating system, Android 4.0, and boasts a quad-core processor that enables a user to do things like shrink a video andtaking advantage of that tremendous screenlet it play up in the corner, while browsing the Web or using other apps. The Galaxy S III also has the distinction of housing six sensors that help keep it attuned to a user. For example, a feature called Smart Stay uses the front-facing camera to watch a user and, understanding when the display is being read, not let the screen go dark after a certain time.
Samsung, which sells a variety of handsets at a number of price points, introduced the first Galaxy S smartphone in March 2010, in response to the iPhone. During second quarter of 2011, its mobile phone business posted 10 percent growth from a year earlier, according to a report from IT analytics firm IDC. By the first quarter of 2012, its year-over-year growth was at 267 percent, catapulting it over Apple and 14-year market leader Nokia. During the quarter, it sold 42.2 million units, to Apples 35.1 million iPhones and Nokias 11.9 million devices.
It hasnt been all plain sailing for the companys mobile devices, however. Apple and Samsung have been involved in a dispute over the Samsung Galaxy Tab, a response to Apples blockbuster iPad tablet. In June, a U.S. District judge in California sided with Apple last month, ruling that Samsungs Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet should not be available for sale in the United States. Following rulings in Germany and Australia, hers was the third court to decide this. However, a judge in the United Kingdom in the High Court of England and Wales ruled that the Galaxy Tab did not infringe on Apples design patents and should be allowed to go on sale there.