The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, a curved display version of the Note 4, will be launched in India next week at a price of around Rs 61,000 ($1000), or the same as the iPhone 6 Plus.
According to distributors, the handsets will be available for sales in time for Christmas.
The India launch of the Note Edge will come in just about 10 days of it being available in the UK, where Vodafone will be the exclusive carrier in the initial phase.
The Edge is currently available only in the US, Japan and its home market, South Korea. In the UK, the non-contract price of the phone is a whopping 795 pounds, or about Rs 80,000.
However, the phone is expected to be priced less than that in India. “We expect a differential of about Rs 4,000 between the Edge and the Note 4,” said a Delhi-based distributor, who expects stocks to reach him by Friday or so.
Unofficially imported Edge is also available on eBay in India, but such purchases are unlikely to carry a Samsung India warranty.
The Galaxy Note 4 is available in India for Rs 54,700 on Snapdeal – or about Rs 3,000 less than the initial launch price of over a month ago. The Note 4 was expected to be launched in the Rs 50,000-55,000 range, but high demand allowed Samsung to price the phone at Rs 57,500 in India in the initial days.
In about 6 months, the prices of the two models would fall to the Rs 38,000-42,000 range, going by previous experience. By then, Samsung’s Galaxy S5 will also be out.
Except for the curved display, Samsung Galaxy Note Edge has almost the same specifications as the Note 4.
The India version of the Galaxy Note Edge will come with LTE connectivity, a 5.6-inch display with side view, a 16 MP camera supplemented by a 3.7 MP one at the front, 3 GB of RAM, the same Snapdragon 805 platform with a 2.7 GHz Krait 450 processor, and of course quad-HD resolution on its display.
The only difference is that while the Note 4 comes with a 3,220 mAh battery, the Note Edge comes with a 3 Ah battery to account for the lower space afforded by the curved screen.
The phone has been well received the world over and its key selling point — the ability to give you scrolling notifications (or even news) using the side bar — much appreciated.
The Edge has a full score in customer reviews on Amazon USA, with all four customers giving it the full five stars. In comparison, the Note 4 has a 4.4 score and the Apple iPhone 6 plus has a 3.6 score out of five, though with more number of reviews.
On Amazon US, the Galaxy Note Edge is priced at $954 (Rs 59,000).
Interestingly, it will be one of those rare occassions when a Samsung phone will cost the same as a comparable Apple phone. For example, the iPhone 6 Plus (16 GB) is priced at Rs 60,800 in India, and the effective price of the Note Edge will be around the same level at launch.
Normally, Samsung phones have always been priced at a discount to comparable iPhones.
It should also be noted that Lenovo has launched its Vibe Z2 Pro, which has a 5.5-inch quad-HD display, at just Rs 33,000 in India, making it the cheapest quad-HD phone in India. Similarly, the OnePlus One is also available in India at Rs 22,000, though it comes with a full HD display like the Moto X2.
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