[Update: Added in Celcom's Galaxy S5 phone bundle that was announced last night, table available after the break]
The Samsung Galaxy S5 will finally hit the shelves this Friday, 11 April 2014 for a retail price of RM2,399, but you don’t have to pay full price to own one. With the existence of telcos and postpaid plans with a contract, you can get your hands on the latest flagship smartphone from Samsung at a subsidized price of as low as RM1,199. Maxis and DiGi have already opened up their preorder (Maxis’ preorders are full now, unfortunately), and while we’re waiting for Celcom and possibly U Mobile to unveil their plans, here’s a comparison of the two that are currently available.
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When Maxis first announced their Galaxy S5 bundle plans, the SurfMore30 option wasn’t available. SurfMore30 may not give you a huge subsidy, but if you’re a light user and do not require all the bundles the more expensive plans comes with, it is a great option at only RM30/month. SurfMore30 is actually a supplementary line but it looks like Maxis is extending it to those who wish to get the Galaxy S5 from them.
As you already know, Maxis usually has a lot of postpaid plans to pick from but it looks like they are restricting your choice to these 6…for now at least. If Maxis is doing the same as before, these should be the plans that are offered for preorders, and the telco might be unveiling more plans after the launch this Friday.
As for DiGi, the telco isn’t offering the Galaxy S5 with their most affordable postpaid SmartPlan – SmartPlan50, so you’re only limited to 3 choices. As always, DiGi does not offer any 12 months contract and the same applies for the Galaxy S5 bundle. I must say that DiGi looks like they’re slightly cheaper than Maxis but you’ll be tied to a 2 years contract and judging by how fast new phones are being released now (we’re already looking forward to Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 powered devices), 2 years contract is a long wait.
Update: Celcom has just unveiled its Samsung Galaxy S5 bundle as well, allowing you to own the Galaxy S5 from as low as RM988. As usual, the telco is offering the device with its Celcom First postpaid plans coupled with data of up to 5GB, or if you’re a data-only user, you can also pick the mPro Plus plan at RM88 a month.
Of course, at the end of the day, the most important factor would definitely have to be the coverage area. Now that DiGi is offering LTE for its SmartPlans and the S5 is LTE-enabled, picking the one with LTE coverage in the areas you frequent the most would be the best choice.
Have any of you ordered the Galaxy S5 or are you waiting for the official launch to see what other telcos have got to offer? Check out our previous posts for more information about these individual plans of Maxis, DiGi and Celcom.