Samsung releases trio of US Galaxy S II devices
Earlier today, we were treated to an early appetizer of the upcoming Galaxy S II US release. Now, the main course is here. At their event today, Samsung announced Galaxy S II smartphones for three of the four major us carriers: AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
As expected, the devices share very similar hardware. All three have 800 x 480 Super AMOLED Plus displays, 1.2GHz EXYNOS processors, dual cameras (8MP back and 2MP front), and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. These specs are also nearly identical to the Galaxy S II device released in Europe a few months ago.
As usual, the carriers have made their own slight modifications to the smartphones. All have been given cosmetic tweaks, but fortunately hardware changes are minimal. The most notable differnce is the change in screen size, both the Sprint and T-Mobile devices have 4.5-inch panels while the AT&T variant opted for a 4.3-inch display. This actually resulted in the AT&T device being thinner than all the others at 8.8mm.
Both the Sprint and AT&T Galaxy devices will support "4G," Sprint's supports WiMAX while AT&T's supports the older HSPA+. Oddly enough, T-Mobile has not announced final specs or a name for their device, but unless we hear otherwise I would think it would at least include HSPA+. The only other changes are the predictable software tweaks, with each carrier including its own plethora of applications.
Interestingly, Verizon did not get a Galaxy S II device. Many are speculating that the carrier did this to make room for the rumored Nexus Prime, but the truth is that no one really knows. However, it is a pretty bold move for Verizon to pass on one of the most highly anticipated smartphones this year, so one would think they have something good coming.
Overall, the US Galaxy S II smartphones turned out to be pretty much what we were expecting. Really, the most exciting change was the display size increase in Sprint and T-Mobile's phones. Some users may like about the subtle cosmetic changes, but most people are just happy to see the powerhouse that has already sold over 5 million units in Europe finally come to the USA.
[Samsung via Android Central]
