Sprint, T-Mobile feel Samsung Galaxy S4 delay woes
Citing 'inventory challenges' from Samsung, the two carriers announce hiccups in the launch of Samsung's new flagship smartphone.
Sprint and T-Mobile announced on Wednesday that the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 will not go as initially planned.
Citing "inventory challenges" from Samsung, Sprint's Galaxy S4 will still be offered through Sprint's Web site and Telesales on April 27; however, it remains unclear when it will be available in retail stores and other channels.
Sprint said this in a statement regarding the delay:
Sprint is excited to launch the new Samsung Galaxy 4. We had planned to launch this next generation of the award-winning Samsung Galaxy line-up on Saturday, April 27. Unfortunately, due to unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung, we will be slightly delayed with our full product launch.
T-Mobile, for its part, has pushed the online availability of the Samsung Galaxy S4 back by five days. Originally expected to go on sale on Wednesday, April 24, the smartphone will now be sold on Monday, April 29.
We know customers are really looking forward to getting their new Samsung Galaxy S 4 soon. However, due to an unexpected delay with inventory deliveries, the Galaxy S 4 will not be available on www.T-Mobile.com as planned on Wednesday, April 24. Instead, online availability is expected to begin on Monday, April 29
RadioShack this week announced that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will go on sale in more than 4,700 retail stores. CNET has contacted RadioShack for clarification on whether the delay will affect the availability of the Sprint model and will update this article with new information.