Apple iPhone makes official debut in South Korea
After years of wrangling with privacy concerns over the iPhone’s location-based services, the Apple iPhone is now finally available in South Korea. Hundreds of people, hoping to be the first on their block to rock the iPhone, lined up overnight outside Olympic stadium in Seoul. Those not willing to brave the elements turned to pre-orders, with nearly 65,000 customers reserving an iPhone in the weeks leading up to the launch. The iPhone is being sold by #2 cellular provider KT Corp and has been priced competitively with a 32GB iPhone 3GS retailing for 396,000 won ($338USD) with a monthly plan of 45,000 won ($38 USD) and 264,000 won ($225 USD) with a monthly fee of 65,000 won ($55 USD). Samsung and LG, two homegrown manufacturers that currently dominate the South Korean market, are supposedly already feeling the pressure as they’ve started to lower handset prices across the board in South Korea.
65000 preorders… sounds pitiful…
In only one country that has only 400,000 smartphone users and is tightly monopolized, it’s astounding.
Send one to Kim Jong Il for Christ Mass.
Apparently in Korea they like to keep the plastic on…
Yowza $38 per month is an awesome price.
Assuming most folks here are American, we should be at least proud that finally an American phone is being used in South Korea. We seem to have everyone else’s product, but rarely do any country buy American ones. I’d like to see the Droid being sold there too, but its a start.I know first hand that some third world countries want the Iphone or any American product, but they are priced so unreasonably expensive and only the rich folks can get one.