Samsung phone on sale in Dubai one week early

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 Android smartphone is reportedly already on sale in Dubai, a week before its global launch. The smartphone, slated as the most pre-ordered Android device to date, was originally scheduled to make its debut in Europe at the end of the month but tech websites across the world have reported that the phone is already being sold in stores across Dubai. The first report came from social news site Reddit after a customer spotted a “now available” sign for the smartphone outside a local store. Another customer sent a picture to website Verge claiming to have purchased the phone for around US$680. It is not known if the Dubai stores received the smartphone early or whether retailers have broken the release date. Samsung toppled Apple as the world’s biggest smartphone maker in the first quarter, boosted by its Galaxy devices running on Google’s free Android software. Samsung Electronics has received some nine million pre-orders for its third-generation Galaxy S smartphone, Korea Economic Daily reported last week. Samsung said in April that the new Galaxy smartphone would “substantially contribute” to its second-quarter earnings. From Arabian Business