It’s unlikely that we have another case of ‘white-iPhone-4-itis’ on our hands, delays have apparently befallen the pebble blue Samsung Galaxy S3 and as such, early adopters in some regions may only have the option of white or white whilst these issues are ironed out.
UberGizmo.com picked up word of the possible delays via Reddit where a Dutch site claimed that Samsung had to discard some 600,000 back covers for the blue S3 due to a production fault. What the fault is directly is unclear (aside from costly), but Samsung has obviously felt delaying the blue version necessary in the pursuit of quality control.
The delays are unfortunately expected to stretch into June whilst Samsung rectifies the issue and the knock-on effect trails through the supply line to retail.
The effect won’t be felt in every market though as reports from UK retailers confirm that they are well stocked in both white and blue versions of the S3, but it’s unclear if the same can be said for elsewhere.
Delays are never a good thing in the midst of a product launch, but especially so when the device in question is as influential a player in the smartphone market as the S3. Last year’s Galaxy S2 rose to become one of the best selling smartphones of 2011 and the S3 is hoping to surpass its predecessor and tackle the likes of the iPhone 5 in 2012.
We reached out to Samsung for an official take on the matter and will update you with any updates, so stay tuned… In the meantime check out our Samsung Galaxy S3 review.
UPDATE: Samsung have just provided us with an official statement on the delays and although they could not confirm whether this would affect UK sales, here’s what they had to say:
“Samsung’s GALAXY S III Pebble Blue version comes with a newly invented blue colour and special hyperglaze material. In order to meet the highest internal quality standards and to provide the best quality GALAXY S III to customers, a short supply of Pebble Blue version is expected in some regions in the next 2-3 weeks.
Samsung is working hard to ensure that customers will get the Pebble Blue coloured devices as soon as possible.“
So delays are confirmed, but where the hold ups will be felt is unknown, get in touch if you’re local stores run out of blue S3s.
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