The Samsung Galaxy S3 arrived to a serious fanfare in March. Samsung showed off Marble White and Pebble Blue versions which were on route to stores across the globe. When the shops did finally stock S3’s on their shelves however, they were looking decidedly one-sided, with the Pebble Blue variant in seriously limited supply. The drought should finally have passed, as nearly all major UK carriers are reporting availability of both blue and white models.
The lack of Pebble Blue Galaxy S3’s headed to retail stemmed primarily from a production fault in Samsung’s Hyperglaze finish. A treatment unique to the S3, Hyperglaze is the top level coating which provides resilience and grip to the surface finish of the phone’s body. In the blue version, some 600,000 back panels had discrepancies in their Hyperglaze coatings which didn’t meet Samsung’s quality standards, as such, the uneven coating resulted in these 600,000 units having to be discarded and the production started again, thus creating a knock-on delay which is only now rectifying itself at retail.
Based on a quick scout across the leading carriers we have the latest information on availability of the Pebble Blue S3, which will no doubt be music to your ears if the white version didn’t tickle your fancy:
O2 – Both white and blue Samsung Galaxy S3s are in stock, however expect a week for delivery on either colour.
Orange – Currently on the carrier’s website, it states, ‘sorry, the Samsung Galaxy S III Pebble Blue is currently unavailable, but leave your email address and we’ll let you know when it’s back in stock.’
T-Mobile – Although both colours are now available, blue Samsung Galaxy S3s will take 14 days for delivery, as opposed to the white’s next day availability.
Three – Leading the way, both Marble White and Pebble Blue are available now.
Vodafone – The blue variant is available now however only with 16GB of internal storage. No word yet on the 32GB version.
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