Samsung Galaxy S3 for AT&T now available in US

Samsung Galaxy S3 for AT&T
The third U.S. carrier to offer the Galaxy S3 shows real promise

Samsung's staggered launch for the Galaxy S3 smartphone found another foothold on Friday with the release of the AT&T model.

In addition to the hardware enhancements of the American model of the Galaxy S3 (dual-core Qualcomm processors, 2GB of RAM), the AT&T iteration gets the added bonus of the carrier's expanded 4G LTE network.

The T-Mobile version does not support LTE, while the Sprint model offers 4G LTE in areas where the carrier has enabled that service.

The price point falls into the same range as with the other carriers. Consumers can get their hands on the AT&T Galaxy S3 for $199 and a 2-year contract, $449 and a 1-year contract, or $549 with no contract.

Enterprising savers may have even taken advantage of Target and Amazon's pre-release sale offering the smartphone for just $149 with an AT&T contract.

Galaxy S3's universe of service

Three other carriers are expected to launch their own versions of the Samsung Galaxy S3 soon.

Verizon has planned a July 10 release date, which could bring a good deal of the carrier's customers out of unlimited 3G plans and onto 4G shared data plans.

US Cellular and C-Spire have also announced that they plan to bring the Galaxy S3 to U.S. soil, but have yet to put a date on release.

With all these carriers clamoring to jump on-board with Samsung's latest smartphone, it's no wonder that the South Korean company expects sales of the device to hit 10 million this July.

While some Galaxy S3's may be feeling the heat, it looks like scores of U.S. denizens will be cooling off with some Ice Cream Sandwich this summer.

Via AT&T, Engadget, Mobile and Apps