Russia is on the rise again and the people have gotten relatively rich in the last 2 decades after the collapse of the USSR. In fact, Moscow is now the most expensive city in the world to live in and boasts more billionaires than any other. It comes as no surprise then, that Russia carries a huge potential market for mobile phones and it is indeed the one of the highest with over 127 million subscriptions. The iPhone will begin selling on October 3rd and it is expected to sell over 150,000 before the year is out! 8 gigs go for 22,999 roubles ($923.6) and 16 gigs for 26,999 roubles ($1,084). The big three carriers in Russia; MTS, Vimpelcom and MegaFon are already taking pre-orders.
Japan might be known as a nation of technophiles but unlike their American counterparts, they have not embraced the iPhone as much as Apple had previously predicted. Many analysts are claiming that iPhones are selling significantly lower than anticipated. Part of the reason is the fact that the iPhone does not represent any new leap in Cell Phone technology in Japan. The Japanese are used to phones that can stream movies, listen to music and surf the internet. Infact, some high end Japanese smartphones can even make debit card payments and act as a subway pass. So while many Japanese have expressed interest in the touchscreen of the iPhone, it still doesn’t carry as many functions as they would like.
During Apple’s 2008 Q3 earning’s statement via teleconference, they also announced that the iPhone 3G would begin shipping to 20 additional countries on August 22nd.
This raises some concerns for international shortages, due to the fact that the iPhone 3G is currently sold out in many places. However, CFO Tim Cook believes that production will be ready to meet the increased demand. I suppose we will just have to wait and see how this pans out.
It appears as though Rogers, the Canadian telecom company providing coverage for the iPhone has bowed slightly to the demands of consumers who were complaining at the lame plans available to Canadian consumers. Rogers just announced that they would now be offering a 6GB data plan for $30 Canadian Dollars. This isn’t the unlimited data plan that these uppity consumers had beenasking for, but it’s definitely a start
While there is still no timetable set as to when the iPhone will officially be launched in China, one of the biggest roadblocks has recently been cleared. China Mobile Ltd, China’s top mobile phone carrier, will be bringing Apple’s popular iPhone to the mainland. Apple is no longer requiring a revenue-sharing plan with China Mobile which is what stalled the official release of the iPhone in China. However, Apple will subsidize the iPhone to make it cheaper in order to enter the world’s largest cell phone market.
The much anticipated 3G Apple iPhone will finally reach the Indian market via Vodafone India. The iPhone will be available very soon for Indian customers but a final date has not been set however. One major issue which is stalling the introduction of the iPhone to the Indian market is whether foreign companies are allowed to bid for the 3G spectrum and the licenses required, an issue the Indian government has yet to resolve.
After the buy out of a large stake of mobile phone services company Hutchison Essar, Vodafone India is already a major mobile services provider in India and has promised to release the iPhone sometime this year.
India is the second most populated country in the world, and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world making this a very large and potentially profitable market for the Apple iPhone
The countdown to its July 11’s multi-national debut, Japan’s Softbank has announced (in Japanese) their official iPhone 3G prices and plans. The hardware itself will cost ¥23,040 for 8GB and ¥34,560 for 16GB, a roughly 7% premium over Steve Jobs’ US$199 maximum, over the length of the pre-requisite 2 year contract.
Plans will be color coded, primarily in white, but rumor has it also in orange and blue. Based on the linked-to details, this color system is impenetrable enough I can’t believe North American carriers haven’t rushed to adopt it!
If you are looking to buy an iPhone in the UK, beware data roaming charges when you travel to mainland Europe.
02, the carrier for iPhone in the UK has an unlimited plan for iPhone users, but this plan only extends to those in the boundaries of the country. If you were to say, travel underneath the channel to France you would expect insane digital romaing charges if you were to attempt to access a 3G to download a file. It is estimated that digital roaming would be charged as £3 (about $6 USD) per one megabyte of data transferred across the network in EU and £6 in the United States. If you think about this in terms of music files, a single song would cost you a pretty penny.
Luckily for everyone, there is a function in the iPhone system preferences that allows you to turn of digital data roaming, so you can escape these insane costs.
The presumptive carrier of Apple’s iPhone for Japan, Softbank, recently announced what the pricing would be for customers. In Japan, the iPhone will be sold for ¥23,040 ($215) for the 8GB and ¥34,560 for the 16GB. The phone will come with a “…5,985 Yen monthly data plan”, and people will have a choice to pay for the phone over a period of two years.
A report that was recently released said that about 90% of the Japanese people had no interest in buying and iPhone 3G, however this report was later found to be flawed in it’s method of data collection. In contrast Tokyo-based analyst Hiroshi Tamashina predicts that Softbank will sell around 1 million of the device within it’s first year in Japan.
Back when the original iPhone came out, there was much buzz surrounding the possibility of it being released in Canada. Unfortunately the only carrier that uses GSM phones is Rogers Wireless, and due to their outrageous data plans, it was unlikely that it would ever be introduced to the north. However, with the impending release of the iPhone 3G, will Rogers be updating their ridiculous data prices?
Rogers Wireless president Madir Mohamed announced recently that they are, in fact rolling out new data plans to accommodate more frequent data usage. He notes that the average Rogers customer pays roughly $63 each month for voice, data and messaging service. They expect that the average iPhone subscriber will end up paying more like $90, with most of the additional expense being attributed to data usage.
This gives Canadian users an idea of what they can expect to pay per month for their iPhone. Unfortunately it will still be a couple of weeks before the actual plan prices are revealed.
