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Apple Launching iPhone 3G in 20 Countries Today

Friday August 22, 2008 1:09 am PDT by Arnold Kim
Apple is launching the iPhone 3G in 20 new countries today. We had compiled a full list earlier in the month.

India is one of the countries where the iPhone 3G is considerably higher than in the U.S, though they are "unlocked'. The iPhone costs 31,000 rupees (712 dollars) for the 8GB model, and 36,100 rupees ($828) for the 16 GB version. Still, the local carriers are confident that the iPhone will be a popular item.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that in Poland actors have been paid to line up in front of Orange stores to drum up interest:

"We have these fake queues at front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone," a spokesman said.

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MacSamurai
Posted: 49 months ago
Where's luxembourg's release date :(
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flamejob
Posted: 49 months ago




India is one of the countries where the iPhone 3G is considerably higher than in the U.S. The iPhone costs 31,000 rupees (712 dollars) for the 8GB model, and 36,100 rupees ($828) for the 16 GB version.


That confused me... shouldn't it read '... where the iPhone 3G costs considerably more..' ?
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ryanwarsaw
Posted: 49 months ago
Is the phone being sold unlocked in India? If so the price isn't out of line.
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Melee
Posted: 49 months ago

Is the phone being sold unlocked in India? If so the price isn't out of line.


The Indian price is far higher than the 199 dollars paid by US customers to the telecom giant AT&T for the phone.

AT&T heavily subsidises the phone in the United States and makes money by tying the customer to annual subscriptions, whereas Indian mobile providers have no such service lock-ins.


So yes, they're unlocked, so actually not too bad a deal.
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georgeoommen
Posted: 49 months ago
India also has the first pre-paid plan that I have seen.. Its actually a very good deal and since very few, if any, phone are sold subsidised, this will really do well. I would think its priced very well for the smartphone market as well as the for the rich-brats-who-don't-have-a-clue-what-the-phone-does-but-want-the-latest-most-expensive-gadget-to-show-off market.
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Shtekeris
Posted: 49 months ago
well, it's friday, and there is absolutely no sign of we (Latvia) getting iPhone today, so your list is wrong.
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Stavros
Posted: 49 months ago
iPhone 3G also in Greece

http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/cms/viewCmsPage.action?pageId=3361&request_locale=en
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big_malk
Posted: 49 months ago

"We have these fake queues at front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone," a spokesman said.


So what happens when it comes time for these actors to 'buy' their iPhone? Do they all wander off and people see they were actors and that the que isn't that big, and the iPhone isn't as popular as it looked? Or do they pretend to buy iPhones and waste everyone's time? Or do they sneak off one by one as real customers join the que?

Sound a bit of a silly idea to me.
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nlivo
Posted: 49 months ago
This actually really annoys me that this is not on the front page news. Are the 20 other countries not important to you at all? That's one of my biggest gripes with macrumors. It is waaaay too focused on the US. That's all that it thinks about. I know Apple is an American company but they are branching out more and more internationally. Releasing the iPhone to 20 extra countries at one time is a big deal.
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joess0210
Posted: 49 months ago

Is the phone being sold unlocked in India? If so the price isn't out of line.


So yes, they're unlocked, so actually not too bad a deal.


I am actually in India & can tell you that the phone is not "unlocked".
It is available on 2 of the 3 major gsm service providers in my city & it is contract free, but not unlocked.

Both providers (vodafone & airtel) are selling devices locked to their respective networks.
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