Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date Coming: Device Listed By Indian Retailer For $735 Following Huge Price Cut For Galaxy S4

After Samsung (KRX:005935) announced, during the unveiling of the Galaxy S5 smartphone last month, that the device would be available for purchase starting April 11 in more than 150 countries, the latest flagship handset has been spotted on the website of an Indian retailer with a price tag, more than a month ahead of the scheduled release date.

According to the listing of the Galaxy S5 on Saholic, an Indian e-commerce site, users can now purchase the 16GB version of the device for 45,500 rupees ($735), but the product will only be delivered to buyers by March 7. In addition, the website also says customers would be eligible to receive a small fee of 50 rupees ($0.8) for each day the order is delayed after the guaranteed date of delivery. The retailer’s claim is considered to be a bold one, given that most other retailers are yet to start pre-orders for the Galaxy S5, SamMobile reported.

The Indian price tag of $735 for the 16GB version of the Galaxy S5 is lower than retailer listings in Europe and Germany, which suggest that the device could cost around $1,000 in those markets.

According to SamMobile, it is likely that Samsung wants to price the Galaxy S5 lower in price-sensitive India to compete with other manufacturers. For instance, LG Electronics (KRX:066570) has launched the LTE version of its G2 smartphone in India for 46,000 rupees (about $745).

Although Saholic’s listing of the Samsung Galaxy S5 looks legitimate, the site’s claim of delivering the new handset more than a month before the official launch date should give enthusiastic buyers some pause.

Last week, TmoNews reported that the T-Mobile variant of the Galaxy S5 could come with a price tag of $672, $48 more than the current price of the Galaxy S4.

The Galaxy S5's pricing details appeared on Saholic one day after Samsung cut prices of the existing Galaxy S4 in India, which is now available at nearly 30,000 rupees ($485). The price cut is seen to be huge, considering that the Galaxy S4 hit the Indian market at 41,000 rupees ($662).

The Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920x1080 pixel resolution and 432 ppi. While there is not much of a change to the handset’s design, the back cover now comes with a dotted pattern.

The Galaxy S5 runs the latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat and is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, accompanied by Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB RAM. The handset is IP67 certified and is dust- and water-resistant.

Other key features and specs of the Galaxy S5 include a 16-megapixel rear camera with an auto focus speed at 0.3 seconds, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, a fingerprint scanner and a heart-rate sensor.

Here is the screen shot of the Galaxy S5 price listing on Saholic: