Late last night Samsung finally announced what many in the Android-loving community have been waiting for: carriers, pricing and availability dates for the Galaxy SIII. Well, wonder no more because the flagship smartphone will launch on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile starting in June.

“The U.S. launch of the Galaxy S III is the most anticipated launch of the year. As promised, we are delivering the ‘next big thing’ for U.S. customers and across all major carriers,” president of Samsung America Dale Sohn said in a statement. “Galaxy S III introduces new technological innovation and takes sharing to the next level.”

For Verizon, preorder availability will begin on June 6th with the device priced at $199.99 for the 16GB model. The 32GB model will cost $249.99 with a two-year contract, and both models will be available in either white or blue. T-Mobile confirmed that it will launch its version of the Galaxy S III on June 21 but no pricing was given.

Sprint will offer the device starting on June 21st, with preorders beginning Tuesday, June 5th. It will come in two versions, a 16GB model for $199.99 and a 32GB model for $249.99. Sprint is also the only U.S. carrier to preload Google Wallet on the device.

Nothing from AT&T yet but we expect that announcement to come soon. In the meantime, Samsung’s full press release is after the break.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is going to give multiple smartphone and tablet manufacturers early access to the latest builds of Android to build devices and then sell those directly to consumers through the Play Store. Google will supposedly have these devices ready in time for the launch of the next version of Android, code named Jelly Bean, which is ser to bow in November.

In the past Google has selected one company to make its “Nexus” devices. Most recently, that company was Samsung. Recently, Google began to sell the Galaxy Nexus directly through its Play Store and had a page of the store dedicated to devices plural. This, of course, begged the question as to what other devices were going to be sold there. Perhaps this new development answers that question.

According to the Journal’s source, this new plan would give Google “more control over the apps that run on smartphones and tablets powered by Android, thus reducing the influence of wireless carriers over such devices.” Gotta say, that sounds pretty good as I think carriers have way too much influence as it is.

Google+ hasn’t quite caught on with people as much as something like Twitter or Facebook, at least not yet. However, that hasn’t stopped Google from trying make it the best social networking experience possible.

Going a long way towards that goal is the update to its Google+ app or iOS users, which the company rolled out late yesterday. With the new update, users will see a completely redone user experience and Google’s goal is to basically simplify and beautify Google+. They released a statement on this new philosophy:

To be clear, we’re not interested in a mobile or social experience that’s just smaller. We’re embracing the sensor-rich smartphone (with its touchable screen and high-density display), and transforming Google+ into something more intimate, and more expressive.

Sounds good. And if you check out the app, you can see they’ve done pretty much what they set out to do. The new version of the app is extremely well done and, dare we say it, quite beautiful.

To some, the arrival of the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE is even more momentous than the recent announcement of the Samsung Galaxy SIII. Count me as one in this camp.

As a Verizon customer I’ve been waiting for something cool to hit the network which sports a lot of great new features and runs on Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich). This new device from HTC just may fit the bill.

For various reasons, we are not at the CTIA conference in New Orleans right now. However, the folks at Droid Life are and they managed to get some pics and video of the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE (that’s a mouthful) and have graciously shard it with the world at large.

According the site, their initial reaction to seeing the device in the flesh (so to speak) was: “Smallish device with some great specs that will be a winner if priced right.” That pretty much jives with what we thought.

I would also agree with Droid Life’s assessment that this device isn’t the HTC One X or even the S. It fills a different segment of HTC’s market and will probably do pretty well.

If I didn’t hate AT&T so much I would consider an unlocked HTC One X or, perhaps, even this one with Verizon. However, for the moment, I will stick with the Galaxy Nexus unlocked on T-Mobile and my trusty iPhone 4S. I think that’s a great couple of devices.

Anyone have any other opinions? Also, be sure to check out the video after the break.

When you think of companies who innovate and come out with compelling new features ahead of the competition, Apple may spring to mind as a leader in that area. However, as this new commercial from Android seeks to remind you, Apple isn’t always first with new, innovative concepts and products.

In fact, where the “cloud” is concerned at least, it would seem Apple is well behind another upstart tech company: Google. Today’s newly released Galaxy Nexus/Android commercial highlights that idea. In a nutshell, the commercial reminds users (and potential users) that you don’t need a separate “cloud” service add-on to take advantage of those features in an Android/Google world, you just need an account. An account you probably already have.

To take advantage of this service, simply sign-in to your Google account on your Android phone and you have access to it all: email, contacts, calendars, browser info, and more. It’s really that simple.

Let’s face it, Apple is a great company that does a lot of things well. Sadly, they haven’t ever really gotten the whole “cloud” thing right. Not with .mac, not with Mobile Me and not really with iCloud either. Google, on the other hand, has done a great job and was pretty much there from the beginning before the “cloud” was even a thing. Let’s give credit where credit is due. Google does it right.

Check out the new commercial after the break.