No one was really surprised when it was announced that the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III would have a locked bootloader yet the news was still disheartening to hear. Then Samsung dropped down like an angel from the heavens with a landing page for an unlocked “Developer Edition” Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon. Customers could’t wait for the “coming soon” to be dropped and have themselves a proper Galaxy S III on Verizon.

Time passed, and passed, and passed… and still… no “Developer Edition.” Thankfully hackers didn’t wait around for Samsung and got working right away — eventually unlocking the bootloader without Samsung’s help. It wasn’t until recently that Samsung finally got around to making the “Developer Edition” available, but by that point, it didn’t really matter.

While there really wasn’t a reason for anyone to purchase a full retail “Developer Edition” Samsung Galaxy S III when they could easily get a subsidized one from Verizon and still unlock the bootloader, there is a reason now.

There’s a deal right now using coupon code ‘sertea‘ that knocks off $120-$130 (depending on storage model) from full retail — making the Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon (with no contract) an attractive deal. Not to mention, anyone with a grandfathered “unlimited plan” will still get to keep that plan (for now) by purchasing a full retail device.

The unlocked bootloader is now a trivial point, but saving $100+ off of retail on a Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon and not having to sign a contract is not.

Both models appear to be backordered as of this article but the deal still applies for now. If you’re interested hit up the links below.

Samsung Galaxy S® III (Verizon), 16GB Developer Edition

Samsung Galaxy S® III (Verizon), 16GB Developer Edition

• ViaReddit