Samsung wants to make sure each and every one gets their latest high-end Android device, which is why they’ve announced the availability of Galaxy S on major US mobile operators. Operators have named the phone differently and comes with their own set of customizations.
AT&T has already announced it as Captivate while Verizon will call it Fascinate, T-Mobile users will know as Vibrant, Sprint as Epic 4G and U.S. Cellular as the same ol’ Galaxy S.
U.S. Cellular’s device is similar to the original Galaxy S with the obvious difference of CDMA bands. Other features include a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, Android 2.1 OS, 3G, 5MP camera with 720p HD video recording, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0, 3.5mm audio jack, microSD card slot, DLNA and GPS. U.S. Cellular hasn’t revealed the price but has confirmed to sell from fall.
We’re not sure about aesthetic differences in Verizon’s Fascinate but it does come with one major difference. The 5MP camera sports a LED flash which is missing from the GSM international version. Other than that, it has the same 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz CPU, Android 2.1 OS, virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swype, 720p HD video recording, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 2GB internal memory with microSD card slot (up to 32GB, 16GB bundled) and bunch of Verizon services. No word on the price or availability.
Next is T-Mobile’s Vibrant has an obvious design change with four buttons on the front and combines the offering with pre-loaded applications. Apart from the same innards, it will come pre-loaded with James Cameron’s Avatar and Sims 3 games, Amazon Kindle app for Android, MobiTV for live and on-demand TV, Slacker Radio and Gogo Inflight Internet. It will be released on July 21 for $199.99.
Sprint’s Epic 4G (pictured above) is by far the most superior Galaxy S handset right now. It’s the first Samsung device to sport 4G and also the only Galaxy S device with a sliding physical QWERTY keyboard. Additionally, just like the Verizon’s Fascinate, this one also has a LED flash for the camera. Sprint will announce pricing and availability details in “coming months.”
However, if contracts are a no-go for you, you can go for an unlocked version of Galaxy S from Amazon that starts from $749.99.
Just to put these number in perspective, Apple sells 8M iPhones a quarter. If Samsung really manages to sell 10M Galaxy S by the end of the year, it’ll sell around 30% as many Androids as Apple sells iPhones. Now, apple might increase the iPhone sales rate, but we need to remember that the Galaxy only came out in the second quarter.
Very impressive achievement for Samsung.