In a previous post I mentioned that Apple has been given the go-signal by Korean communication regulators to sell the iPhone in South Korea but no set date was made yet. A few days later, it was officially announced that the iPhone will be released on November 28th. Last Saturday’s launch of the iPhone in South Korea was greeted amid great fanfare as hundreds lined to be among the first to get the first batch of 1,000 iPhones. According to reports, KT Corp received approximately 65,000 pre-orders. KT Corps’ iPhone plans are set as low as ₩45,000 ($39) per month to as high as ₩95,000 ($82). The 32GB iPhone 3GS costs ₩396,000 or $342 under the base plan but only ₩132,000 or $114 under the most expensive plan.
China Unicom sees great things for the iPhone as one of its seniors executives told China Daily that the interest is high for the iPhone and that interest will result in the iPhone making up 10 percent of 3G mobile devices in their network in two to three years.
Over at Europe, Apple’s decision to let go of the single-carrier model in France has worked well for them. When Orange lost its exclusivity early this year, sales of Apple’s smartphone more than doubled in three months after rival carriers started selling the iPhone. France is now considered to be the largest market in Europe for the iPhone. Analysts are expecting the same to happen in the U.K. as both Orange and Vodafone already have a deal with Apple to carry the iPhone in the country, with Orange expected to sell the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS by the end of this year and Vodafone by early 2010. There’s also news that the largest U.K. retailer, Tesco, will be selling the iPhone in more than 100 Tesco shops around the U.K. by the end of 2009.
I wonder how long before Apple signs up Smart Communications and Sun Cellular as additional carriers for the iPhone here in the Philippines. And once that happens, can the consumer demand the iPhone be sold unlocked or have the carrier unlock their iPhone?
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#1 by Lyle on 11/30/2009 - 5:08 PM
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I think if Apple signed up with SMART from the get go, the iPhone would have sold like hotcakes.
From what I have observed in the past, if SMART wanted to push a certain phone model, they would usually give it FREE under high-end plans and occasionally on plan 800.
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