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Apple saw 60,000 first-day iPhone sales in S.Korea



30 November 2009 @ 10:25 pm ET

SEOUL - Apple has seen about 60,000 units of iPhones sold in South Korea on its debut on Saturday, which is pretty  good as the nation has already reported  400,000 smartphones sales in the third quarter.


Apple saw 60,000 first-day iPhone sales in S.Korea
An advertisement for the Apple iPhone is shown at a retail store of an Orange mobile phone network provider in Bordeaux, southwestern France, October 23, 2009. (Reuters Photo / Regis Duvignau)
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The number, though far away from the one million sales in the U.S. for the iPhone 3GS, has already been a  great success compared to the estimated 5,000 units sold during the first week in China.

The handset is available through KT Corp, the second largest carrier in Korea.

"We're hoping that this iPhone will be a trigger point for the smartphone market in Korea,"  Yang Hyun-mi, KT's chief strategy officer, wascited as saying. Hyun-mi also noted that smartphones only control one percent of the mobile market in the nation.

KT priced  the 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS at 369,000 won  ($317) for customers subscribing to monthly plans based on the basic rate of 45,000 won ($38). Subscribers paying 65,000 won ($56) in basic rates can have the iPhone for 264,000 won ($227), while premium users signing up for monthly plans based on a 132,000 won ($113) basic rate could have the phones for free.

The 8-gigabtye iPhones were priced at 132,000 won ($113) for subscribers signed on the 45,000 won ($38) monthly plans.

As iPhone made its formal debut in China on October 30 through China Unicom, South Korea is one of the last major countries in Asia to get the iPhone which is also on sale in Japan, India and Australia.

South Korea used to be dominated by the local cell phone makers Samsung and LG  due to the strict government regulations to foreign makers.

This article is copyrighted by International Business Times.

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Comments
1.
Dec 1, 2009 1:58pm

It is completely unreasonable to compare the sales of 65,000 in a population of 48 million people with 1 million iPhones in a population of 300 million people. First of all, the 1 million iPhones were sold over 3 days (not 1) and secondly, there are 6 times the number of people in the U.S. than in S. Korea. Also, the iPhone is not highly localized to Korean (very few apps are in Korean), so all things considered, it was a phenomenal first day of sales.
2.
Dec 1, 2009 4:49pm

One more place close by for Chinese to buy gray market wifi-enabled iPhones.
3.
Dec 1, 2009 9:12pm

“We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” Palm CEO Ed Colligan, commenting on then-rumored Apple iPhone, 16 Nov 2006 "Five hundred dollars? Fully subsidized, with a plan? It is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard which makes it not a very good email machine… So, I, I kinda look at that and I say, well, I like our strategy. I like it a lot.” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, 17 January 2007 “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get.” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, 30 April 2007 “How do they deal with us?” Ed Zander, Motorola CEO/Chairman 10 May 2007 Read more quotes from the so called "experts" here: http://aaplinvestors.net/stats/iphone/iphonedeathwatch/
4.
Dec 2, 2009 7:43am

Korea Telecom seems terrified of the prospect of Chinese hordes buying up subsidized iPhones in Korea and spiriting them away to China. Consequently, they are making it well-nigh impossible for foreign residents of Korea (like me) to buy an iPhone from KT. If you're foreign, no matter how long you've lived here and no matter how good your credit, KT doesn't want your business unless a Korean guarantees you.
5.
Dec 2, 2009 8:25am

The figure of 1 million iPhone 3GS was worldwide, not US alone. Who is checking the facts on this website? Source: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/06/22iphone.html
6.
Dec 2, 2009 9:31am

I second Brendon Carr on KT offering unfair subscription plans for foreigners here. I feel cheated and prejudiced, and KT doesn't even try to hide it. It doesn't matter how long you've lived here, or how good your credit is, even how much money you have in the bank; if you are a foreigner, you are not going to get the same deal Koreans get. I mean they make you buy the phone for over $600, and pay over $80 per month! And all this is with the deposit money of $200!!! I can understand why they would get cold feet about Chinese smuggling the phone into China, but it's really unfair. If you had a phone with KT previously and that you've been here for years, they should at least come up with a plan that seems at least fair. But then again, may be that's too much.
7.
Dec 7, 2009 7:28am

Don't complain to them. Complain to other Foreigners. I am a foreigner living in Korea and I understand why they don't. You have a bunch of moron English teachers that rack up insane bills and then head back to their home countries without paying the bill. If I was KT i would do that same thing, or crank the deposit up to $500 - $600. If you can't afford that you're prob. one of those people that would head back to your home country and not pay your bill. Also, most foreigners don't live here multiple years. If they subsidized your phone (making it cheaper) and you go back to your country early, they lose money. It's the same thing back in the states. You're in a 2-year contract... Thank them, don't blame KT. Not only that, but you're wrong. I know multiple people (single people) that have Iphones now. They also didn't have someone sign for it. You're going to the wrong places.
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