The Galaxy S5 has been officially announced and it’s going to land in markets across the globe beginning on April 11th. While no pricing has been announced because that can vary based on market, we at least have a solid release date for the device. The new Samsung flagship is slated to land in over 150 countries. Registration pages are already going live at wireless carriers and third party retailer’s websites. Here in the US, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and Sprint have already opened their registration pages. We’re seeing some more registration sites go up in the UK too, namely at Vodafone, EE, Phones 4 U, and Carphone Warehouse.
We fully expected all of these companies to have their pages go up quickly. Most other carriers and resellers that are going to stock the GS5 will have their sign-up sites available for consumers within the next few days. Samsung and the folks selling the device will be drumming up as much interest as possible over the next 6 weeks or so. Competitors like HTC and LG will be announcing new devices this spring, too. Samsung wants as many people as possible connected and getting updated information on the Galaxy S5.
The Galaxy S5 is an iterative update on last year’s Galaxy S4. Some users are very pleased with this fact, while others are less than impressed with what Samsung has done. The back of the device is much improved. Samsung has replaced the slimy plastic of the GS4 with a perforated, soft touch design that actually feels great. The device will come in 4 colors; Charcoal Black, Shimmery White, Electric Blue, and Copper Gold. The addition of the fingerprint scanner built-in to the physical home button adds a layer of security and could add additional functionality if Samsung ever opens it up to developers.
While there are improvements, there are other areas that are lacking. The camera has been upgraded from 13-megapixels to 16-megapixels, but the lack of optical image stabilization is a glaring omission. OIS has been standard in high-end smartphones for almost a year. Samsung did update the camera software a bit, particularly the HDR function. Overall, if you liked the Galaxy S4 you’ll probably enjoy the Galaxy S5. Is it enough to make you want to upgrade?