Last week it was the HTC One, this week its Galaxy 4
Telco battle it out for new Samsung Galaxy S4 which goes on sale instore this Saturday and is currently on pre-sale.
Samsung her phone was launched here earlier this week with much fanfare at Sydney Opera House.
But rumours abounded that there is supply shortages of the S4, with Samsung not able to keep up with demand of its new larger 5 inch Full HD Super AMOLED hero phone, with 13Mp camera and a bundle of clever tools like Eye scroller, S Health, S Translator.
However, head of Samsung’s marketing of mobile business confirmed shortages of S4 yesterday,
“We’ve received many more pre-orders than expected, so we are having difficulties in rapidly increasing supply in a short period,” Lee Don-joo, said.
“The Galaxy S4 is getting good reaction worldwide so we expect its success to surpass that of its predecessor Galaxy S3.”
Samsung Australia were not available for comment.
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At the S4 launch on Tuesday night, Samsung did not supply all media
attendees with a phone but said it would be delivering devices shortly.
“There are some constraints with availability, Samsung is barely able to keep up with demand at present ” an exec from a electronics retailer told CN, last week. However, “this [demand] is always a good sign” he said.
Telcos in the US have delayed the sale of the Samsung hero phone, reports Financial Times.
Optus is already sold out of presale stock of S4, according to its website. However, the other telcos appear to still have stocks.
Incidentally, rival Android phone, HTC One, also recently suffered
supply shortages, which delayed the sale of the device in Australia and
elsewhere.
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The S4 is due to go on sale this Saturday in Oz.
Telstra Mobile Director, Andrew Volard, said “Tens of thousands of customers have already registered their interest” in their new Galaxy 4, which is “our most anticipated Android phone launch yet.”
Telstra S4 plans range from $30, $50, $80 right up to $130.
Its $80 plan has a $7 handset repayment
per month includes $800 worth of national calls and MMS, and unlimited
text messaging and 1.5GB of data with a $7 monthly handset fee.
The phone will also be available outright in select Telstra stores from 27 April for $816.
“We will be opening our Sydney icon store one hour early tomorrow. The Samsung GALAXY S 4 goes on sale at 9am in Sydney,” a Telstra spokesperson told CN today.
Samsung has rolled out a massive ad campaign but its plans for phone domination may be scuppered if its can’t meet demand. But shortages may also work in its favour and create even more hype around its latest Galaxy.
The telcos too are hyping up the S4 launch but Virgin Mobile has one of the cheapest plans of the lot.
Optus is selling their Samsung S4 on a $60 24 month contract.
That $60 Plan gets you $650 worth of calls, unlimited text messaging and free unlimited calls to Optus Mobiles. It also includes 1.5GB of data.
This week Optus announced it would be giving all buyers of a phone on a $60 plan (or over) a bonus 8000 Qantas Frequent Flyer Bonus.
To lure consumers into its stores on Saturday for Galaxy 4 sale, Optus be treating customers to a “first-class experience in celebration of the Qantas Frequent Flyer (QFF) Bonus offer.”
The first 100 to sign up to a $60 or over postpaid mobile plan will also receive a airline-themed travel pack as well.
At, Vodafone it costs you an extra $5 per month on its $60 Plan on a 24-month contract, which includes $700 worth of standard and international calls as well as 1.5GB of data.
Vodafone is also offering bonus data with its Galaxy S4 plans. Sign up and you get an extra 1GB of data every month for 12 months of your 24 month contract on a $60 plan or above.
Virgin Mobile Is offering the S4 on a $59 Plan that includes $700 worth of calls and texts as well as 3GB worth of 4G data. making it the most affordable of deals on offer.
But it also has ‘Mate Rates’ starting at $48.
