Galaxy S II Not Available In the US Because of Lack of Interest?

Android Community via GottaBeMobile suggests the reason why the Galaxy S II, already sold more than the original Galaxy S, is not in the US market is because of lack of interest among the carriers.  

A Samsung source said that negotiations with carriers have "dragged on" and goes so far as to suggest that the main CDMA carriers, Verizon and Sprint, have alternative devices from Motorola that are compelling enough to work on their networks and may be better than Samsung's offering.

However, that does not make sense because there are GSM carriers that would be happy to carry the S2 as I like to call it.  

There is something interesting in the GBM post worth noting.  The iPhone.  With its pending release late summer to early fall, it could be reason enough for carriers to wait for its release since they know that they'll be selling quite a few of those.  

However, since it means that only two carriers at this time have a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone, Sprint and T-Mobile would need to get it as well.  Otherwise, it makes no sense to pass on the Galaxy S II so far.  

I think the article is right about the iPhone being a factor but I disagree with the conclusion offered by their sources.  

The iPhone, whichever network sells in this fall, is going to be a huge success.  Last year, ATT was the sole wireless provider in the US for the iPhone 4 with Verizon Wireless starting to sell it in Feb of this year.  This fall, two or more carriers will be offering it.  This new iPhone's success is at least guaranteed to be on par with the iPhone 4 but, more likely, it will outpace those huge sales.  

When Samsung announced it sold 3 million Galaxy S II, beating the original by about a month to get to that figure, it was a message to all other carriers - we have a phone that you'll want to carry and here are our terms.  It put Samsung in a pretty strong position.

By dragging their feet before coming to terms with Samsung and the expected iPhone sales explosion, the carriers put themselves in a better negotiation position as far as wholesale prices and subsidies go.

So look for any kind of movement by Samsung or the carrier for the rest of summer.  If the carriers start to sell the Galaxy S II, it's probably because Samsung sweetened the deal a bit to beat the next iPhone to the market.  However, that window could soon close with each passing day, the next iPhone launch comes closer.