Samsung's new Galaxy S3 flagship smartphone has been a huge hit with more than 20 million units sold so far, and that number is only expected to grow as the holiday season is right around the corner. Soon after it became obvious that the regular Galaxy S3 launched with an encrypted bootloader that would never be unlocked, Samsung announced that a Galaxy S3 Developer Edition would soon become available for Verizon's 4G LTE network. Roughly two months later, Samsung has made good on its promise and started selling the Developer Edition of the Verizon version.

Samsung now offers the hacker-friendly device on its Web site. The Galaxy S3 Developer Edition comes in "Pebble Blue" and features the same specs, including the Qualcomm S4 Krait processor and 2GB of RAM, as the regular version, and comes complete with unlockable bootloader and a steep price tag. The 16GB version will set you back $600, while the 32GB version will cost $650.

An unlocked bootloader basically allows users to fully customize their handset as they like, with no limitations. As Verizon is infamously strict about its bootloaders, Samsung opted to sell a separate model with this option.

On the other hand, it took a while for the Developer Edition to become available, and in the meantime the retail version of the Galaxy S3 has already had its bootloader cracked. This means the Developer Edition is more or less the same as the retail version, minus the hefty price tag. It's still encouraging, however, that the device actually made it to store shelves at all, giving an option to those who don't want to deal with a bootloader to begin with.

While this is good news for many, the Galaxy S3 Developer Version already faces a big issue. The device already sold out, and it is currently on back order. Samsung did not say when or if the device will become available again. The company also did not confirm when the handset will be getting the upgrade from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to version 4.1 Jelly Bean.