Related Articles
Samsung has taken the lid off the new Galaxy S3, proudly boasting about its enormous screen and improved processor. But when are you going to be able to take one home for yourself, and how much will you have to shell out?
General availability here in good old Blighty will be from 30 May, says Samsung, which is sooner than we expected — we’re used to having to wait yonks before running our quivering fingers over new toys.
Three is your cheapest option if you want the phone for free. It’s offering it on a £34 per month contract with unlimited data, 2,000 minutes (plus 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes), and 5,000 texts. Vodafone will give you the phone for free too, but you’ll have to be on a contract of at least £41 to get it. You’ll get 2GB of data, unlimited texts and 900 minutes for your money.
Getting the phone for free on O2 will set you back £46 per month, for which you’ll receive unlimited texts and minutes and 1GB of data. A £50 outlay will pocket you the phone with T-Mobile on a £36 per month contract, with unlimited data and texts and 2,000 minutes. Orange hasn’t confirmed its plans yet so we’ll have to wait and see if it’ll be undercutting Three.
All operators offer the phone on a range of tariffs. The rule to bear in mind is the cheaper the contract, the more money you’ll have to pay up front. It’s often more economical to buy the phone SIM-free and get a cheap SIM-only plan, but of course, you will need to save up £500 to do that. Check out our Galaxy S3 deals page and look at which networks have the best plan for your needs.
Virgin Media is also jumping on the S3 bandwagon, as it plans to offer the phone on its own plans, although it hasn’t been forthcoming with pricing details yet.
If you prefer SIM-free then Amazon is offering the phone by itself, which will set you back a cool £500. Alternatively, head to Carphone Warehouse on 30 May, where you can also pick it up SIM-free. Maybe you could convince them to give you one of those new cases free.
For that spicy price, you’ll get a stonking 4.8-inch screen, a meaty 1.4GHz quad-core processor, an updated design and a whole host of software tweaks to Ice Cream Sandwich. Check out our full preview for more info.
I’ll be updating this article as soon as the other networks announce their intentions and pricing plans, so bookmark this page and come back soon.
