Does South Korea Even Care It's Getting The iPhone This Week?

[Michael Essany]

Although we have known for some time that the iPhone would make its long awaited debut in South Korea, now we know when the grand reveal will take place. A local carrier in South Korea announced Sunday that the globally popular iPhone will be formally introduced into "one of the world's most sophisticated mobile phone markets" this Thursday - which is the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

Possibly poised to give the folks at Apple something to really be "thankful" for, there is no shortage of hype accompanying the iPhone's big debut in South Korea, although it seems mobile analysts in the US are far more excited about the iPhone coming to South Korea than South Korean residents are.

Despite the country's burgeoning competitive mobile landscape, this weekend, PMP Today reported some intriguing estimates on what sales could look like and how powerful the iPhone's introduction to the South Korean marketplace "could" prove.

Despite facing stiff competition from veteran local players such as Samsung and LG, KT is still very optimistic about their newest offering, the iPhone, as they expect to sell around 100,000 to 500,000 units once its releases in Korea.

Although the official pricing has not yet been solidified, most expect the device to get a price tag of 350,000 to 400,000 KRW - or $300 to $345, including a contract. Not bad... but not great either. That price is somewhat on par with the cost of obtaining an iPhone in Japan - a nation in which the iPhone has largely flopped, at least in terms of the grand fanfare that usually awaits the iPhone's arrival.

Given that the iPhone didn’t fare so well in Japan (only 200,000 units sold since 2008), a market somewhat similar to Korea, we’re not too sure where KT is drawing their optimism from.

Scheduled for a November 28th release, the unveiling comes only after South Korean telecom regulators recently allowed Apple to obtain a license for location-based services, a decision that came only days ago. The move, of course, cleared a path for the iPhone's introduction to local markets. This, naturally, was great news for Apple, which is still waiting for South Korea's chief mobile operator - SK Telecom - to determine whether or not to similarly introduce the iPhone.

It will be fascinating this week to watch the iPhone roll out into one of the world's most saturated mobile markets - a community of 47 million mobile users already exposed to top mobile products and services. Will the iPhone fly or flop? Chances are we'll know the answer sooner rather than later.

Image via PMP Today

[battlecrushr]

Lol

[matthew1111]

wow. you would think China would be a huge buyer...

[battlecrushr]

Yea but remebwr the china ones have no wifi
which suls

[matthew1111]

No wifi? That's horrible! If I was Chinese, I'd come to America just to buy an itouch and then go back to china

[awesomeSlayer]

It will flop. South Koreans have something better to do.

[bbillh77]

I am more concerned about when the 4g will come out then when Korea get the iPhone

[chuckiecheese]

I was just in South Korea and everyone that saw my iphone wanted one really badly and was pissed that it was taking so long for its debut..but that can't speak for the majority.

[jamendoza82]

even though the iPhone may seem advanced to us in the states but in reality the iPhone is a joke in Korea. I went there last summer and Korea/Japan technology in cell phone is like 5 years ahead of us in the states. The only reason I could see why the iPhone would be so popular is because "everyone" had one.

[rhekt]

wow. you would think China would be a huge buyer...

south korea...

[Blue]

"5 years ahead"
This is something i often read, but i´m allways wondering where this "wonder devices" are, i have never see anything like the iphone form LG or other Korean companies. Just the usual things, yes maybe a 100million megapixel cam but thats boaring me

[rwin84]

prolly not...

[llescaflownell]

"5 years ahead"
This is something i often read, but i´m allways wondering where this "wonder devices" are, i have never see anything like the iphone form LG or other Korean companies. Just the usual things, yes maybe a 100million megapixel cam but thats boaring me

Perhaps Americans do not want to pay so much for a phone (prior to the release of the iPhone). About 5-7 years ago, most phones in Korea had TV capabilities (as well as the "100 million megapixel cam"). They also had other dings and whistles, however, just imagine if they had brought it stateside....NO ONE would buy one due to its price tag. Even today, Samsung and LG have to nerf their products to meet American budget and/or desire to pay. You must travel to Korea and Japan to actually see most of these devices.

[jetfuel495]

The answer to the question is:

No.

[confucious]

Perhaps Americans do not want to pay so much for a phone (prior to the release of the iPhone). About 5-7 years ago, most phones in Korea had TV capabilities (as well as the "100 million megapixel cam"). They also had other dings and whistles, however, just imagine if they had brought it stateside....NO ONE would buy one due to its price tag. Even today, Samsung and LG have to nerf their products to meet American budget and/or desire to pay. You must travel to Korea and Japan to actually see most of these devices.

TV capabilities have been tried and failed in the UK - there is very little call for it (who remembers the Lobster TV?).
Increasing the number of pixels doesn't make for better pictures, my digital camera 'only' has 14MegaPixels but I'm fairly certain it will produce better pictures than a 100 MegaPixel phone camera.
What other "dings and whistles" do they have that anyone would actually be interested in?

[one1]

Lemme show you something..... See the south side of this little photo? All that light spread out everywhere, bustling cities, entertainment, night life, new world living....... THOSE are great places to plug an iPhone in by your bed.

Now see the north side of this little photo. Any trace of electricity there? This is a BAD place to own anything that needs to be plugged in.

South Korea = a happening little place to be.

North Korea = A great place to dig a hole they can bury you in next month.







What have we learned? South Korea HAS better phones than the iPhone, and North Korea..... well..... what's a cell phone?


Let's do this again......


South Korea........




North Korea.........

[CaptainChaos]

Part of the reason the iPhone sold so well over here in the U.S. is because it was something new and revolutionary. Other markets have had better phones for ages now. Most American released phones are crap.

[LSZ33]

Well i'm here live from S. Korea & i've seen some of the phones LG & Samsung have to offer. I'm not really impressed. Plus with the prices on alot of them as high as 700,000 to 800,000 Korean Won, i'd definitely pass. I believe the iPhone will sell well here. Might take a little while to catch on, but hopefully they get the 3GS version and not the China stripped version.

[i9charm]

In Korea, live TV reception on cell phone and video chatting over cell phone. And residential Internet is fiber optic cable. It's far faster than high speed cable in the US.
It's home of Samsung and LG.

One more... You can withdraw money from ATM with you cell phone by placing on the machine.

[bengo]

Part of the reason the iPhone sold so well over here in the U.S. is because it was something new and revolutionary. Other markets have had better phones for ages now. Most American released phones are crap.

The fact the iPod had a huge market share also had something to do with it. Not to mention Apple's heavy marketing campaign.