Samsung to move the Galaxy S5 launch date before April 5?

The government ban on smartphone salesin South Korea that we talked about yesterday could pressure Samsunginto launching the Galaxy S5 earlier than planned. To repeat, thethree major South Korean carriers are being punished for illegalsubsidizing with a ban on smartphone sales, including the SamsungGalaxy S5. Due to this, the device won't go on sale until about twoweeks after its planned April 11 launch date.

Although Sammy will debut its flagshipphone in about 150 countries simultaneously, postponing the premierein its home country appears to be undesirable. A source inside SouthKorea Telecom, the nation's largest carrier, stated that if the S5launches after April 5, which is when the government ban will hit thetelecom, the smartphone will "have a smaller impact on themarket" according to a SK Telecom spokesman. If the S5 debuts on April 11, only LG U+, South Korea'ssmallest carrier, will have the opportunity to sell it for a shortperiod between April 11 and 27.

Obviously, this is unacceptable forSamsung. “Although Samsung is a global company, it is based inKorea. It cannot underestimate the impact of the No. 1 carrier SKTelecom.” - an inside source told the Korean Herald, and added- “Samsung is considering rescheduling the release date beforeApril 5 when SK Telecom‘s business suspension starts.”

Another source suggested that an earlySouth Korean launch might affect the global release date as well.Reportedly, the new date is March 27, which is this Thursday. Ifthat's true, then Samsung and the three carriers will have to hastilyput together and promote a launch event. In addition, we doubt thatthe company has produced enough Galaxy S5 units to meet demand. 

Pouring fuel into the fire, a Korean report suggests that Samsung isfacing issues with optics production for the phone's 16MP camerasensor. Due to these difficulties, the company expects to havebetween 4 to 5 million units ready at launch, while it originallyaimed towards 7 million units. Furthermore, pulling the launch eventto March 27 means that the phone will sell for about week and a halfuntil April 5 in South Korea, before sales there are suspended. Thissounds like an awkward plan, considering the huge initial demand forthe phone.

Ultimately, we advice against holdingyour breath for a sudden Thursday launch. But who knows, maybeSamsung and the telecoms will figure out a way to circumvent thegovernment ban and bring the Galaxy S5 earlier than expected.

source: KoreaHerald via G For Games 1,2