Live: Samsung launches Gear and Galaxy S5, for Rs 51,000 plus

Samsung is launching the Galaxy S5 in India today and we’ll be present at the event to bring you the play by play as the event unfolds. For those who wish to be part of the event, Samsung will also be hosting a live webcast so you can watch it from the comfort of your home. Follow us past the video for live updates from the event and you can also follow our Twitter account for even quicker updates.     13:30 pm - Time to go hands-on So the main event is over, but we are just getting started. Stay tuned for the hands-on coverage and our first impressions of the Galaxy S5 as well as the three new Gear watches.   13:25 pm - Breaching the Rs 50,000 mark So our worst fears have been confirmed. Samsung has stated that the Galaxy S5 will be priced **between Rs 51,000 and Rs 53,000** . This is the first time Samsung has priced a smartphone over Rs 50,000. However, considering that its main competition will be coming to stores around the same time as the S5, we can expect a quick drop in price a month or two later.   Those who want to buy the S5 can pre-order the phone from Saturday, March 29 onwards. The phone will be available in stores from April 11. The disappointing news is that only the 16GB version of the S5 will be available in India, which is very surprising given the astronomical price tag.   13:15 pm - Gear family launched in India Samsung has not announced the price of the Galaxy S5 yet, but it has announced that the Gear family of smartwatches will be available in India from April 11. The Gear Fit and Gear 2 Neo will be priced at Rs 15,900, slightly more than the current Galaxy Gear. The flagship smartwatch, Gear 2 has a price tag of Rs 21,900, which is more or less what the Galaxy Gear launched at. You can read all about the Gear India launch here.   13:00 pm - Launched, but where’s the price? Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy S5. But there’s no indication of the price of the phone. We are hearing that Samsung will be following the same pricing strategy that introduced for the Galaxy Grand 2. So we will get a price range but not the final price, till the device hits stores next month or closer to that date.   12:45 pm - Cheese fest Samsung has once again taken a corny route for the launch event. Remember the S4 launch where **Samsung managed to mangle Gangnam Style** ? Well, today they are using sketches to show off the various features of the phone.   Three models just flounced around on stage, supposedly demoing the waterproof feature of the phone and how easy it is to talk on the phone when it’s raining outside. Not that it was raining on the stage. Next we saw equally cheesey skits for fitness, speed and design. The speed skit is really bizarre: Just a girl dancing on stage with headphones on.      12:40 pm - Once again, from the top We have already seen and heard so much about the Galaxy S5 that none of Samsung’s ‘announcements’ of its specs and features are causing any excitement. In fact, we have a feeling most are just waiting to hear that magical number. Samsung is talking about the heart-rate monitor and the various battery-saving features of the phone, such as the Ultra Power Saving mode.   12:35 pm - The final piece We are still waiting for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place. Rumours suggest the phone will be priced north of Rs 50,000 or Rs 51,500 to be precise. That’s exactly Rs 10,000 more than the S4 launch price. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s indeed the price.   As for the colour options, buyers can choose from among four - black, white, blue and gold. We are not big fans of Samsung’s version of gold, but the blue one is definitely unique as far as flagships are concerned.   The big surprise of course is that all three Gear watches will be launched as well. The Gear 2 will also be getting a gold colour to go along with the S5’s colour.   12:30 pm - India success story India has been a major market for Samsung, says Vineet Taneja, and it remains one of the first markets for new Samsung devices.

  [caption id=“attachment_220534” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Gear series[/caption]   12:22 pm - ‘A host of Gear products’ The MC says a host of Gear products expected today. So we could see the new Gear family all launched today. That includes the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, as well as the Gear Fit. And now we have the confirmation that the entire Gear family will be unveiled for India today.  

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    12:10 pm - We are underway Samsung has finally started the event, although it’s a bit late. Actress Frieda Pinto will be joining the Samsung execs on stage for the launch.   11:50 am - Gear Fit expected as well If you look at the page a little closely, you’ll notice the countdown timer is on the **Galaxy Gear Fit smartwatch** , which leads us to believe that Samsung might be launching that as well today. The invite that was sent out didn’t specify what was being launched so it’s perfectly plausible to expect more than one product today. In any  case, we’ll be bringing you more details on the pricing and availability very soon. Also, stay tuned for our hands-on and first impressions on the S5 and any other devices that might be announced.   11:45 am - S5 incoming We know nearly everything there is  **to know about the Galaxy S5** , without seeing the phone first hand. Pricing will play a crucial part in the success of the S5 in India but we have a strong feeling that the majority of buyers out there won’t really care too much, even if the launch price is higher than what we expect. Samsung has established a very strong connect with the masses, similar to what Nokia had about a decade ago. In a similar way the Note 3 sold well despite the high price, the S5 should also fly off the shelves right from day one. Its main rivals right now are the **HTC One M8** and the **Sony Xperia Z2** , both of which are expected to launch in mid-April. If Samsung can pull off a hard launch starting today, they can sell the Galaxy S5 at a premium till mid or end of April and then drop the price once the other two handsets launch