Wednesday, 14 May 2008

iPhone--Coming to an Asian Store Near you !

Apple has inked deals to bring its much coveted mobile phone device, the iPhone to the Asian region, namely Singapore, India, Australia and the Philippines, “by the end of the year.” To push sales and ensure the set target of selling 10 million units by the end of 2008...

Apple has inked deals to bring its much coveted mobile phone device, the iPhone to the Asian region, namely Singapore, India, Australia and the Philippines, “by the end of the year.”

To push sales and ensure the set target of selling 10 million units by the end of 2008 is met; Apple has signed deals with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) and three of its affiliates, India’s Bharti Airtel, Australia’s Optus and Philippines’ Globe Telecom.

When it was first launched last June, the iPhone went to market under a revenue sharing business model where the device was distributed by just one operator—AT&T in the US. This not only gave the operator exclusive rights to the phone but Apple was also able to collect up to 30% of the phone revenues.

However, when statistics revealed that out of the 4 million iPhones that were sold in the US, only half that number was activated by AT&T, rumor had it that Apple was exploring other business models.

This speculation was further confirmed when Italian operators Vodafone and Telecom Italia announced last week that they will both sell the iPhone in Italy.

Britian’s Vodafone will also be selling the device in India and Australia, thus allowing the much lusted over device to capture a larger market share.

The iPhone is available in some Asian countries via parallel imports today. The mobile phone comes originally “SIM locked” to ensure it will only work with SIM cards from the designated operator, but can be “hacked” to allow compatibility with local SIM cards.

Details on how much the iPhone will retail for in Asia and which version of it can be expected is not known.

Apple is expected to announce the road map for the new, 3G version of the iPhone at its developer conference next month.

1.7 million iPhones were reportedly sold in the quarter ending March 31.