iTunes now selling and renting movies in 42 newly-opened stores
Apple on Wednesday activated iTunes movie sales for a bulk of the countries in which the online media storefront launched earlier in December, though film selection and availability is somewhat limited and varies from region to region.
A number of AppleInsider readers have reported that movies are now available through iTunes in various countries, such as South Africa, but many stores are only showing films from Disney, Sony and their subsidiaries. It should be noted that not all countries allow for movie rentals or high-definition content.
On Dec. 4, Apple officially opened the iTunes Music Store in 56 countries, offering users access to both local and international artists. However, at launch only Russia, Turkey, India and Indonesia supported movie and video purchases, with no timeline given for future rollouts.
As of this writing, the iTunes Store users now have access to movies in the following newly-added countries:
Europe: Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine
Africa, the Middle East and India: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Arab Emirates, Uganda and Zimbabwe
Asia Pacific: Indonesia, Micronesia, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
Latin America and the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago
A number of AppleInsider readers have reported that movies are now available through iTunes in various countries, such as South Africa, but many stores are only showing films from Disney, Sony and their subsidiaries. It should be noted that not all countries allow for movie rentals or high-definition content.
On Dec. 4, Apple officially opened the iTunes Music Store in 56 countries, offering users access to both local and international artists. However, at launch only Russia, Turkey, India and Indonesia supported movie and video purchases, with no timeline given for future rollouts.
As of this writing, the iTunes Store users now have access to movies in the following newly-added countries:
Europe: Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine
Africa, the Middle East and India: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Arab Emirates, Uganda and Zimbabwe
Asia Pacific: Indonesia, Micronesia, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
Latin America and the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago
Comments
Movies are still priced a little too high for rental and sales in India. Music on the other hand is pretty decent. A full album costs less than $3!
Apple is still working out some teething problems though. They had priced the Pink Floyd Discovery box set at Rs. 120 (approx. $2.5) and I bought it on the day iTunes launched. Now however, checking the price, it is Rs.1600 (approx. $30). I think they realised it was not a single album, but a box set and have adjusted the price accordingly.
I wonder how many other goof-ups happened.
Rather disappointing assortment and most important: only very few with Dutch subtitles. This will not bring Apple far on the Dutch market.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by SwissMac2
Considering India has 200 million consumers on broadly Western incomes those prices in India are overly generous. The vast majority of Indians however - the other 900 million or so - can't even afford a computer so again, pricing for the average income per head of population is ineffective - the poor can't pay, and the rich get a bargain. I'd say that's a prime "goof up" in Apple's marketing.
There are competing digital music sellers in India that charge a little less than Apple. The advantage with iTunes however is that you can buy once and download any number of times. The other one I tried only allows a maximum of 4 downloads.
But speaking about the price, I think the 12-15 INR that is charged per song is the sweet spot where people will buy them. If it was any more expensive people would hesitate to buy it.
I think the songs are more of a 'mass market' item. Compared to the pricing in the West it is really cheap.
However, the flip side is that the hardware costs almost 30% more than what it costs in the US. Of course, there is nothing Apple can do about it currently as it is a Government policy that any company that does not create jobs in India and only wants to sell in India has to pay an import duty of approx. 30%.
The fact that no carrier subsidises iPhones doesn't help either, as you end up paying approximately $1100 for the 64 GB version - if you can actually find it in stock.
Overall, India is still a niche market for Apple. For example, the iPad Mini was available for sale last Friday. However, the authorised reseller from whom I buy all my Apple stuff informed me that there were getting only 1 64 GB White WiFi model. I picked up the only piece they got. They were similarly short on other models as well and by Saturday, the very next day, they were sold out and wait times for new stock is currently at about 3 weeks.
India will not get the attention China currently gets from Apple anytime soon.
What the frak?! Turkey and part of Russia are definitely in on the continent of Europe.
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
What the frak?! Turkey and part of Russia are definitely in on the continent of Europe.
You're half right (oh, right, Instanbul. Cheaters). Never mind.
Oh, no. It's the "Americas" all over again!
Apple can't sell what the Studios don't give
If Turkey is part of NATO, which would be by their request, and applying for EU membership, then it seems pretty clear that they identify themselves as European, not Asian. Regardless of the actual geography
Originally Posted by charlituna
If Turkey is part of NATO, which would be by their request…
I'm not sure that can follow here, but it's an interesting argument in its own right in that there's no access to the Atlantic anywhere near Turkey. Same with quite a few NATO countries.
Russia is NOT Part of Europe, and neither is Turkey. Get your geography straight.
True but we are talking about economic grouping here. Most company categorise them as a part of one entity in term of business operation. Example SONY EMEA. Do your research first too.Excluding all other definitions, like economics, if we look at only the man made boundaries these nations reside they are clearly on the the geographical continent known as Europe.
A country can be part of more than one continent at a time and there is no rule of there needing to be x-percentage of the nation on a continent to be considered as part of that land mass.
I thought the generally accepted dividing line was the Ural mountains, which Russia straddles. Most of Russia's population is in Europe.
That's certainly how I learned it. I have never once heard of a geopolitical dividing line trumping a natural boundary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
If Turkey is part of NATO, which would be by their request, and applying for EU membership, then it seems pretty clear that they identify themselves as European, not Asian. Regardless of the actual geography
We (Europeans) don't care wether they identify themselves as European. Geographically, Europe looks like the map already posted. Russia is a culture by itself, and certainly not a european culture. The biggest part of of Russia is located in Asia and they are not european at all, so Russia is not a part of Europe, period.
Next time I'll say that Mexico is a part of the US of A since it's on the same continent and read your reactions to that.
The map you're referencing includes the most populous part of Russia in the colored region, the part West of the Urals, so your map witnesses against your case.
You're also appealing to a false dilemma. Russia is on both the European and Asian parts of the Eurasian land mass, it's not exclusive-or. Land mass itself isn't a good judge anyway, since the population density in the east is mostly extremely low. If you want to say Western Russia isn't a European culture, you must also agree that Western Russia is certainly far less similar to Asian culture, so the best cultural line is still the Urals. Also, culturally, while Russia might not be like Western Europe, it certainly blends very well with Eastern Europe, so unless you're kicking them out of your Europe map, I don't see why Russia isn't in it.
What you have is a failure of analogy. Europe isn't a country like the USA. However, Mexico is often considered to be part of North America.
Originally Posted by Denmaru
We (Europeans) don't care wether they identify themselves as European. Geographically, Europe looks like the map already posted. Russia is a culture by itself, and certainly not a european culture. The biggest part of of Russia is located in Asia and they are not european at all, so Russia is not a part of Europe, period.
I'm sorry, what's with this reaction?
You said something hopelessly false, having done no research into the matter, and instead of simply conceding your inaccuracy (which, at the very least, you should have done when I posted the map of the extent of Europe), you're just moving the goalposts and saying, "Russia doesn't have a "European culture"," whatever the heck that's supposed to mean.
I guess Belarus, Ukraine, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Kazakstan aren't part of Europe either because they don't use a Latin alphabet.
Next time I'll say that Mexico is a part of the US of A since it's on the same continent and read your reactions to that.
Good, that's even more hopelessly false than your other comment. If you want to do something (in this case, be wrong), I say commit to it.
Originally Posted by JeffDM
…Mexico is often considered to be part of North America.
Only because many pretend it isn't.