Apple's CDMA iPhone 4 to debut overseas in Korea on March 16

AppleInsider

Korean carrier SK Telecom announced earlier this week that it will launch Apple's iPhone 4 on March 16, though reports vary on whether the company will offer the CDMA or GSM version of the handset.



In an official press release on Monday, Korea's largest wireless carrier announced that preorders of Apple's latest smartphone would begin on March 9 before launching one week later on March 16. Pricing details on the handset and related plans are as yet unavailable.



With the launch of the iPhone 4, SK Telecom is poised to recapture market share from rival Korean network KT Corp. Second-place carrier KT Corp. has enjoyed exclusive access to the iPhone since it began selling the iPhone 3GS in late 2009.



Despite intense competition from local electronics giants Samsung and LG, Apple has managed to make inroads into the Korean market. According to one report, KT Corp. sold 60,000 units on the iPhone 3GS launch day. Sales of the device eventual reached more than 1 million units.



Last year, preorders of the iPhone 4 reached 130,000 handsets, overwhelming KT Corp.'s servers.



Update:Though several reports have suggested that SK Telecom will offer the CDMA iPhone 4, it is more likely that the carrier will launch the GSM version, as the network operates an HSPA overlay similar to providers in Canada and Mexico.



However, several other Asian wireless carriers are rumored to begin selling a CDMA iPhone sometime this year. In February, Chinese news outlets claimed that China Telecom is planning a limited Beijing launch of a CDMA-capable iPhone in June. Wall Street analysts expect Indian carrier Reliance to also begin carrying the CDMA iPhone 4 later this year.



Verizon was the first to begin carrying the CDMA iPhone 4. Though some reports had interpreted short launch day lines to mean a muted launch of the handset, Verizon CEO Dan Mead revealed that online sales of the iPhone 4 made it the most successful launch in the company's history.

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daharder

Nice... Only some 4 months before the new version is introduced to the rest of the world.

logisticaldron

Where is the article update? Usually they add the update part way trough the article. I humbly request that AI writers add the update to the end of the article or use a different text color or underline to point out where changes were made if they are going to note in the title that it’s been updated.



I think think this has to be the GSM/UMTS version of the iPhone, just like KT has, who also uses a CDMA(2G)/UMTS(3G) network. Only LG in S. Korea is still using CDMA/CDMA2000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaHarder


Nice... Only some 4 months before the new version is introduced to the rest of the world.

Stop being an ass. How many of the 300 Android phones you say you own ever even make it to other countries?

nelsonx

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaHarder


Nice... Only some 4 months before the new version is introduced to the rest of the world.

What are you talking about? In Romania iPhone 4 was introduced in October, but in fact, you couldn't get it until November because of the low supply. And the first iPad it's still not available officially.

shigzeo

Damn, if you're dyslexic, CEO Dan Mead's name is unfortunate.



I read: Man Dead.



Regarding availability, you have to keep in mind that Korea is a closed country. In 2009 April or May, for the first time in its history, non-Korean phones were allowed into the country. Then, in 2009 November, the first smartphones were allowed. This country is incredibly buttoned up by large corporations and check/balances with the government that new things take time - a lot of time. That we got the iPhone and other foreign phones at all, is somewhat of a miracle.

lp_dd3vr

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo


Damn, if you're dyslexic, CEO Dan Mead's name is unfortunate.



I read: Man Dead.



Regarding availability, you have to keep in mind that Korea is a closed country. In 2009 April or May, for the first time in its history, non-Korean phones were allowed into the country. Then, in 2009 November, the first smartphones were allowed. This country is incredibly buttoned up by large corporations and check/balances with the government that new things take time - a lot of time. That we got the iPhone and other foreign phones at all, is somewhat of a miracle.

Motorola has been selling phones in Korea for the past two decades with Nokia unsuccessfully entering the market in the early 2000s.



The only reason why non-Korean manufacturers did not sell phones prior to April 2009 in Korea was due to government regulation that demanded a middle platform (called Wipi 위피) to be installed on all mobile phones sold within the peninsula.



From what I've heard, a lot of SKT users are planning to switch to the iPhone which I guess is great news for Apple. Hopefully we see more Mac adoption in the coming years in this Windows fortress we know as the Republic of Korea... another interesting fact is that Android has the largest smartphone market share in Korea thanks to Samsung.

moonpreston

I prefer the black model and white is almost impossible to find and the signal issue is really subjective some people have had major problems while I as well as others have had none.

doughbelly

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaHarder


Nice... Only some 4 months before the new version is introduced to the rest of the world.

Snark fail.



SK Telecom's the second Korean carrier to get the iPhone 4. KT's had it since September of last year.