AT&T and Samsung Thursday announced that their Samsung Captivate handset – the Android-based phone which was announced in late June – will hit the markets July 18.

The announced release date of Samsung Captivate, which is a part of Samsung’s ‘Galaxy S’ line of handsets, indicates that AT&T will be the first leading US carriers to launch a Samsung Galaxy S model. The T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S – which will go by the name Samsung Vibrant – has been scheduled for a July 21 release, just a few days after the Captivate.

Confirming the release of the Samsung Captivate, AT&T said that the handset has been priced at $199.99 with a two-year lock-in and a required AT&T voice and data plan that begins at a minimum charge of $15.

Powered by Android 2.1, with an upgrade to Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ expected later this summer, the Samsung Captivate features a 1Ghz Samsung Hummingbird processor; a super AMOLED screen; 16GB memory; a
5-megapixel camera; Bluetooth; Wi-Fi; GPS; HD video recording; accelerometer; and a gyroscope for 3D motion sensing.

While the Samsung Captivate marks a broadening of the AT&T horizon, the Samsung ‘Galaxy S’ line of handsets itself marks a notable leap forward for Samsung – especially in the fast-expanding Android scenario. In fact, the Galaxy S line has been named to the CRN list of ‘The 10 Coolest Smartphones of the Year.’