Could the newest Samsung flagship, the highly anticipated Galaxy S III, be weeks away from being announced? That is the claim of Eldar Murtazin, the Russian tech blogger. Murtazin tweeted “HD resolution, 12 mpx camera, sw tweaks, android 4 - i like my new phone. Eager to see official announcement in Barcelona.”

By official announcement in Barcelona, he means it will be announced at the MWC in Barcelona in February and if it follows the timeline of the Galaxy S II (which was also announced at the MWC), it could hit shelves by April.

No speculation on when the US will see the device, but it was nearly 5 months from the European release to when the Galaxy S II hit US shores. This is one of the more credible rumors that have come out about the device as Murtazin is well connected and seems to frequently find a way to get phones prior to release. Some skepticism can be expected as he has been wrong before (see "Google phone rumor was started by Apple") and the specs he quotes are general expectations of what the phone is assumed to have on board.

Murtazin didn't come out and say anything specific about the processor, but hinted at a quad core in the 1.5-1.6 GHz range. A lot of speculation was confirmed with his tweet. A HD resolution screen would follow the progression of phone displays, as would the advancement to a 12 megapixel camera. SW tweaks and Android 4 is most likely referring to Ice Cream Sandwich with a Touchwiz skin. He later said that the phone was "fast" and had good battery life.

Murtazin finished breaking news by claiming Nokia would release the Lumia 900 in Europe as the Lumia 910 with a higher megapixel camera in May, but would be too late to compete with the Galaxy S III.

Samsung Galaxy S3 rendering courtesy of Social-Catalog.com.

 

Source: "Samsung Galaxy S III rumored to go on sale in April: HD screen, quad-core processor, 12-megapixel camera, running ICS"