Samsung S5 On Sale in South Korea, Despite Carrier Sales Ban
The Samsung Galaxy S5 was reported for sales on most carriers all over the world. However, each one of them started pre-order programs for offering Samsung’s latest flagship. Now, it appears that the handset is selling well in South Korea, the only market in the world where it is currently available.
However, this happens despite a partial sales ban affecting local carriers, providing enough reasons to taking about Samsung’s flagship as a real hit.
The carrier sales ban occurred earlier this year, when the local communications watchdog released a 45-day sales interdiction for South Korean carriers. This followed the carriers’ repeated violation of rules, and it has banned them from offering phone subsidies higher than $250.
The banning period would have prevented it from offering the Galaxy S5 on April 11, the initial release date scheduled in the whole world. In this respect, SK Telecom, one of the three largest Korean carriers, released the device last week, despite the sales ban and even without Samsung’s consent.
Soon after, Korea Telecom and LG Uplus follows the SK Telecom’s lead and they released the debated Smartphone immediately. The interdiction only allowed them to sell the device to customers who need replacement devices.
To put this clear, the Galaxy S5 is only fully available at one carrier, while the other two ones can see limited quantities. Despite the sale limitation, the device has been sold out on an average of 7,000 units every day, a bit below the 8,000 limit of the Galaxy S4 when it was launched. In the same time, it is worth mentioning the fact that these are no-subsidy sales and the S5 is slightly cheaper that its predecessor, at an $820 starting price, compared to the $850 from last year.
As you may imagine, the South Korea is not an actual selling point, since it is relatively small. However, Samsung dominates the Smartphone market. If the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be sold the same in the rest of the world, on the other marketplaces, as it happened in South Korea, Samsung might record top sales. After the disappointing sales from the last year, this might be a step forward for the Korean manufacturer.
However, we will know for sure on April 11th, when the device goes on sales in over 150 countries all over the world. How about you? Have you placed your pre-order or you are just waiting to purchase the device right in its release day?
