July 30, 2010 at 02:18The second wave of iPhone 4 sales begins in Australia
As said Apple CEO Steve Jobs earlier this month and confirmed in a press release earlier this week, Apple is launching a new wave of iPhone 4 sales in 17 new countries. This wave of sales includes the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The Sydney Morning Herald draws attention to the situation in Australia, where Apple's partner stores, due to the launch of sales, postponed the opening hours of stores from 8:00 a.m. to midnight local time.
But in the race to gain as many customers as possible, Optus, Telstra and Vodafone / 3 went in the opposite direction to make the wait a special event. Singer Kelly Rowland greeted customers at Optus and Vodafone, treated those who were waiting for free drinks, and Telstra offered excellent cuisine.
Sources say that each company received 12-13 thousand units of iPhone 4 in the first batch, while Optus received more than 100,000 pre-orders of customers, Optus shares are likely to fall within a few days.
As it turned out, things are not without difficulty in New Zealand, where the temporary difference with Sydney is two hours. According to local reports, Apple’s deal with Vodafone was canceled, since all references to the device disappeared from the courier’s site yesterday, and nothing was announced about other plans. It is also reported that Vodafone has posted signs in its stores this morning that sales will not start today.
The changes would seem to force customers to stay with unlocked iPhones 4 models and unsubsidized prices, available only through the Apple online site as the only opportunity in this country, although rumors also suggest that the device might be available there through other retailers .
A Vodafone spokesman declined to comment and direct questions to Apple, whose representatives have not yet made demands on nzherald.co.nz.
But it’s clear that Apple’s deal with Vodafone has been canceled and the gadget will not be available in New Zealand stores tomorrow, only on-line from Apple.
However, another rumor is gaining strength on Twitter that the seller of JBHiFi will still be selling the iPhone 4 tomorrow.
South Korea, as originally planned, will also be included in this wave of sales launches, but Zhdobs said at 4 iPhone press conferences earlier this month that the launch there will be delayed, as the company is awaiting government approval for this device. Government officials dispute this view, however, claiming that Apple should still submit the iPhone 4 for approval.
At the presentation of the iPhone at the International Apple Developers Conference in June, Jobs announced that 24 uncertain countries will be included in the third wave, which will begin in August, and another 40 countries will see iPhone 4 in September, leaving the total number of countries to be 88. However, it is not known whether Apple still plans to stick to this schedule.
Update: We heard that both Vodafone and JB Hi Fi claim that there was a “customs error” responsible for canceling today's launch of sales in New Zealand.
Original
The Sydney Morning Herald draws attention to the situation in Australia, where Apple's partner stores, due to the launch of sales, postponed the opening hours of stores from 8:00 a.m. to midnight local time.
But in the race to gain as many customers as possible, Optus, Telstra and Vodafone / 3 went in the opposite direction to make the wait a special event. Singer Kelly Rowland greeted customers at Optus and Vodafone, treated those who were waiting for free drinks, and Telstra offered excellent cuisine.
Sources say that each company received 12-13 thousand units of iPhone 4 in the first batch, while Optus received more than 100,000 pre-orders of customers, Optus shares are likely to fall within a few days.
As it turned out, things are not without difficulty in New Zealand, where the temporary difference with Sydney is two hours. According to local reports, Apple’s deal with Vodafone was canceled, since all references to the device disappeared from the courier’s site yesterday, and nothing was announced about other plans. It is also reported that Vodafone has posted signs in its stores this morning that sales will not start today.
The changes would seem to force customers to stay with unlocked iPhones 4 models and unsubsidized prices, available only through the Apple online site as the only opportunity in this country, although rumors also suggest that the device might be available there through other retailers .
A Vodafone spokesman declined to comment and direct questions to Apple, whose representatives have not yet made demands on nzherald.co.nz.
But it’s clear that Apple’s deal with Vodafone has been canceled and the gadget will not be available in New Zealand stores tomorrow, only on-line from Apple.
However, another rumor is gaining strength on Twitter that the seller of JBHiFi will still be selling the iPhone 4 tomorrow.
South Korea, as originally planned, will also be included in this wave of sales launches, but Zhdobs said at 4 iPhone press conferences earlier this month that the launch there will be delayed, as the company is awaiting government approval for this device. Government officials dispute this view, however, claiming that Apple should still submit the iPhone 4 for approval.
At the presentation of the iPhone at the International Apple Developers Conference in June, Jobs announced that 24 uncertain countries will be included in the third wave, which will begin in August, and another 40 countries will see iPhone 4 in September, leaving the total number of countries to be 88. However, it is not known whether Apple still plans to stick to this schedule.
Update: We heard that both Vodafone and JB Hi Fi claim that there was a “customs error” responsible for canceling today's launch of sales in New Zealand.
Original