Today is going to be a big day for Apple. Every time the computing giant has an announcement, a ton of pundit opinions emerge and interest rises from the non-tech press that few other tech announcements get. You even see it in the weeks beforehand, as outlets everywhere discuss laundry lists of rumors.
Not wanting to get totally lost in the shuffle, etailing giant Amazon (having just had a big announcement of its own) wants to make sure you remember there are other smartphones out there. Specifically, the Samsung Galaxy S III. This superphone is one of the best on the market right now (as we noted in our review last month), and no matter what Apple comes out with today, the Galaxy S III will still be one of the best for some time. While only running Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) at the moment, the S III is soon getting an upgrade to Android 4.1, a.k.a. Jellybean, a.k.a. the smoothest Android experience yet. Amazon is making sure you can get a good deal on any network and has lowered the S III price to $99 for new activation on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T (sorry, T-Mobile fans). If you’re upgrading, you get a drop down to $150.
There’s no way of knowing with certainty what price point a new iPhone will be at should it be announced today, but I’m willing to bet that it will be $199, just based on past experience. That means Amazon — which doesn’t carry the iPhone at all — is making a concerted effort to undercut the smartphone leader with a cheaper option that offers more power than most users need.
It’s impossible to say that this promotion by Amazon is a great deal without an actual next gen iPhone to compare it to. However, solely on the basis of the phone that the Samsung Galaxy S III is, I’d put this firmly in the better than good deal column.
Comments are closed.