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red_devil
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Location: Korea
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 Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:46 am Post subject: iPhone Coming to Korea! |
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Yes, yes, yes, yes!
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By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
After dragging its heels for months, Korea's telecommunications regulator finally came around and declared WIPI, a local software standard mandated for data-enabled mobile phones, a mistake.
The decision will bring an end to the dreadful wait by Korean gadget lovers of iPhone, Apple's latest product to create a global craze, with wireless carriers KTF and SK Telecom allowed to release the handsets next spring.
Following a lengthy debate, commissioners of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Wednesday agreed to retire the home-made standard specifications on April 1 next year, lifting what had effectively been a trade barrier for foreign electronics makers like Apple and Nokia.
``Mobile-phone operators have been required to use the WIPI mobile platform on their handsets, but considering global industry trends toward the use of general-purpose mobile operating systems, we concluded that there was a need to allow carriers the freedom to decide whether to use WIPI or not,'' said Shin Yong-sub, the director of KCC's policy bureau.
``Consumers will also be able to choose from a wider variety of products and benefit from increased price competition from handset makers,'' he said.
Currently, about 86 percent of all mobile phones used in Korea are WIPI-enabled. The KCC had discussed whether to phase out the WIPI requirements over a span of six months or a year, but the suggestion was turned down with commissioners concluding that mobile carriers wouldn't be able to replace their WIPI-based services quickly anyway.
There were calls within the KCC to abolish the WIPI requirements immediately on Jan. 1, but the commissioners decided to wait three more months to prevent ``shocking'' the domestic industry, apparently a decision that would soothe Korean electronics makers.
The decision to scrap the WIPI requirements is expected to renew competition in the local handset market, which has been dominated by local giants Samsung and LG.
Mobile-phone operators had been aggressively engaging with foreign handset makers to diversify their handset offerings. SK Telecom, which controls more than 50 percent of the country's wireless customers, is already offering handsets from Taiwanese maker HTC, and expects to release the iconic Blackberry handsets, produced by Canada's RIM, by the end of the year. The company is also planning to release handsets from Nokia, the world's top mobile-phone maker, during the first half of next year.
SK Telecom has confirmed its interest in adding iPhone to its lineup, although the company has been less aggressive than KTF, the runner-up wireless carrier, which has been putting up a stout challenge against its industry rival in the third-generation (3G) market.
Both operators are declining to comment on whether they secured a commitment from Apple, and some believe the difficult talks over revenue sharing and handset prices had been a bigger reason for iPhone's delayed debut than the much-maligned WIPI.
However, an industry source told The Korea Times that the talks with KTF have been all but finalized, although SK Telecom chief executive Kim Shin-bae recently told reporters that he expects his company to be the first to release iPhone.
``KTF could have released the iPhone in December if it had been allowed to,'' said the source.
WIPI, which was imnposed on wireless carriers on April 1, 2005, originally intended to allow interoperability for mobile content providers, who had to redevelop their applications for different carriers that were each using different mobile platforms.
WIPI was designed to run both Brew and Java applications, then used by KTF and LG Telecom, respectively, but the software standard was quickly blamed for preventing certain handsets from entering the local market, with foreign makers reluctant to release WIPI-enabled products just for Korea.
Industry analysts believe the increased influx of foreign handsets may strengthen the dominance of SK Telecom and KTF. Unlike SK Telecom and KTF, both using WCDMA technology for their 3G services, LG Telecom, the No. 3 carrier, is one of the few global carriers to use CDMA EV-DO Revision (A) to provide mobile data services, thus limiting its sourcing of foreign handsets.
``The abolition of the WIPI requirement will allow SK Telecom and KTF to release iPhone and other quality handsets from foreign makers, which will help them boost their average revenue per user (ARPU) through increased mobile data sales,'' said Stan Jung, an analyst from Woori Investment and Securities.
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tatertot
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:08 am Post subject: |
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| So will an iPhone 3G bought in the US work in SK then? |
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NoExplode
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:40 am Post subject: |
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YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
Korean just grew up a little bit! |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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| I bet they'll add a special tax to the I-phone to reimburse Samsung, LG, Sky, and everyone else for their lost profits. This will, of course, make the I-phone too expensive for most people. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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It'll be more than in the US, but I seriously doubt it'll hit the 800,000w price of the Samsung Haptic last spring.
I'm guessing it'll be around the 400,000-500,000w range. Sucks when you thik abotu the cheap iphones that might show up at Walmart. |
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ulsanchris
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
Location: take a wild guess
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| I just wonder what they are going to charge for iphones and blackberries. The Omnia is going for around a million won. THe iphone in the US is heavily subsidized by the carrier. How much will the local carrier subsidize it here? I think they are goind to be very very expensive. |
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boatofcar
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Location: Sheffield, UK
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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| If I buy one here can I take it to the UK and use it? Or will there be some kind of regional lockout other than the SIM card? |
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keseki
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:12 pm Post subject: |
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| beautiful news to start my day! finally we'll be able to buy some quality phones here! its too bad we'll have to wait till spring though. should have happened jan 1 like some wanted it to.... |
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ppcg4
Joined: 16 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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| tatertot wrote: |
| So will an iPhone 3G bought in the US work in SK then? |
I got my 3G iPhone on launch day and brought it here thinking I could use it. Man what a mistake.
Life would be so much cooler with the ability to use this thing. I have a crappy Sky phone that I would love to huck into the Han. I still carry the iPhone around for music and video. It would just be so awesome.
Maps (with GPS), weather, Safari, and a phone all in one. |
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NoExplode
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:49 pm Post subject: |
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On release day, it would be cool to have an "Old Crappy Korean Phone Crushing Party" in Jongno where they had the beef protests. Invite the media to watch us stomp our crap overpriced phones.
By the way, I'm sure the Haptic and Omnia will magically come down in price, just like Korean beef is magically coming down in price 50% without the monopoly on the market. |
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xpat
Joined: 13 Mar 2008
Location: Kangnam baby
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red_devil
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:54 am Post subject: |
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| I will buy one, i'll gladly trade 3G iPhone for my Haptic 2. Also, i don't think the prices will be that inflated. If you look at pricing plans for the Japanese iPhone it's not that much more than the US. Typically, what Apple wants, Apple get's. I think the carrier SK or KTF that bows to Apple demands the quickest will get the iPhone first. |
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sarbonn
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Man, I miss my iPhone so much. |
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Alexander
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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I'm so excited, I peed a little.
That said, I bet the stuff it up somehow. Pricing, plans, crippled hardware, etc. Here's hoping Apple does the right thing and enforces a standard on Korean telcos. |
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superdave
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Location: over there ----->
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| Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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screw the iphone ...
i'd take a blackberry though ...  |
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