Samsung Galaxy S3 Set for July Release - Report

Having spurned 2012's Mobile World Congress (MWC), Samsung's highly anticipated Galaxy S3 smartphone will be released in July, according to South African network operators

Mybroadband.co.za issued a conflicting report on Tuesday claiming that South African network Cell C had confirmed that Samsung's next flagship device will be on sale by July, 2012, while competitor Virgin had pegged the unit with a Q3, 2012 release date.

"Cell C said that they are hoping to have the SGS3 available in stores by July 2012 and that pricing will be confirmed at a later stage. Virgin Mobile said that they would range the Samsung Galaxy S3 as soon as it is available, which they reckon to be sometime during Q3 2012," read Mybroadband.co.za's report.

The latest in a long line of claims, Mybroadband.co.za's report follows on from previous speculation suggesting the device would appear in March, at a French media event.

The news stemmed from French site FrAndroid, which suggested a number of unnamed sources had confirmed the Galaxy S3 would be unveiled at the event on 22 March.

The rumoured March unveiling corresponded to a previous rumour suggesting the S3 would be released in April. The estimate stemmed from industry insider Eldar Murtazin, who issued his theory earlier in January, tweeting: "@AllAboutSamsung btw april ss [sic] far as I know," when asked about the device's release date.

Eldar Murtazin, though far from an official information source, has a good track record for calling key industry dates. Already he's had several predictions regarding the fate of Blackberry maker RIM, which have turned out to be correct. Murtazin's comments follow a slew of rumours regarding Samsung's follow up to its popular Galaxy S2.

Unfortunately, the rumour soon lost speed after The Next Web issued its own report claiming Samsung had killed avid fans' hopes and dreams, issuing a statement confirming that while the French media event will occur, the S3 wouldn't be on the guest list.