Samsung Galaxy S4 launched at Rs 41,500 in India; to take on Apple’s iPhone

NEW DELHI Samsung expects sales from its latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S4, that was launched on Friday and boasts of several never-seen-before features, to be around three times higher than its predecessor Galaxy S3, said a senior executive of the company.

“The (sales of) S2 trebled the sales of Galaxy S, the S3 trebled sales of S2 and I see no reason why we will not have enormous growth on S4 over any of its predecessors. The sheer anticipation in the market has been unprecedented,” said Samsung Mobile vice president Asim Warsi.

The lightweight Android handset, which comes in 16/32/64 GB variants, has a 5-inch Super Amoled screen and costs Rs 41,500 for a 16-GB internal memory version.

The market operating price of the device is expected to be lower than the retail price. The S4 is available for sale online and will be up for sale in Samsung’s premium brand stores in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai on Saturday for four hours.

Pan-India retail sales will begin over the next week. In India, the Samsung S4 will compete with the likes of Apple iPhone5, HTC One, BlackBerry Z 10 and Nokia Lumia 920, in the price range of Rs 35,000 to Rs 45,000.

Customers planning to buy the S4 will be able to avail an equal monthly installment ( EMI) scheme which will drop the price barrier for consumers looking to upgrade.

The ongoing EMI scheme valid on Galaxy S3, Galaxy Grand and Note 2 offers 15% cash-back on existing smartphones, zero per cent interest and no down payment.




Consumers can opt to pay the full price of the phone in equal staggered payments over a maximum of 12 months. A company executive told ET that the modalities of this scheme for S4 were being worked out, adding it may not include the cash-back offer.

Samsung has sold more than 50 million S3 smartphones worldwide, head of Samsung’s mobile division JK Shin told international media last month.

Research firm Jefferies & Company was quoted by tech journal BGR as saying that Samsung is making about 100 million S4 devices, indicating the quantum of sales it expects for its flagship product.

Samsung S4 comes with a bundled data and voice offer from Vodafone for pre-paid and post-paid customers. On a rental of Rs 1,199, post-paid users will get 3-GB internet, up to 3,000 local and national voice minutes and 750 local and national text messages, worth Rs 12,000 a year.