Exclusive: Verizon passes on GALAXY S II, but 'similar' Samsung phone launching soon

Verizon Wireless is passing on the Galaxy S II smartphone according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. BGR has confirmed with multiple trusted sources that this is accurate — Samsung will not unveil a Verizon-branded GALAXY S II smartphone next week at its New York City launch event on August 29th. Instead, Samsung will take the wraps off of GALAXY S II handsets that will soon launch on T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T. We’re told two of those carriers will maintain the “GALAXY S II” branding but one may offer a unique name for the handset. BGR has also confirmed, however, that Verizon Wireless will soon launch a Samsung device with very similar specifications — as in, nearly identical specifications — but it just won’t be a “GALAXY S II” phone. Perhaps it will be a new DROID device, a possible successor to the Samsung DROID Charge, or perhaps it will be something else entirely. In either case, Verizon Wireless subscribers certainly should not be worried when they don’t see an S II announced for the nation’s No. 1 carrier on Monday.