Samsung Galaxy S III Already Available in the U.S.

Although the Samsung Galaxy S III is just now gearing up for its launch in the U.S. next week, the smartphone is already available in this country for those who cannot wait. The catch is that the available version of this powerful smartphone isn't the one specifically designed to run in this country.

AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile will all introduce their versions of the Galaxy S III a week from today, and these will fully support each of these carrier's 4G networks. The retailers that are currently selling this device have a version that was designed to run in Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world.

The international model differs from the U.S. version for two main reasons: it does not offer 4G LTE connectivity, but it has a more powerful processor. This is because no CPU maker has created a quad-core chip that also supports the U.S. version of LTE. 

The international Galaxy S III runs on a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4 processor, while the U.S. version is going to run on a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. As mentioned, the U.S. version will be 4G LTE-enabled, while the international one will only be able to access AT&T's 3G HSPA+ or T-Mobile's 2.5G EDGE network.

Two online retailers, Expansys and Amazon are selling the international Samsung Galaxy S III for $695 and $780, respectively. Expansys is selling the marble white version of the phone and Amazon is offering the pebble blue model.

The main reason for the high prices is because the smartphone is being offered without a wireless service contract, and therefore no carrier subsidy is available.

Read our review of the international Samsung Galaxy S III here.