Quad-core Samsung Galaxy S3 4G hits Optus in September, Telstra in October

LG may have been the first manufacturer to announce a quad-core 4G phone last week at IFA, but Samsung may have beaten the company to releasing one locally with a 4G Galaxy S3 becoming available to Australians on 4G networks in the next few weeks.

The 4.8 inch Samsung Galaxy S3 will arrive in the middle of September with a new variant, complete with a 4G modem capable of jumping on the 1800MHz band used by both the Optus and Telstra 4G networks.

Outside of the connection, very little has changed with the smartphone, with the Galaxy S3 handset still featuring a 1280×720 HD 4.8 inch Super AMOLED screen, 8 megapixel rear camera, 1.9 megapixel front camera, 16 to 32GB storage, microSD slot, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, and a 2100mAh battery.

Google’s Android has been updated – as have the colours of the handset – shifting the Galaxy S3 to version 4.1, also known as “Jelly Bean,” a version if the operating system that current Galaxy S3 users are waiting on Samsung and the Australian telcos to release to the general public.

The 4G Galaxy S3 will be available in black and gray.

“The Australian market continues to demonstrate a diverse set of consumer needs and we are committed to responding to this with a wide portfolio of products,” said Samsung Australia’s Tyler McGee. “Following the recent success of the Samsung Galaxy S III, the addition of the 4G powered Galaxy S III Onyx Black and Titanium Gray is part of our ongoing commitment to leading the charge in technology innovation and choice.”

Interestingly, we won’t be seeing this model replace the 3G Galaxy S3 that has been on sale for a few months, with Samsung announcing that the original will “continue to be available in Pebble Blue and Marble White.”

Whether or not the recommended retail price of the 3G model will go down in light of the 4G model remains to be seen.

Availability of the 4G Galaxy S3 will happen over the next few weeks, however, with Optus receiving the first batch exclusively from September 15 to coincide with the carrier’s 4G launch, and Telstra receiving it in October.