In late January Samsung announced the Galaxy S Advance, which can best be described as a 4 inch version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, except that it’s slightly slower (1 GHz versus 1.2 GHz) and has a less capable camera (5 MP versus 8 MP). We didn’t know the official price tag back then, so this is what we said:
The guys who found this device lurking around South East Asia say it’s going to cost 22,900 Philippine pesos, which comes out to $535. At that point you might as well buy a Samsung Galaxy S II!
Turns out $535 figure is a bit low. According to an official Samsung Germany press release, the Galaxy S Advance will retail in the Fatherland for 494 EUR, which translates to $650. That’s absolutely ridiculous. To give you an idea of how insanely high that price tag is, here’s a link to Amazon Germany, which is selling the Galaxy S II in both white and black for 430 EUR. That’s not only 64 EUR cheaper, but you also get a better device. Expect that price to slide down even further once the Galaxy S III gets announced. Oh and speaking about Ice Cream Sandwich running smartphones, guess how much the Galaxy Nexus costs on Amazon Germany? Just 472 EUR, brand spanking new.
We have no idea what sort of homemade methamphetamines the folks at Samsung are cooking up in South Korea, but we want some. How can they seriously release a device with inferior specifications to everything that’s out on the market, but charge more for it? Now yes, there will be people out there who would rather have a 4 inch smartphone than the 4.3 inch Galaxy S II or 4.65 inch Galaxy Nexus. To those people we recommend you check out the 14 month old Nexus S, which Amazon Germany is selling for 380 EUR brand new.
Honestly Samsung, what were you thinking?
[Via: Unwired View]