Samsung Electronics, the nation’s largest handset maker, is poised to move up Galaxy S5’s release date to March 27, from April 11, due to recent developments with the nation’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom.
“If Samsung Electronics rolls out its new smartphones after April 5, it will have a smaller impact on the market through (relying on only) KT and LG Uplus,” an SK Telecom source told The Korea Herald on Monday, explaining why the release date has been moved up.
A subsidy war has forced the government to slap the nation’s telecom operators with business suspensions on a rotational basis.
An employee displays a Galaxy S5 smartphone (left) and new Samsung Gear (center) and Gear Fit wristwatch devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February this year. (Bloomberg)
Another source close to Samsung said, “Although Samsung is a global company, it is based in Korea. It cannot underestimate the impact of the No. 1 carrier SK Telecom.”
“Samsung is considering rescheduling the release date for before April 5, when SK Telecom’s business suspension starts,” he added.
If the Galaxy S5 is unveiled earlier in Korea, the global release date may also be affected, an inside source said.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S5, the latest addition to its flagship Galaxy smartphone series, at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, in February this year.
By Kim Young-won and Shin Ji-hye
(wone0102@heraldcorp.com) (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
