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Ever since Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S II Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android smartphone at Mobile World Congress in February, the media has been hounding the company for U.S. launch dates from major carriers such as Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZW), AT&T (NYSE:T), Sprint (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile.
The company is edging closer to delivering the phone, which runs Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” on a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus (Super active-matrix organic LED Plus) screen and 1.2GHz processor. The handset also sports an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera that grabs video in 1080p, as well as a 2MP front-facing camera. Despite all the upgrades, it is thinner and lighter than its predecessor.
Yonhap News said Shin Jong-kyun, president of Samsung’s mobile business and digital imaging, said at a media briefing July 19: “We expect to release the Galaxy S2 in the U.S. market sometime in August.”
Interestingly, Samsung Mobile U.S. contingent is more close-mouthed, telling eWEEK July 20: “Samsung Mobile politely declines to comment on the upcoming availability of the Galaxy S II in the U.S.”
The mystery continues. What isn’t a mystery is how big the Galaxy S II launch is ramping up to be.
The Galaxy S 1 sold over 10 million units across the Top 4 U.S. carriers in 2010, quickly outselling Motorola Droid handsets on the strength of the company’s Super AMOLED display technology, which enables crisp viewing even in bright light.
But after Samsung showed off the successor to the handset at MWC, the whole Android-loving world has been craving the device.
Samsung launched the handset in South Korea in April, and sold 1 million units in less than a month and 3 million handsets after less than two months.
Such successful sales from one country have ratcheted demand for the device in the U.S., where Samsung has been reticent to announce a launch date.
Conspiracy theorists who love huddling over competitive fires believe Samsung is looking to launch close enough to the alleged unveiling of the new iPhone 5. Apple, coming off a quarter in which it sold 20.3 million iPhones, is expected to wow users with the new handset in September.
Samsung wants to try to reap as much sales as it can before that also greatly-anticipated device goes live on AT&T, Verizon and perhaps elsewhere.