Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE Version Expected To Drop In October

Interested in the Galaxy S3? If you're deciding between the iPhone 5 and grabbing an Android phone, here's something you should take note of: the Galaxy S3 should be getting an LTE variant in the coming months.

Granted, there's no exact release date, and all we have to go on is a few reports, but an LTE Galaxy S3 would be a compelling alternative to the iPhone 5. 

Website GForGames reports that they had the chance to get their hands on an LTE version of a Sapphire Black version of the Galaxy S3 at the IFA conference in Berlin recently.

A screenshot shows that a Galaxy S3 with 4G LTE capabilities will launch in the 40th week in Germany. This would indicate a date of October 1-7. Good news for all you European consumers looking to get your hands on a smartphone other than the iPhone 5. 

The strange thing about the screenshot is that GForGames reports that they had their hands on a black LTE Galaxy S3 running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The screenshot, however, indicates that the LTE Galaxy S3 has the older, Android Ice Cream Sandwich as its operating system. Samsung is expected to roll out an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update in the coming weeks to unlocked SIM-free phones, however, so expect both the non-LTE Galaxy S3, and the LTE Galaxy S3 (after its release) to be running Jelly Bean by the end of 2012.

Samsung's Galaxy S3 is the company's flagship smartphone. In its first 100 days, the Galaxy S3 sold over 20 million units, making it Samsung's most successful smartphone. After overtaking the iPhone 4S sales in the last months, it has showed that Apple's smartphone isn't the only one that can take capture consumers' imaginations.

There is no release date or official statement from Samsung about an LTE Galaxy S3 hitting the United States, but as iPhone 5 mania ramps up, you can bet that Samsung is working hard at getting out as many compelling devices as it can to combat the Apple brand.