Sprint will be the first U.S. mobile carrier to sell Samsung’s Galaxy S II, starting Sept. 16, but T-Mobile and AT&T said Tuesday they also will offer the phone.
A follow-on to the popular Galaxy S, the phone will be the thinnest available at all three operators.
The largest mobile carrier in the U.S., Verizon Wireless, notably has decided not to sell the phone. Verizon recently said it already has an extensive portfolio of Android phones and so would not offer the Galaxy S II.
All models of the Galaxy S II will work on the 4G networks of the respective operators and will run Android 2.3, or Gingerbread. The phone will have a 4.3-inch Super Amoled Plus display, which uses technology developed by Samsung. It will have an 8-megapixel rear camera, plus a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video conferencing.
Users will be able to record video at 1080p and connect the phone to certain TVs to view content such as videos on the larger screen.
Sprint is calling the phone the Epic 4G Touch and will sell it for $200. Neither T-Mobile nor AT&T disclosed prices or shipping dates for the Galaxy S II.
In addition to missing out on Verizon’s millions of customers, Samsung also faces other challenges in the U.S. A new iPhone is expected to launch soon, and Microsoft’s updated Windows Phone software will be available in the coming months.
However, the Samsung Galaxy S II, first announced in February and already available in much of the world, is proving popular. Five million have been sold in the past 85 days, Samsung said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Samsung initially scheduled the unveiling for Monday in New York but postponed it due to heavy storms. The company is holding a separate event in London on Thursday and has not said what it plans to reveal then.