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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Carriers: What to Expect

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The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is, along with the next Nexus, one of the most anticipated Android smartphones of 2012. Samsung plans to make the device official on August 29th and it’s at that point that we’ll find out about it officially. And while we don’t know anything about the Galaxy Note 2 for sure, we can make some educated predictions and today we wanted to take a look at the Galaxy Note 2’s potential carriers here in the United States.

The original 5.3-inch Galaxy Note launched in late 2011. However, it took a couple of months for the device to finally make it to the United States.

When it did, it landed on AT&T as an exclusive, running on the carrier’s 4G LTE network, quickly becoming an integral part of AT&T’s 4G LTE lineup.

Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Features: What to Expect.

Today, the device landed on another American carrier for the first time, nearly a year after the device was first announced at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany.

That is the route that the original Galaxy Note took here in the U.S. and now it’s time to take a close look at what we expect from the Samsung Galaxy Note 2’s path, carrier-wise, here in the United States.

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AT&T and T-Mobile were the only carriers to offer the original Galaxy Note.

U.S. Will Get It Late

Android launches, have proven time and time again, that the U.S. will always play second fiddle when it comes to devices that are launching on a global scale.

The Samsung Galaxy S III launch is and was a good example of this. The UK and several other regions saw the Galaxy S III launch in May and then the U.S. saw the device finally arrive in late June and early July.

Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Release Date: What Not to Expect.

We expect something to similar to happen with the Galaxy Note 2 and its launch on U.S. carriers. The first sign is that Samsung plans to announce the device in Europe, ahead of IFA. Assuming the company doesn’t announce the Note 2 at its U.S. August 15th event, this is a sign that it will launch in Europe and possibly Asia first.

Then, it will likely move to the carrier or carriers in the U.S. several weeks or months later. So, again, we don’t expect U.S. carriers to have the device on the devices initial launch day.

AT&T

At this point, consumers in the U.S. should expect AT&T to be a carrier of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, a device that is said to have a 5.5-inch display, quad-core processor, 4G LTE speeds, and better cameras.

And that’s because AT&T was the original carrier of the Galaxy Note and we haven’t seen any signs that that relationship is going to change with the Galaxy Note 2.

The device definitely became a staple of AT&T’s Android lineup and we can’t imagine the carrier not adding it to its portfolio this time around.

AT&T’s needs all the help it can get in the battle for 4G LTE supremacy. With only around 50 4G LTE markets available, the carrier’s network is dwarfed by Verizon’s which has more than 300.

However, by offering quality devices like the Galaxy Note 2, AT&T has a better chance of luring in customers to its new high-speed network.

T-Mobile

If T-Mobile gets the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, we don’t expect it to arrive anywhere close to the smartphone’s first U.S. launch date. There are two reasons for that.

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T-Mobile might get the Galaxy Note 2, but its launch might be far off.

T-Mobile just launched the original Galaxy Note and it would anger its customers if it were to launch the Galaxy Note 2 so soon afterward.

Read: 5 Thoughts on the T-Mobile Galaxy Note.

It does not yet have a 4G LTE network in place but will have one up in 2013. By waiting, T-Mobile would not only be able to offer a 4G LTE Galaxy Note 2 but it would also be able to keep customers relatively happy.

It’s clear that T-Mobile likes the Galaxy Note and we expect it to arrive on the Magenta carrier somewhere down the line.

Sprint

Sprint was rumored to be getting the Galaxy Note several times but for one reason or another, it passed on carrying the original 5.3-inch phablet.

That may have been, in part, due to the fact that its still getting its 4G LTE network off the ground and had an assortment of other 4G LTE devices in place already to help get its new network off the ground.

Read: Samsung Galaxy Note Appears on Sprint’s Website.

Now that the network is in place, a launch of the Galaxy Note 2 could very well be in the cards. Like AT&T, Sprint needs all of the help it can get against Verizon’s 4G LTE stranglehold and the Galaxy Note 2 would be a way to help bring in some new customers.

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Will Sprint get the Galaxy Note 2? Maybe.

Of course, if Sprint does launch the Galaxy Note 2, don’t expect a widespread 4G LTE network. Sprint is far behind AT&T and Verizon and as of now, only has 15 markets in place.

That will likely change by the time the Galaxy Note 2 arrives but even then, Sprint’s 4G LTE network won’t be anywhere close to either AT&T or Verizon in size.

Verizon

We know that Verizon customers wanted the original Note. And we know that customers on Big Red are going to be clamoring for the Galaxy Note 2.

Considering the success of the Galaxy Note and how competitive the 4G LTE market has become, it would not be surprising to see Verizon launch the Galaxy Note 2.

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That being said, there is also talk of a Verizon-bound HTC device that features a 5-inch display and might be Big Red’s Galaxy Note 2 competitor.

It’s also possible that it might carry both.

So, right now, it’s hard to say whether Verizon will get the device but we expect the Galaxy Note 2 to sell very well on the carrier if it does.

Other Carriers

And what about the smaller U.S. carriers? Well, again, the Galaxy Note only launched on AT&T and T-Mobile, two major U.S. carriers which provides a bit of doubt for a future launch on smaller providers.

However, Samsung did launch the Galaxy S III on U.S. Cellular shortly after the big four got it, and the carrier does have a 4G LTE network in place.

It’s possible that the successes of the original Galaxy Note will compel Samsung to launch the device not just on major carriers, but smaller regional ones as well.

13 Comments

13 Comments

  1. Phone Fanatic

    08/08/2012 at 3:08 pm

    Get the T-Mobile Galaxy Note for FREE if you are a new customer or for $29.99 for upgrade customers at Walmart. This is a phenomenal deal. You can even get the no contract version for $350. Pair it with a T-Mobile prepaid plan to save a ton of money.

    • gahboo

      08/09/2012 at 7:25 am

      walmart offers the updrage for 29.99? Is this across all of the walmarts in the us?

  2. guest

    08/08/2012 at 4:33 pm

    The s3 was released in Europe on May 29. That’s basically June. To say that there was a huge delay for the phone to reach the U.S. is very bothersome to me, since in reality it ably took about 3 weeks for the phone to reach the U.S. (AT&T and Sprint made the phone available on June 21st for those who pre ordered the 16gb version). I hardly consider this a huge delay. The s2 took months to reach the U.S. That was a huge delay.

    Though the galaxy note 2 will have delays depends on the market you are talking about, don’t just exclude other, better evidence just because you have an out of date conception of android phones.

  3. James Franlin

    08/08/2012 at 5:40 pm

    Why doesn’t Samsung just release their smartphones simultaneously, worldwide, like Apple has consistently done with its Iphones??? Samsung has copied everything else from Apple’s Iphone! Why not duplicate the worldwide release marketing strategy?

    • Mike

      08/09/2012 at 1:39 pm

      It will be a world wide launch. I don’t think Samsung knew the success it had with the original note. If they are smart they will follow the s3 launch model

    • Geoff Berry

      08/28/2012 at 3:41 am

      I wonder if Apple will copy the Note with a bigger screen for its Iphone products. If so, I would sue them!

  4. Syn

    08/08/2012 at 8:41 pm

    Maybe they are giving the US the finger.

  5. Jay

    08/08/2012 at 9:21 pm

    @Phone Fanatic – Where did you hear about those promotions? T-Mobile’s website shows it at $250 for new customers?

  6. Verizon Rep

    08/09/2012 at 5:49 am

    Good news Verizon will be releasing the Samsung Note 2 September 13, 2012!

    J/K I can keep dreaming can’t I?

  7. Stevo

    08/13/2012 at 9:40 pm

    Where is Motorola’s phablet?

    Earth to Motorola, knock knock!

    Earth to Motorola, knock knock!

  8. zachbritton

    08/18/2012 at 4:52 pm

    This phone is freaking huge but I’m hopeful it has less bugs than Note 1. I think it will be a dualcore LTE Snapdragon for the U.S. I would get the GS3 but it feels like nothing more than a slight upgrade or Galaxy S IIS-type release. I could care less about Jellybean because stock Samsung Android performance is much better than any of the upgrades. This has been true since the S1.

  9. nakitra

    08/27/2012 at 7:09 pm

    i work at the connection center in walmart and we do not have the note for tmobile

  10. Felicia

    09/02/2012 at 12:30 am

    I am mad i been wait on the galaxy note 2 to come out did not use my upgrade because i was wait for it but it say t-mobile not get it so i guess i got to change my service now..

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