Samsung Galaxy S 2 hits Phones4u a week early -- and T-Mobile a month late

The Samsung Galaxy S 2 is so close we can practically taste it. The dual-core powerhouse is due for release on 1 May, but Phones4u reckons it can put the phone in your hands nearly a week early, while T-Mobile apparently won't see it for another month.

Phone networks O2, Orange, Three and Vodafone are scheduled to sell the phone from 1 May, the official release date. But Phones4u claims it will press the phone into your hot, sweaty hands on 27 April. It appears T-Mobile customers won't get their hands on the S 2 until June, according to the pink-hued network's 'coming soon' page.

That's odd considering Orange and T-Mobile are now the same company, united under the Everything Everywhere banner. Maybe Orange doesn't want to share its sweets? We've contacted T-Mobile for a comment and we'll update you when we hear back.

The S 2 was available to pre-order as early as February, when retailers advertised a 31 March release date. It's starting to look, however, like retailers are using release dates as a marketing ploy to get the likes of us writing about them, advertising those dates even when they aren't set in stone, and then pushing them back without turning a hair.

Since its unveiling earlier this year, the S 2 has been pushed back to an April and finally 1 May release -- but at least the delay saw the phone fired up with an improved processor. The S 2 will now come with a 1.2GHz dual-core chip, instead of the 1GHz model originally planned.

The S 2 is the successor to the Galaxy S, itself currently awaiting an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The S 2 packs a giant, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen and an 8-megapixel camera.

Will you be bagging yourself an S 2 in coming weeks, or have you got your eye on a rival smart-phone powerhouse? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Facebook wall.