Samsung intended to release the Galaxy S5 on April 11th in South Korea. However, SK Telecom, the largest mobile carrier in the county, saw fit to release the handset today. And no one at Samsung seems to know why. The Associated Press reports they are “very puzzled”.
Several more Korean mobile carriers also plan on releasing the phone early, due to a 45-day ban on acquiring new users. This is a result of multiple illegal subsidies, which led the Korean Government regulator to impose the ban. “We decided to release the product for a wider consumer choice of handsets before our operation suspension begins on April 5,” according to Irene Kim, a spokeswoman for SK Telecom.
Samsung still insists the Galaxy 5 is going to be released on April 11th. We won’t tell anyone if you won’t.
What Sparks Our Fire: Very confusing Korean cell phone politics. But on the plus side we get a nice early viewing of the G5.
What do you think of this release snafu?