Samsung Galaxy S III Availability Delayed At Several U.S. Providers

Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphones were slated to make their U.S. debut Thursday, but wireless providers including AT&T and Sprint are facing delays that may push availability back into next week.

Sprint was the first to warn of the news on its community blog site earlier this week, explaining that Samsung’s third-generation and much-hyped Galaxy S smartphone will not be available to buyers on June 21 as originally scheduled.

According to the blog post, Samsung told Sprint a delay was needed because of "overwhelming demand" for the new phone.

Sprint did not offer a revised launch date but said it has started shipping pre-orders for the 16-GB version of the Galaxy S III, with 32-GB models to tentatively follow next week.

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AT&T is reportedly facing the same delays, according to a statement it issued to the Wall Street Journal's All Things D.

"Manufacturer supply constraints of the 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy S III have caused a delay to expected preorder shipments," AT&T told All Things D. "Customers who were previously quoted a delivery date of June 21st should now expect their device to arrive no later than Monday, June 25th."

The Galaxy S III is available through T-Mobile, according to its website, but is selling at a starting price of $279.99, compared to the $199.99 pre-order cost through AT&T or Sprint. The new phone is also available for pre-order only on Verizon’s website for $199.99.

The Korean electronics giant did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Samsung Galaxy S III pre-order numbers or the extent of its alleged manufacturing constraints. The new smartphone, however, which was first unveiled by Samsung in May, is expected to deliver a number of new features and revamped technical specs that poise it to be the most sophisticated and fastest Galaxy S smartphone to-date.

In addition to running the latest Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" software and Samsung’s latest quad-core Exynos mobile processor, the Galaxy S III has a 4.8-inch screen with a 720-pixel HD resolution. A bit bigger than its predecessor, the Galaxy S II, the new phone weighs in at 4.7 ounces and measures 0.3 inches thick.

A new voice activation feature dubbed "S Voice" along with near-field communication capabilities for faster file sharing between fellow Galaxy S III users are also expected.

This story was originally published on June 22.