A month after Apple started selling its iPhone in China, the device expanded its Asian reach Saturday with a much-heralded launch in South Korea.
In keeping with the tradition of waiting in line for hours in advance of an iPhone launch, hundreds queued up overnight outside the Olympic stadium in Seoul to snag the smartphone as soon as it officially landed amid blaring music and strobe lights. The hoopla appeared to far trump the phone's more subdued arrival in China, where it launched in the October cold and rain to smaller-than-expected crowds.
(Credit:
Apple)
KT Corp, South Korea's second largest mobile carrier (after SK Telecom) and the local distributor of the iPhone, says about 65,000 people have preordered the device, which hit the South Korean market two months after the government approved its sale.
Mobile penetration in South Korea is high--an estimated 93 percent of the country's population subscribes to a mobile service--but smartphones have yet to take off there due to cost, lack of apps, and high data rates by mobile carriers.
"We're hoping that this iPhone will be a trigger point for the smartphone market in Korea," said Yang Hyun-mi, chief strategy officer at KT Corp, according to the Canadian Press. Smartphones make up just 1 percent of all cell phones in South Korea, she said.
KT is pricing the 32GB iPhone 3GS at 396,000 won ($338) for customers who subscribe with a monthly service fee of 45,000 won (about $38). Customers who subscribe with a monthly fee of 65,000 won ($55) can get the phone for 264,000 won ($225). And premium users who sign up for monthly plans based on a 132,000 won ($113) basic rate can get the phone for free.
An 8GB iPhone, meanwhile, can be had for 132,000 won for subscribers signed on the 45,000 won monthly plans.
KT projects that iPhone sales will fall anywhere 200,000 to 500,000 units, a showing that's widely expected to shake up the country's mobile market. For years, the Korea Communications Commission used technical rules to stifle competition, allowing homegrown giants like Samsung and LG Electronics to take over the market, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Indeed, in good news for cost-conscious consumers, Samsung has already slashed the price of its 8GB Omnia 2 smartphone by 44,000 won ($37.50) to 924,000 won ($788).
Watch a South Korean iPhone television spot below.
Natali Del Conte fills Justin's diminutive shoes today, and boy it could not be more appropriate with today's stories. Big news of the day is daytime talk show goddess Oprah Winfrey's plans to end "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and we're hoping our very own Natali Del Conte will take over.
(Credit:
Harpo Productions)
According to WholeFitness.com, staring at breasts for 10 minutes will prolong a man's life by 5 years. Yes, this could possibly be the greatest piece of health care news ever, and we're hoping they incorporate it into the current legislation.
After some really awesome voicemails, we finally get into some tech talk with high-definition primetime entertainment. The majority of shows have switched over to high-definition broadcasts, but we're particularly disappointed that "Family Guy" and "American Dad" aren't available in high definition yet. Jeff gets really disappointed to learn that almost all cartoons are animated in South Korea. Guess that makes "American Dad" even more ironic. Included in the same list is "America's Top Model." Wilson is particularly disappointed.
Jeff will be out next week, so hopefully it won't be Wilson alone curled up in a snuggie talking about Apple and washing machines. In the meantime, be sure to keep sending in those voicemails as we prep for Thanksgiving. If you're in the New York metropolitan area, be sure to check out Ms. Del Conte on WCBS as she hosts the local news for Black Friday.
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(Credit:
Register Hardware)
We have the regular whitish Xbox 360 gaming console and the souped-up black Elite. But if you're an important associate of Bill Gates, there's also the limited-edition "mother-of-pearl" flavor as pictured here. A special gift from Gates to the president of South Korea, it features a special oriental motif that supposedly symbolizes patience and perseverance, according to Register Hardware.
The exquisite handy work of Korean artist Kim Young-Jun, 100 of these "VVIP" consoles are purported to have been commissioned by Microsoft. If you have any information on the rest of these swanky consoles' lucky recipients, do give us a heads-up. We would love to run a photo gallery.
(Source: Crave Asia)
This case has CSI written all over it.
Earlier this week the TelecomsKorea News Service and other news agencies reported that a man in South Korea (known as Seo) was presumably killed in a mobile phone explosion while working in a quarry. Then authorities said his injuries were too severe to have been caused by an exploding handset battery, though it was reportedly on fire in the victim's shirt pocket.
Now police say they suspect that the co-worker who first reported the incident (known as Kwon) was actually the one behind the victim's death, according to Digital Chosunilbo and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Kwon had apparently run over Seo accidentally while backing up a hydraulic drill rig, police say, but then told authorities that the phone battery had exploded and killed his co-worker. At that time, a preliminary examination found major injuries to Seo's heart, lungs, ribs, and spine. It is now not known how the phone caught fire.
Meanwhile, LG has issued a press statement saying that the lithium-polymer battery used in most mobile phones has been tested as safe for consumer use. A representative also added that lithium-polymer batteries, unlike lithium-ion batteries, cannot suddenly explode.
While research scientists are still grappling with the possibility of harmful effects from cellular handset use on the human body, a fatal accident involving a mobile phone occurred recently in South Korea. The TelecomsKorea News Service reported that a 33-year-old man was found dead, presumably killed by an explosion of a mobile phone battery identified to be from LG, though no specific model was cited.
It was reported that the man was found lying beside an electronic shovel at a quarry where he worked. A co-worker described him as bleeding from the nose and having a phone with a melted battery in his left shirt pocket. A professor from the Chungbuk National University examined the body and speculated that a phone battery explosion, which punctured his heart and lungs, was the main cause of death. He added that the victim's ribs and spine were broken.
This is the first time a cell phone battery explosion is believed to have taken a life in South Korea. Earlier this year, a man in China was reportedly killed by a mobile phone explosion.
(Source: Crave Asia)
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