At Mobile World Congress 2014 Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S5, its latest flagship smartphone. The company announced that its latest flagship will be released in more than 100 countries around the world on April 11th. Some carriers in South Korea have already started selling it before they’re slapped with a sales ban. It appears that Samsung Galaxy S5 release is happening a bit early in the U.S. as well. Several third party retailers appear to have jumped the gun, as they have already started selling the new phone through Amazon.
Galaxy S5 is going to be offered by major U.S. carriers as well, and they’re all holding off till April 11th. The obvious advantage of buying from carriers is that they subsidize the price, so as long as customers are willing to sign a two year service contract, or in T-Mobile’s case make equal monthly payments for the device over 24 months, its well worth the wait.
However, customers who don’t have any issues with putting down a significant amount of cash for an unlocked and off-contract Galaxy S5 don’t have to wait. As many as five third party retailers have started selling Galaxy S5 through Amazon, where its going for north of $800. They promise shipping within 1-2 business days, meaning that if you place your order day, the Galaxy S5 may very well be in your hands a week before the official release.
