Where will consumers get the best Samsung Galaxy S4 deal?

As Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is about to hit the African market, a number of mobile operator have announced their pricing structures ahead of the release to consumers. The Galaxy S4 runs the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS and has a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED screen, 13MP Auto Focus camera with Flash, 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps), 2GB RAM, 1.6GHz Quad + 1.2GHz Quad and 32GB Memory and microSD card (up to 64GB).

The device will be made available to customers in South Africa on Saturday 27 April, but the question begs: which mobile operator will provide the best package deal?

MTN

The Galaxy S4 (i9500) will be available on the new MTN Anytime 200 for R399 PM over 24 months. This deal includes R200 airtime, 200 SMSs, a 200MB Internet bundle and 30 minutes of free MTN-to-MTN calls.

The S4 deal is open to both new and existing MTN customers who are eligible for an upgrade. The MTN Anytime 200 contract package forms part of MTN’s new Anytime contract offerings. Post-paid customers are offered more talk time through a combination of more Anytime value and free MTN-to-MTN minutes, more text time through increased SMS bundles and more web browsing time with bigger Internet bundles.

Vodacom

The S4 will be offered on a special deal at R429 per month on a Smart S plan that includes 75 Anytime minutes, 75 MB Mobile Internet and 150 Anytime Text. Vodacom will also give customers additional benefits which include: double the data on Mobile Internet for the first 2 months of the contract, free Voicemail 2 SMS for 3 months valued at R35 per month and free in-store set up from the Vodacom crew.

The handset will also be available on the following plans which include double the data on Mobile Internet for the first 2 months of the contract and free Voicemail 2 SMS for 3 months valued at R35 per month.

Cell C

The device will be available on the Straight Up 100 for R399 per month, which includes 100 minutes, 100 SMSes and 1GB of data, topped up form 100MB. Customers can purchase a Straight Up 200 package with the S4 for R499 per month, which will include 200 minutes, 200 SMSes and 1GB of data topped up from 200MB.

The device is also available on the Straight UP 400 and 800 packages for R649 and R899 respectively. The table below details the four available packages.

Airtel

While Pan-African mobile phone provider Airtel has not released any pricing on package deals as yet, the operator did confirm that the S4 will be made available in the beginning of May in all Airtel outlets across the African continent. Airtel customers will also get three months data to go with the packages on offer.

“We have responded to our customers’ demands for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and are very excited to make this ground-breaking phone available in Africa. Thanks to our 3.75G network, Airtel customers will be able to fully take advantage of all the features of this truly innovative mobile device,” said Andre Beyers, Chief Marketing Officer of Airtel Africa.

In Kenya, users will be able to pre-order the device for Kshs 52,999 (approximately $633) and also receive 21GB data free to go with it.

Rest of Africa

While the S4 is some weeks away from being available within most African markets (with a substantial number only launching on 20 May), mobile operators across the continent have not yet released their pricing and bundles.

Etisalat is expected to launch a similar bundle to that of the S3 (which was N99, 999 with a free Etisalat SIM Card and free 200MB of data monthly), while MTN Nigeria also already released their pricing. For N108,000, customers will get the device, S-View Cover, 50 GB DropBox (which is standard with the device), and 6 months free data from MTN.

Nigerian online electronics store Konga.com also unveiled their offering, which is the same price as MTN in Nigeria.

Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor