Retailers line up for Samsung Galaxy S III

17 May 2012

Vodafone has secured a one month exclusive on the 32GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S III as operators and retailers gear up for one of the biggest phone launches of the year with a series of competitive offers.

The Galaxy S III will go on sale in the UK on 30 May. An array of offers is already available for those wanting to snap up the flagship device. Vodafone will stock both the 16GB and 32GB versions for the first month of sale. If a customer pre-orders the device by 29 May they will receive 100 free music tracks. The 16GB version is available for free from £41 per month with 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of data. The 32GB version costs £69 upfront on the same deal.

At Three, the 16GB device is available for free from £34 per month. The two-year contract offers 2,000 minutes, 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes, 5,000 texts and unlimited data. Three director of devices Nigel Field said: 'The Galaxy S II was one of the smartphones of 2011, and we’re expecting its successor, the Samsung Galaxy S III, to be amongst 2012’s biggest mobile success stories.'

Among its tariff plans, O2 is offering the Galaxy S III for £31 per month with a £169.99 upfront payment. The deal offers customers 300 minutes, 500 O2-to-O2 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. The handset is available for free from £46 per month as part of its On & On unlimited calls and texts tariff.

T-Mobile said the Galaxy S III would be available from £49.99 on a £36 per month contract. The deal offers customers unlimited data, texts and calls to other T-Mobile phones plus 2,000 any network minutes. At the time of going to press, Orange had yet to reveal its tariff plans for the phone. Virgin Mobile also declined to unveil its offer but said Virgin Media customers would receive £5 off their monthly tariffs, double the texts and data, and 3,000 minutes to other Virgin Mobiles.

Carphone Warehouse is offering the 16GB version for free from £36 per month. The deal, with either Vodafone or Orange, gives customers 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data. Alternatively, customers can get 900 minutes and 250MB of data for the same price with Orange. Anyone who pre-orders the device will receive a 32GB SanDisk memory card worth £44.99 and a ZAGG invisibleSHIELD screen protector and in-car charger worth £29.98.

The Galaxy S III was unveiled at Samsung Mobile's Unpacked event in London earlier this month. Among its features is Smart Stay, which keeps the display from timing out by using the front-facing camera to detect when you’re looking at the screen. The device runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich and features a 4.8-inch display, 1.4GHz quad-core chip and 1GB RAM.

Samsung UK & Ireland MD Andy Griffiths said: 'Our aim with the Galaxy S III was to develop the best smartphone ever made, and by focusing on creating a unique user experience through superior hardware and enhanced usability we believe we have done just that.'