Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II heading to Verizon later this year

Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II for Verizon

Samsung and Verizon have teamed up yet again to release the Galaxy Stratosphere II, a follow-up to theSamsung Stratosphere released one year ago. Like its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that works in landscape mode. It has upgraded in other areas to include a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen and a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. Connectivity options include support for Verizon's 4G LTE network and Global Ready certification for use in more than 200 countries outside of the United States.

The Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II also has Samsung S Beam to support NFC-based media sharing, Samsung Media Hub for TV and movie purchases, and Samsung's custom version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software. The custom layer of Android has added enterprise features for working with VPN's, Mobile Device Management, and 256-bit encryption for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync.

Verizon and Samsung have not yet released any specific information on a release date, but they have stated that the Galaxy Stratosphere II will cost $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. The phone will be released in the "coming weeks," likely before the end of the year based on language in the announcement.