Samsung is offering users of rival Apple (AAPL) iPhones a 30-day trial to test its latest Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5 phablet in a no-strings attached promotion that costs users $1 to participate.
The vendor has set up a separate web page for what it’s calling its “Ultimate Test Drive” promotion, which begins on Friday, August 21, corresponding to the opening day of availability for the new smartphones announced last week. The offer comes with a free data plan, an activated SIM card and is not tied any single carrier, Samsung said. The standard Galaxy S6 Edge also is included as an option in the offer.
Here’s the online text of the offer:
For just one dollar, you can try one of our latest Samsung phones for 30 days with no obligation. Your test drive kit will come with the phone of your choice, an activated sim card, and a step-by-step guide to help you start your test drive. After 30 days, if you buy a qualifying Samsung device, there’s even more love in store for you.
Samsung’s promotion comes as the growth rate of global smartphone shipments slowed to its lowest level in two years, according to researcher Gartner. In Q2, worldwide smartphone shipments grew 13.5 percent from the same period last year to 330 million units, hampered by saturation in the China market, Gartner said. China accounts for some 30 percent of total worldwide smartphone sales, the researcher said.
While Samsung continues to lead the segment with 72 million units shipped for the quarter and a 21.9 percent share, its position has been eroded by some 5 percent by Apple, which moved 48.1 million units during the period for a 14.6 stake of the global market. Samsung shipped about 4 million fewer smartphones in Q2 this year than at the same time last year as Apple shipped 13.3 million more units.
Samsung competitors Huawei and Xiaomi also saw significant year-over-year shipment increases in Q2, Gartner said, although Lenovo shipped 2.5 million fewer units for the period.
The Korean manufacturer hopes its new Note 5 phablet and S6 Edge+ handsets will reverse the trend with a kickstart from the month-long test drive promotion.
source: http://thevarguy.com
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