The Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini, to be launched in India within a week, will be priced at an effective rate of around Rs 24,000 in India, according to sources. The MRP will be higher.
The phone will be launched in about a week, and is made in Vietnam, and not China, as most smartphones are.
The phone could see its price fall to about 18,000-20,000 a month after launch as Samsung typically charges a higher margin on its products in the initial stages.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 mini is resistant to sweat, rain, liquids, sand and dust, according to the company.
The phone will target the mid-segment and will have a 4.5-inch 720p Super Amoled display and will support dual-SIM capability.
It will support 3G in four bands and come with Glonass, GPS location technology.
It may be noted that the Motorola G, which has very similar specifications, is available for just Rs 10,500. In addition, Samsung is facing the heat from Xiaomi Mi3 which has sold around 50,000 handsets in four weeks, and is scheduled to sell more tomorrow. The Xiaomi Mi3 is priced at Rs 14,000.
The S5 Mini will be powered by a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor and will have 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory.
It will be able to record full HD video at 30 frames per second, and will also have a 2.1 megapixel front shooter.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will give the Korean company’s line-up in India a much needed boost. Most of the company’s current mid-range line-up are based on the older Android 4.1 or 4.2 versions, and most of them have qHD or lower resolution displays.
At present, the only decent offering from the company in the mid-range segment is the Galaxy Grand Neo, priced at Rs 15,250. But the phone suffers from an atrocious 480 x 800 pixel resolution on its screen.
In addition, the company will be able to successfully take on competition from LG L90 Dual, the closest competitor right now. The LG L90 Dual has a qHD display, which would make it less attractive compared to the Mini.
