Carriers compete on S6 freebies

Home > Business > Industry

print dictionary print

Carriers compete on S6 freebies

With two days left until pre-orders begin for the new Samsung Electronics Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, mobile service providers SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ are scrambling to offer freebies in an effort to attract more customers and grow their share in the fiercely competitive market.

SKT, KT and LG U+ will accept online and offline pre-orders from Wednesday through April 9. Customers who buy the phones can begin subscribing April 10. SKT leads the three companies in revenue, followed by KT and LG U+.

All companies will give away a wireless charging pad with each purchase.

However, the freebie will have a few conditions, as SKT will give a free Samsung-made wireless charging pad only for subscriptions filled-out between April 10 and April 13. After filling out a subscription, customers will have to apply at an SKT promotion site between April 10 and April 16. The company has limited online pre-orders to 5,000 units.

Smaller players KT and LG U+ will offer more gifts in addition to giving out wireless charging pads with pre-orders placed between April 1 and April 9, and subscriptions by April 13.

Service provider KT, which posted a year-on-year loss in 2014 for the first time since its 1981 establishment, will offer additional gifts such as a three-month insurance policy covering up to 850,000 won ($770) for lost or destroyed phones. Customers can also enter drawings for giveaways ranging from travel gift certificates worth 3 million won to 250,000 won Mont Blanc smartphone flip covers for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. KT will give away flip covers to 1,200 Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge buyers.

“We could feel the high expectations for the Galaxy S6 since hosting the March 23 preview event,” said KT Mobile Sales Planning Department Senior Vice President Lee Hyun-suk. “We will provide the best possible experience, as well as distinguished benefits to pre-ordering customers.”

Smallest player LG U+ will give away a diamond ring to a lucky customer at each location showcasing the new phones. The drawings, held from April 1-9, are an effort to compete with Apple’s iPhone 6.

Each drawing will also have three Galaxy S6 phones, three Galaxy S6 Edge phones, 20 Bluetooth speakers and over 1,000 movie tickets and coffee vouchers.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)