Apple to launch iPhone in Taiwan next month

[AppleInsider]

Chunghwa Telecom said Friday it has won the exclusive right to begin selling Apple's iPhone 3G in Taiwan ahead of the December holiday season.

The company "has signed a contract with Apple, and will provide third- generation iPhone services in Taiwan before the end of the year," the carrier said in brief statement.

Although no further details were provided, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported Saturday that Apple granted the telecoms firm the exclusive right to sell iPhones because of its large sales channel.

Chunghwa Telecom is Taiwan's largest phone company, operating 300 retail shops across the region in addition to some 200 other stores it runs with partner Senao International.

According to DigiTimes, gray-market iPhone 3Gs imported from New Zealand, Hong Kong and the US have been available for sale in Taiwan for a while, with prices ranging from NT$22,000-24,900 (US$667-755) for an 8GB model.

In related news, Movistar on Saturday began selling the iPhone 3G in Venezuela -- the only Latin American country that had yet to see availability of the Apple handset.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[wheelhot]

Great, so how about iPhone in Malaysia? You guys got the Malaysia Online Apple Store up and running, it must be soon right???? :cross fingers:

[Crtaylor]

I know that Apple is very popular in the US, but for the majority of the rest of the world it isn't. For example, one of the most popular MP3 players in the orient is the "AIGO" not the iPod. It is great that Apple is expanding its wings, but it will not be an Apple-centric world any time soon.

[bmson]

What about Iceland, the only European country without iPhone?

[TokyoJimu]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Chunghwa Telecom said Friday it has won the exclusive right to begin selling Apple's iPhone 3G in Taiwan ahead of the December holiday season.

What December holiday season? There's no such thing in Taiwan, and I'm sure the press release said no such thing.

[Lafe]

Originally Posted by TokyoJimu

What December holiday season? There's no such thing in Taiwan, and I'm sure the press release said no such thing.

Winter Solstice is coming, and so is Constitution Day (25 December)!
iPhones for everyone!!!

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by Crtaylor

I know that Apple is very popular in the US, but for the majority of the rest of the world it isn't. For example, one of the most popular MP3 players in the orient is the "AIGO" not the iPod. It is great that Apple is expanding its wings, but it will not be an Apple-centric world any time soon.

Some stores would help in that department.

[Adjei]

Originally Posted by Crtaylor

I know that Apple is very popular in the US, but for the majority of the rest of the world it isn't. For example, one of the most popular MP3 players in the orient is the "AIGO" not the iPod. It is great that Apple is expanding its wings, but it will not be an Apple-centric world any time soon.

So what do you want them to do? Stop expanding?

[webhead]

Originally Posted by Crtaylor

I know that Apple is very popular in the US, but for the majority of the rest of the world it isn't. For example, one of the most popular MP3 players in the orient is the "AIGO" not the iPod. It is great that Apple is expanding its wings, but it will not be an Apple-centric world any time soon.

The goal, for Apple, is not to make the world apple-centric overnight, this is a common misconception. The goal is to slowly become present all over the world with steady growth and make a ton of money doing so. Microsoft quickly became omnipresent overnight and is now presented with difficult growth problems, they have no where else to go but down. Apple has nowhere to go but up, giving apple the more favorable position in terms of revenues from future growth.

But anyway, it's a common misconception that Apple and their fans want the whole world to be Apple-centric. We don't want that at all, there is plenty of room in the world for multiple computer companies. I would never want Apple to be top dog in the world because they would just make crap products that cater to the lowest common denominator, like Microsoft.

[Mac31]

third- generation iPhone

3rd Gen? It's the second gen. I love how people mistake "3G" for something else.

[PXT]

Originally Posted by webhead

[...]

But anyway, it's a common misconception that Apple and their fans want the whole world to be Apple-centric. We don't want that at all, there is plenty of room in the world for multiple computer companies. I would never want Apple to be top dog in the world because they would just make crap products that cater to the lowest common denominator, like Microsoft.

Me too. I don't want Apple to have to cater to the lowest common denominator. As long as there are open standards for content access ( such as IMAP ) Apple can be a premium player living alongside other systems.

Also, I wouldn't want Apple to be considered a monopoly and have to start breaking apart its nice, integrated products to satisfy the courts. I read somewhere that 30% market-share starts to look like an internal market, and I guess that Apple could be very successful for a long time serving a % smaller than that.

[wheelhot]

Yeah, I want Apple to stay premium and I'm willing to pay for their premium product. I don't care about those people who start whining about expensive Apple products cause as usual, they fail to understand why are you paying a premium and explaining to these kind of people is a waste of time.

[jaypres]

Taiwan is the best!!! Taiwanese girls are also the best!!!