Mobile operators announce Samsung Galaxy S III pricing in the UK

THE MUCH HYPED Samsung Galaxy S III is finally out, and UK mobile operators have promptly announced that they will be offering the smartphone.

Following last night's London launch, which The INQUIRER attended, the mobile networks O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Three and Vodafone have all announced that they will be selling the handset, leaving Virgin Media as the only mobile operator yet to jump on the Galaxy S III bandwagon.

The Galaxy S III will also be available from Phones 4u and Carphone Warehouse, with the latter offering the first 1,000 punters a free Samsung Galaxy Tab to go along with it.

In terms of pricing, Three is the first UK network to reveal how much the Galaxy S III will set the consumer back. The network will be selling the handset on a 24 month £34 contract with no upfront cost, it announced, which will come with 2,000 minutes, 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes, 5,000 texts and all-you-can-eat data.

That's cheaper than the pricing at Phones4u and Carphone Warehouse, which will both be selling the phone for £36 a month.

However, if you don't fancy plunging for a lengthy contact, the duo of retailers will also have the phone on sale for £500 upfront, which we assume will bag the 16GB model. If it's anything like Apple's Iphone 4S pricing model, the 32GB model - which remains a Vodafone exclusive for a month - will cost £600, and the 64GB model will cost £700.

We can't help but think that the phone's plastic casing doesn't warrant a £500 price tag, but we're sure the sales figures will tell a different story. µ