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red_devil
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Location: Korea
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 Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:42 am Post subject: iPhone (almost) Confirmed for KOREA! |
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A ton of media outlets and online Korean blogs are reporting the near coming of the iPhone 3GS. Some sites have already posted accessories like cases, protectors, and screen films. My source who was a programmer for KT responsible for prepping and testing platforms to support the iPhone 3GS, predicts a July launch most likely towards the end of July.
Several sites have already posted ads for the iPhone 3GS as well as "launch event" banners on Korean sites. Many of these rumbling started when Korean was listed as a supported language at WWDC.
[img]http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8430/1017571jegalcshf.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4076/1017572jegalcsh.jpg[/img]
Some rumors suggest the release of just the iPhone 3G and not the 3GS but i'm highly skeptical of this. I think it would be a suicidal move by Apple not to release the 3GS when they are in all the other countries (including Japan-what happened to that competitive spirit Korea vs. Japan anyways? Guess it doesn't include free market)...
MacNN reports:
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The iPhone 3G's next destination may well be South Korea, an update to Apple's main website has exposed. The Job Opportunities section lists an entry for a "Korean iPhone Account Manager," who will be expected to "manage the day to day issues of our chosen carrier, ensure healthy relationship and help develop the market." Apple does not currently sell iPhones in Korea, and it has not formally announced any plans.
The full-time position is based within the capital, Seoul, and is said to require five to seven years of experience with carriers. Reception of the iPhone could prove unique in Korea, as the country is home to two of the largest cellphone makers in world, LG and Samsung. The region also tends to be fiercely nationalistic in terms of purchases, and has often had technology years in advance of the US. 7.2Mbps HSPA has been available in Korea since last year, in contrast to most countries with the iPhone 3G, where 3.6Mbps is the peak. The country is also working to deploy 4G and even 5G broadband. |
Korea Times Article
Danhwa |
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FUBAR
Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Location: The Y.C.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:09 am Post subject: |
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| without DMB-TV this product is toast. |
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Vimfuego
Joined: 10 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:15 am Post subject: |
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| I'll be arriving in Korea in August on a two-year contract. How easy will it be to get a phone contract up and running? |
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swigs
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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| FUBAR wrote: |
| without DMB-TV this product is toast. |
I highly doubt that. DMB-TV is only used frequently by a minority of Koreans. None of the Koreans I know actually have it and use it as a regular feature. Koreans are tech savy enough to be able to download their programs on the iphone. Actually on the subway I see as many Koreans watching stuff on their Itouches as I see people watching DMB-TV. So I think the Iphone should do well if the pricing is alright. |
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Rusty Shackleford
Joined: 08 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| What are data plan charges in Korea like? I wonder how much the phone itself will cost after tariffs and taxes. |
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FUBAR
Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Location: The Y.C.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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| swigs wrote: |
| FUBAR wrote: |
| without DMB-TV this product is toast. |
I highly doubt that. DMB-TV is only used frequently by a minority of Koreans. None of the Koreans I know actually have it and use it as a regular feature. Koreans are tech savy enough to be able to download their programs on the iphone. Actually on the subway I see as many Koreans watching stuff on their Itouches as I see people watching DMB-TV. So I think the Iphone should do well if the pricing is alright. |
So you think all those people using their i-Touch are going to do away with their iTouch and switch to an iPhone?
Also... how many people do you know? 5, 10, 10,000? That's pretty hard to make a judgment based on all the people you know. But, it's a very easy statement to make. The iPhone is a good product in the US, but it has failed in Russia, India and Japan. There are many reasons why it could succeed, but other smart phones already in the market place have superior specs, so iPHone will have to rely on its iTunes/apps store to propel it to success. Also, I worry how the iPHone will do after it's initial push once the Android phones enter the market and SK and KT get their own App stores running.
I think 100% iPhone can succeed in Korea, but it will need to enter with a top of the line product and cannot rely solely on its brand name and hope that consumers will buy the product. The price will have to be in 550,000-600,000 range or else Apple risks damaging their image as a high-quality product. That's a big reason why Apple will need to go big or stay home.
To be honest, I just wrote a 6000 word report on the issue and there are so many reasons why Apple really shouldn't enter the market, but if they can cultivate the smart phone market (1-2% of the mobile market vs 12% globally) then they could make a ton of money. Now is the right time, I just think the product needs some refining. |
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DCJames
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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swigs
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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| FUBAR wrote: |
| swigs wrote: |
| FUBAR wrote: |
| without DMB-TV this product is toast. |
I highly doubt that. DMB-TV is only used frequently by a minority of Koreans. None of the Koreans I know actually have it and use it as a regular feature. Koreans are tech savy enough to be able to download their programs on the iphone. Actually on the subway I see as many Koreans watching stuff on their Itouches as I see people watching DMB-TV. So I think the Iphone should do well if the pricing is alright. |
So you think all those people using their i-Touch are going to do away with their iTouch and switch to an iPhone?
Also... how many people do you know? 5, 10, 10,000? That's pretty hard to make a judgment based on all the people you know. But, it's a very easy statement to make. The iPhone is a good product in the US, but it has failed in Russia, India and Japan. There are many reasons why it could succeed, but other smart phones already in the market place have superior specs, so iPHone will have to rely on its iTunes/apps store to propel it to success. Also, I worry how the iPHone will do after it's initial push once the Android phones enter the market and SK and KT get their own App stores running.
I think 100% iPhone can succeed in Korea, but it will need to enter with a top of the line product and cannot rely solely on its brand name and hope that consumers will buy the product. The price will have to be in 550,000-600,000 range or else Apple risks damaging their image as a high-quality product. That's a big reason why Apple will need to go big or stay home.
To be honest, I just wrote a 6000 word report on the issue and there are so many reasons why Apple really shouldn't enter the market, but if they can cultivate the smart phone market (1-2% of the mobile market vs 12% globally) then they could make a ton of money. Now is the right time, I just think the product needs some refining. |
Are you in university here? What is your focus of study?
I was referring to Korea, and more specifically just Seoul. And I think the Seoul Subway system is a fairly good sample population for th rest of Seoul. As you know, surveys don't ask every person in the population. And I don't know why you put 5bill, when we were talking about just Korea.
But I honestly would be interested in reading your paper if you have a link to it. |
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ppcg4
Joined: 16 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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double post
Last edited by ppcg4 on Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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swigs
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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| I thought that the OS already supported Korean, or am I wrong? I know I can type in hangul on my ipod touch. |
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ppcg4
Joined: 16 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:04 am Post subject: |
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The pictures you linked to only display the support for the Korean language in the new 3.0 firmware on iPhone and iPod touch.
I would bet all my won that the iPhone won't be in Korea this year. |
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superacidjax
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Seoul
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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| superacidjax wrote: |
| I find it humorous how many iPhone haters there are on Dave's. |
I'm not an iPhone hater so much as an Apple hater.
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| The fact is, love it or hate it, Korean consumers should not be held hostage by protectionist rot from the K-Telecoms. |
Yes. |
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superacidjax
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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| FUBAR wrote: |
| ...so iPHone will have to rely on its iTunes/apps store to propel it to success. ...and SK and KT get their own App stores running. |
First of all, the App Store is THE reason iPhone is superior to everything else out there. The phone specs themselves is no big deal, but the worldwide development and the low-cost App Store model (not to mention the quality assurance through the Store) makes the iPhone great. The fact that the phone is essentially a micro-laptop is the brilliance. A normal "smartphone" is pretty limited by whatever is built into it. I had a Samsung Instinct in the States and it was crap because adding any applications to it was hit-or-miss and there was no way to assure that third-party apps wouldn't crash the phone or cause problems. Just as people through the original Mac would never work, the same naysayers criticize the iPhone (who needs a GUI anyway?)
| FUBAR wrote: |
| ..and cannot rely solely on its brand name and hope that consumers will buy the product. |
That's the whole point. The iPhone has never been about the "Apple" name. It's always been about content: the App Store. The Samsungs and LGs of the world are relying on a finite feature set, while the iPhone is not locked into a specific set of applications that a person may or may not ever use. THAT'S why the iPhone will succeed... Provided of course that the Korea telcoms don't hamstring it with archaic and protectionist limitations (i.e not allowing WiFi and even trying to keep Skype off of the phone.)
| FUBAR wrote: |
| ..I just think the product needs some refining. |
Refining? As in refining in the vein of KT's ridiculous requests? No. What needs refining is the Korea telcom and mobile internet business model. They are effectively trying to sell new cars but requiring that they be sold with a horse and buggy simply to keep the horse and buggy industry afloat.
No product is perfect, but the ridiculousness of this whole situation is that the market isn't the one deciding.. it's the telcoms. If the iPhone were such an "inferior" item, then KT and Co. would have nothing to fear in allowing the iPhone into the market unhindered. The thing is that the Korean telcoms are afraid of the iPhone because it illuminates their own business model deficiencies.
The Korean consumer is the big loser because they don't even have the choice. |
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DCJames
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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Will the iPhone do video conferencing like the 3G Korean phones do?
Also, the iPhone doesn't have a radio and the sound quality is just horrible.
No DMB.
That's not to mention that the iPhone doesn't even have any expansion card slots for adding storage.
The iPhone is a mixed bag. |
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