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Why the Samsung Galaxy S II May Never Come to the U.S.

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A couple of days ago we alerted you to the possibility that negotiations between Samsung and the major mobile carriers in the U.S. were the reason why the Samsung Galaxy S II’ hasn’t launched in the United States. It’s a rumor but one that makes a whole lot of sense considering the Galaxy S II has launched in several big markets worldwide, will launch in Canada next week, but still doesn’t have a release date in the United States.

Galaxy S II

It also has me thinking. Why have these negotiations dragged on for so long and will this phone actually make it to the U.S.? The more that I think about it, the more I feel like it won’t be coming stateside. Here’s why.

It Would Already Be Out

The Samsung Galaxy S II is widely considered to be one of the best Android phones on the market and so it’s hard to believe that Samsung and the U.S. carriers would wait this long to release the phone if they were, in fact, going to release it. If you recall, the original Samsung Galaxy S phone hit U.S. carriers a month after it first launched in Korea. The Galaxy S II is now going on three months since it landed in Korea.

Galaxy S II

I should also note that Canada is notorious for getting phones after they launch in the U.S. and that’s just another reason why I think that this phone would definitely have already hit the United States already if it was actually coming out here.

Carriers Have Other Plans

The timing for a launch in the U.S. is about as horrible as it could get. I touched on this before but I’ll touch on it again. Carriers are probably having a very hard time fitting this phone into their plans for 2011. Let me break it down for you.

AT&T

AT&T has the iPhone 5 on the way this fall. It also just launched a bevy of Android phones (HTC Inspire 4G, Samsung Infuse 4G), has another one coming in the form of the LG Thrill 4G aka Optimus 3D, and will likely have a 4G LTE Android handset out at some point this year. Does it really need another 4G HSPA+ Android phone?

Sprint

Sprint just launched its flagship WiMax phone, the HTC EVO 3D and it will be launching its next WiMax device, the Motorola Photon 4G at some point this summer. With the Motorola Droid Bionic headed to Verizon as major competition in the 4G space, I don’t see Sprint spending the money to nab a non-WiMax version of the Galaxy S II. Even with the ridiculous specs, it would be a tough sell over Motorola and HTC’s devices.

T-Mobile

If any of the carriers do decide to jump on the Samsung Galaxy S II, T-Mobile is the horse I would bet on. Still, it just released the extremely popular HTC Sensation 4G and has another dual-core device on the way in the form of the myTouch 4G Slide. I don’t see T-Mobile announcing this phone until the smoke from those releases has cleared and by then we’ll be in August and people will want to see if the iPhone comes to the Magenta carrier.

Verizon

Verizon just launched two solid 3G phones, the Motorola Droid 3 and the Motorola Droid X2 and it will be launching its first dual-core 4G LTE handset at some point in the next couple of weeks. Why on earth would Big Red release the Samsung Galaxy S II before the Bionic? Won’t happen. So again, we’re looking at a release at some point in August if anything and by then, those who haven’t bought the Bionic will be waiting for the iPhone.

So, there is really no room for this device right now. I’m sure that it could be squeezed in but what’s the point especially after what happened with the Galaxy S devices.

Bad Blood

This is purely speculative on my part but I would not be shocked if there was some bad blood between the U.S. carriers and Samsung after the release of the Galaxy S devices last year. Sure, they sold well, but I wonder how many angry emails and phone calls Sammy and the carriers got from consumers who were promised Froyo shortly after launch but had to wait half a year to get it. Thousands?

Hundreds of thousands?

Millions?

Sure, this is a new phone, but you’ve got to wonder what took place behind the scenes when that debacle was going down and if it in any way has contributed to the U.S. carriers being wary of another Galaxy S device.

We Would Have Seen More Leaks

Plain and simple, this phone has not leaked out with U.S. branding save for a photo that leaked out on Facebook of a phone that supposedly is/was the Samsung Galaxy S II Attain for AT&T. That’s it. These days, phones leak out like hot cakes before they are released. The Galaxy S II? It’s been way too quiet and I have a feeling it’s not because Samsung and the carriers were able to keep it under wraps.

Galaxy S II Attain

And wasn’t it a bit strange that a T-Mobile device was no where to be found when those cases for the Galaxy S II devices for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon leaked out? It certainly rubbed me the wrong way.

No photos, no possible release dates, nada. And in the world of smartphones, especially sought after ones like the Galaxy S II, that’s extremely odd.

What Happens From Here

The more I think about it, the more I get the feeling that this phone will not be hitting the United States. Yes, it’s possible that the launch has been moved back, maybe to outfit the U.S. device with some goodies to better compete with the iPhone 5 but I’m skeptical. A more likely scenario in my mind would be a fairly quiet launch on one or two U.S. carriers in the same fashion as the Samsung Galaxy S 4G for T-Mobile followed by a launch on carriers like U.S. Cellular or Virgin Mobile U.S.

I’d be shocked if there was a full-fledged U.S. launch of the Samsung Galaxy S II at this point and that’s an absolute shame, especially when a recent tear down revealed the phone to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology.

That being said, is anyone still going to be waiting around for this phone? Or have you moved on to potentially greener pastures?

45 Comments

45 Comments

  1. Larry Martin

    07/10/2011 at 8:11 pm

    It is possible that they (ATT & Samsung) don’t want to hurt the sales of the Samsung Infuse.  It basically just came out recently.   The Infuse is selling well and they want to have another phone in line to launch about the time the iphone 5 launches.

    Also, you can bet that part of the reason may be that ATT is working on adding its BLOATWARE to the Galaxy S2 (ATTAIN) phone, if it exists. 

  2. Larry Martin

    07/10/2011 at 8:11 pm

    It is possible that they (ATT & Samsung) don’t want to hurt the sales of the Samsung Infuse.  It basically just came out recently.   The Infuse is selling well and they want to have another phone in line to launch about the time the iphone 5 launches.

    Also, you can bet that part of the reason may be that ATT is working on adding its BLOATWARE to the Galaxy S2 (ATTAIN) phone, if it exists. 

  3. Guest

    07/10/2011 at 8:17 pm

    Im waiting for the Samsung hercules

  4. AGuest

    07/10/2011 at 8:22 pm

    All the current phones AT&T has are crap other than the iPhone. Verizon has a few good phones available but none as good as the Samsung Galaxy S2. TMO has the HTC Sensation, debatable as to people’s preference. Sprint is crap in my area as they don’t offer 4G. With what is on the market now, there are only two phones other than Samsung Galaxy S2 that I would consider, the upcoming iPhone or the Sensation.

    • Stondec

      07/11/2011 at 5:10 am

      I couldn’t disagree with you more strongly. All the high end phones on AT&T are awesome and outspec the iPhone in so many ways and I’m including the infuse 4G. You shouldn’t make such comments when you have no clue.

    • Guest

      07/12/2011 at 10:30 pm

      That’s downright funny. My iPhone owner friends are shocked and amazed by my Infuse. It’s brighter, thinner, bigger screen, has faster internet access, does things their iPhones cannot, etc.

  5. Eludium Q36

    07/10/2011 at 9:17 pm

    “That being said, is anyone still going to be waiting around for this phone? Or have you moved on to potentially greener pastures?”

    I’m in the Wash DC area and I’m holding out for it on Sprint. I was going to retire my TouchPro 2 for the EVO 3D but the Galaxy S II SAMOLED+ display is to die for, it has a kickstand that HTC stupidly dispensed with, and it’s future-proofed with NFC. It’s alright with me that it may debut later than the rest of the world because it means they can fine tune the GS2 and resolve alot of initial engineering issues with it making for a more stable US release. I’ll pass on the Photon because its display is normal (albeit qHD) LCD and the 1-Ghz Tegra2 processor significantly lags Samsung’s 1.2Ghz (rumored 1.4 too) Exynos. I really, really want the GS2 on Sprint sometime here in Q3, otherwise it’ll be the EVO 3D for me.

    • Kavin Nguyen

      07/10/2011 at 9:35 pm

      Since when did the GSII comes with a kickstand? None of the GSII out in other countries have NFC (Yet), so you can’t say for sure that the US version will have it. When it comes to clock speed, you can easily overclock the processor. My G2x (Tegra 2) @1.5Ghz will runs circles around the GSII’s quadrant scores.

  6. Marcia

    07/10/2011 at 9:37 pm

    I had been waiting for the Moto Bionic but when I discovered the Samsung Galaxy S2 I decided to buy it instead. I hope it comes to Verizon this month as the previous rumors have stated. My contract was up in March and I am growing very tired of waiting for these phones to be released!

    • Bob231

      07/11/2011 at 12:54 am

      I had been waiting for the bionic, too.  Well, I still sorta am.  For me its a tough choice between the GS2 and the Bionic because, though the GS2 has a faster processor and a better display, the Bionic has a better keyboard (I do a lot of texting), a bigger screen, and Motoblur, which I happen to like.

  7. anna

    07/10/2011 at 10:08 pm

    I’m frustrate as I want this phone!!!
    maybe i’ll just buy the iPhone 5 now to spite Samsung.

  8. Gbgood

    07/11/2011 at 12:25 am

    “I had been waiting for the Moto Bionic but when I discovered the Samsung Galaxy S2 I decided to buy it instead.” 

     Me too…

    …and if Verizon doesn’t come out with it soon…  as soon as anybody does, I’m getting one, and the hec with my $100 discount at Verizon…

    G-man

  9. Kevin

    07/11/2011 at 12:34 am

    I’ll buy either the Bionic or the GalaxySII, whichever comes out first. 

  10. Kevin Kelley

    07/11/2011 at 1:16 am

    If this phone doesn’t get a launch in the US I’m switching to a landline.  Possibly a rotary phone.  I hear they are quite snazzy.

  11. Alan Robertson

    07/11/2011 at 1:34 am

    Ooh I love the irony of reading this article on a SGS II :-) (I’m in the UK)

    • Realitycheck

      07/11/2011 at 5:45 pm

      So you lose already being in the U.K………..

  12. Alan Robertson

    07/11/2011 at 1:34 am

    Ooh I love the irony of reading this article on a SGS II :-) (I’m in the UK)

  13. Anonymous

    07/11/2011 at 1:46 am

    Its coming at the end of July.

    • Matt Voran

      07/11/2011 at 7:56 pm

      oh ok.   thanks for all the hard evidence and what not.  I suppose we can just take your word for it…. 

      I think the author has made some great points here….. I’m not holding my breath and have been saying for MONTHS that I wont believe it till I see those sprint bands clear the FCC.

  14. s0uth

    07/11/2011 at 10:17 pm

    Great speculations. But we can only wait and see what happens in the next few months. Hope all ur wishes come true. Lol.

  15. s0uth

    07/11/2011 at 10:17 pm

    Great speculations. But we can only wait and see what happens in the next few months. Hope all ur wishes come true. Lol.

  16. Ryan

    07/11/2011 at 11:50 pm

    That leaked pic is an infuse. I would know im typing on mine right now.

  17. Ryan

    07/12/2011 at 12:01 am

    Here is the link for the infuse dock that is in the fake leak pic. https://www.all4cellular.com/samsung-infuse-4g-multimedia-desktop-dock.html

  18. Anonymous

    07/12/2011 at 4:25 pm

    Epic 4g is running on wimax, so chill out. Next time do your home work, before posting some thing crap like this. If sgs1 aka Samsung epic has wimax why not sgs2? Is this a glamour magazine

  19. Horizon98

    07/13/2011 at 3:18 am

    What about the whole launch of the S2 into space from the Nevada desert in a few days?  It would make sense to somehow tie that to a US release or at least date announcement.  They could have launched the balloon anywhere really.

    If you are right then I suppose the Bionic or Photon are decent competitors, better res screens too.  

  20. Anonymous

    07/16/2011 at 5:16 pm

    Verizon sucks. This “Droid” line they push are specific to Vzw. They wont carry the Nexus phones or anything “pure” in Android. I don’t see the S-GSII coming to Vzw. I am really disappointed and contemplating a move to Sprint. To hell with my grandfathered unlimited data plan.

  21. Solo45

    07/18/2011 at 7:15 pm

    I agree. I was one of the many who was disppointed and angry over the whole Froyo debacle. Add insult to injury when I finally got Froyo it broke my phone. Samsungs tech support isn’t any good either. I don’t think I will ever buy Samsung again.

  22. Alex

    07/27/2011 at 7:15 pm

    Nope, it’s coming! Engadget article earlier today: “Samsung Galaxy S II with WiMAX stops by the FCC on its way to Sprint”

    Source: https://www.engadget.com/2011/07/27/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-with-wimax-stops-by-the-fcc-on-its-way-to-sp/

  23. Zacharius Kioussis

    07/30/2011 at 4:54 pm

    Samsung has confirmed a august release 

    Rumored Verizon will get it first on aug 12th and then other will follow in a week or 2

  24. Vwgti2010

    08/27/2011 at 2:20 am

    Verizon drops the Galaxy S2. They want to promote the iPhone5, and don’t want any competition.

  25. Vwgti2010

    08/27/2011 at 2:21 am

    Verizon announced that they won’t carry the GS 2, they said they have lots of Droid phones available. Trouble is, they’re all inferior to GS 2.

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