Thousands of South Korean iPhone fans are now queuing up for the Saturday, Nov. 28 iPhone launch event sponsored by Apple and KT. The launch festivities will begin at 2 p.m. local time in the Jamsil Arena, one of the 1988 Olympic sites. See photos below.
The Korea Times reports that KT (formerly known as Korea Telecom) has received substantial preliminary interest in iPhone.
It is estimated that KT gathered more than 50,000 advanced orders for the iPhone, which seems to have already booked its place as the most popular imported premium phone before officially hitting the market.
South Korea carriers provide excellent nationwide 3G coverage/connectivity. They also have a sophisticated group of consumers who are eager to take full advantage of iPhone’s superior user interface and application offerings. As one iPhonAsia reader in South Korea noted …
In spite the months of generally hostile press here the initial reaction by savvy consumers (50,000+ advance orders in the past week) weary of the Samsung and LG hegemony, for which they pay a huge premium compared to the rest of the world, has shocked the naysayers and rival network SKT. Now the usual pundits are reduced to saying: “it’s just the pent-up demand that will soon subside.”
Used to paying up to $800+ for smart phones, shoppers should find the iphone (at about $300-$400 with a 2-year contract) to be a relative bargain, and I suspect it will really take off once more localized apps are available. There are no Android alternatives yet available, just MS (Windows Mobile) mobile crap, albeit on phones with glorious AMOLED screens, which I hope Apple will soon adopt. Stay tuned.
First iPhone TV ad in South Korea
