Mirror, mirror on the wall – which telco is offering the best deal for the Samsung Galaxy S8 of them all?
It won’t be a fairy tale to own the latest flagship smartphone from Samsung; although the phone comes in at a hefty price tag of RM3299 and RM3699 respectively, consumers can get into the action with the various schemes offered by network operators for a minimum of RM145. Despite the overhanging gloomy economic scenario painted by pundits, Malaysians are crazy for their Galaxy – according to Lee Jui Siang, VP for IT and Mobile Business in Samsung Malaysia Electronics, the preorder for the S8 and S8+ outdid the previous version by 4 to 1!
While in the past mobile operators would have been sticklers with their promotion offers, these days competition has somewhat grounded them and packages are much more enticing for the customer. In this article we look at the different plans and what the pricing is like for the Samsung Galaxy S8 (not for the S8+) being currently dished out by Maxis, Celcom, Digi and U Mobile.
Maxis Zerolution
For those seeking to purchase the device with Zerolution plan, Maxis is pricing the phone at a RM128 package plan for a 24 month instalment with a minimum postpaid MaxisOne Plan 128. The 128 plan comes with 15GB all day and 15GB data for weekends interesting to note the weekend data is on 4G. There is also the MaxisOne 158 and 188 option. For this comparison we will opt for the lowest plan offered.
Total price of S8 + MaxisOne 128 plan = RM6144 (15GB+15GB)
Digi Postpaid
As for Digi, the number one operator is giving the Postpaid138 plan a boost with the Galaxy S8 offer at RM1421 plus the 24 month 138 plan contract. The lower option is the 108 plan where the phone is priced at RM2158 with the 24 month 108 plan contract.
Total price of S8 + Postpaid 138 plan= RM4733 (24GB)
Bundled freebies worth RM527.
Celcom Platinum and Gold Plus
Choosing to announce the plans on the same day and same venue of Samsung launch, Celcom has a myriad of options for its customers. For those who already have a plan with the operator can choose the EasyPhone option which is basically a device installment scheme. At RM145 you can get the S8 and RM165 for the S8+ over 24 month period which works out the be RM3480 and RM3960 respectively.
Celcom customers who prefer the phones with a plan attached can opt for Celcom Platinum which offers the S8 and S8+ at RM2168 and RM2489 with 60GB and unlimited calls plan at RM150. Celcom Gold Plus consists of 40GB with unlimited calls at RM98 with the phone price at RM2498 and RM2808. No freebie bundle.
Total price of S8 + Celcom Platinum = RM5768 (60GB)
Total price of S8 + Celcom Gold Plus = RM4850 (40GB)
U Mobile Postpaid
This telco has two plans to choose from, P98 and P70 with both offering an all in one payment scheme that’s easy to comprehend. For the S8, consumers can choose the P98 bundled with the phone at RM225 monthly payment inclusive a 30GB data plan. The P70 package consists of 15GB internet data with monthly payment of RM197.
Total price of S8 + P98 plan=RM5400 (30GB)
The comparison is primarily done on the overall cost of acquiring the device and not comparing the plans per se. Based on this criteria alone, Digi has the best offer with the total cost of ownership, lower than its closest rival Celcom. Not surprising though is Maxis with their package, tipping the scale at RM6144 being the highest in the list here.
