When Samsung announced their new flagship, the Galaxy S5, they made it known that the release would be a blitzkrieg and hit nearly 150 countries on April 11. There was no indication if Canada would be included on the April 11 launch, nor what their pricing scheme would be…although we did hear that Samsung was keeping the price the same as its predecessor, the Galaxy S4. We expect it to be on eleven Canadian carriers – Bell, Eastlink, Fido, Koodo, MTS, Rogers, SaskTel, TELUS, Videotron, Virgin Mobile and Wind Mobile. Pre-registrations soon popped up on Virgin Mobile, confirming it would be available in April. Bell has gone live, Videotron has gone live, and pre-registration with Rogers will allow you to choose between either the black or white model. Fido has also updated its site for new or existing customers to reserve online.
The pre-registrations is basically giving the carrier your email address to allow them to contact you about the launch…these went live back on February 24, and our source has now been informed that the release is near and that TELUS will start taking Galaxy S5 pre-orders “at the end of the month.” According to their email, TELUS is “targeting” $249 for a two-year contract price on the Galaxy S5. The email also reminds them to “Please note these prices may change,” and our source is hopeful that the price may actually be lower. The was still no word on the retail price, but it should come in somewhere around $700. Many are disappointed in the new Galaxy S5, saying that it is not much more than a refined Galaxy S4…but it does have improved specs all around. It is probably visually most disappointing, with the same basic look as the other Galaxy models. The back of the device has caused the most controversy – some say it looks like dimples on a golf ball and others equate it to a Band-Aid!
The LTE-enabled Galaxy S5 will run Android’s latest 4.4.2 KitKat, sport a 5.1-inch Full HD display of 1920x1080p with 432ppi, and carry a 16MP camera. Powering the device is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.5GHz with 2GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage and a 2800 mAh battery. It will also be dust and water-resistant with a military spec IP67 rating and Samsung has announced it will come in Black, White, Blue, and Gold.