Pre-order volume of Samsung Electronics Co.’s flagship smartphone Galaxy Note 7 has exceeded 200,000 units in just two days after mobile carriers started to take its pre-orders, hinting that the new premium phone with a much-improved pen stylus and an iris scanner would be the company’s another smash-hit product among the Galaxy-branded phones.

According to the mobile communication industry on Monday, the pre-order volume for the premium smartphone Galaxy Note 7 for the first weekend was twice higher than that of the company’s another flagship phone Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, which were rolled out early this year. Korea’s all three major mobile carriers, KT Corp., SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus Corp. started to take pre-orders of the phone on Saturday after the Korean tech giant unveiled the Galaxy Note 7 on Wednesday last week.

Industry observers attribute the early success of the Note 7 to customers’ high expectations for the phone’s advanced features such as an iris scanner, curved edges, and the improved S Pen stylus. In addition, the country’s all three mobile carriers’ decision to immediately embark on the phone sale and various benefits to customers who place an advance order of the phone such as a free Gear Fit 2 and a 50 percent discount for screen repair have helped boost its pre-order sales.

The Galaxy Note 7 is also benefitting from the absence of its rival products as Samsung Electronics decided to roll out the new premium phone earlier than its competitors such as Apple Inc., leading consumers to flock to Samsung’s Experience Zones where they can get hands-on experience with the new smartphone.

The Note 7 will hit the market on August 19 in Korea. It comes in four colors - Black Onyx, Blue Coral, Gold Platinum and Silver Titanium, and Black Onyx will be available starting October.

By Lee Gyung-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]