Samsung Plans Carrier Blitz for New Galaxy Phone

Samsung on Monday said it would release its newest Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III, this month on each of the big wireless networks in the United States: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA. That’s a significant product introduction compared with other Android phones, which are typically released on one or two carriers.

This is how Samsung is competing with Apple: It’s investing a lot in a single phone and ensuring it has maximum distribution by teaming with all the big carriers. By way of comparison, Apple’s iPhone has over time become available on each of the big carriers, with the exception of T-Mobile (an absence that has hurt T-Mobile more than Apple).

Apple is now the world’s No. 1 smartphone maker, but Samsung is the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, factoring in traditional cellphones and smartphones. In terms of sales, the Galaxy S III and the iPhone will be the most directly comparable handsets in the United States, serving as a measure for what’s more appealing: Apple’s locked-down, polished iOS ecosystem, or Google’s more open, edgy Android system.

Samsung first released the new Galaxy phone in Europe last month. In the United States, its price will start at $200 with a two-year contract.