It may not seem like much on the surface, but Vodafone could have just pulled off a business masterstroke. The network has today announced that it has secured exclusive rights to the gold Samsung Galaxy S5 within the UK. This means that if you want the gold coloured S5 handset, you’re going to have to get a contract with Vodafone.
The S5 is Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, and it’s not unreasonable to presume that it will sell like hotcakes the world over (its predecessor, the S4, has sold 40 million worldwide). Whilst Samsung are thriving as the world’s most popular smartphone manufacturer, Vodafone are no longer the force they used to be in the UK. Sealing this deal for the S5 could be a real coup.
Yes, it is just a colour, but when it comes to the average consumer there are few things more important than the look of their new handset. You need only to look at the recent launch of Apple’s iPhone 5s to see just how big a difference colour can make – the gold model of the handset was sold out in most locations, whilst the silver and black variants remained in stock. Apple even upped production of the gold model by 33% to accommodate the unexpected demand.
Therefore, it’s not entirely unreasonable to speculate that Vodafone’s colour exclusivity rights could equate to an extra 33% in contracts purchased. There are also black, white and blue variants available on Vodafone as well as all other major networks when the phone launches in the UK on April 11th.
There. We made it a whole article without mentioning how the gold S5 looks like a giant plaster.