New Samsung Galaxy S III

NEW YORK — Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S III, will be launched by the big four national U.S. wireless carriers this month, starting at $199, the phone maker said Monday.

The phone will be carried by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, as well as regional carrier U.S. Cellular, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics said.

T-Mobile and Sprint said they will start selling the phone on June 21. Sprint said the version with 16 gigabytes of memory will cost $200 with a two-year contract. T-Mobile did not say what it would charge. Samsung said the other phone companies will announce launch dates and prices later.

The Galaxy series has emerged as the most popular alternative to Apple’s iPhone. And in a first for a flagship Samsung phone, the Galaxy S III will have the same name across all U.S. carriers.

However, carriers won’t be selling exactly the same phone. Each one will be selling a model adapted to its network.

Galaxy phones run Google’s Android software. The S III has a 4.8-inch screen, for a display area that’s nearly twice large as the iPhone’s. Yet the phone is slightly thinner and lighter.