Eager Apple fanatics throughout Asia are withstanding wet, freezing conditions to wait in line two days before the next-generation iPhone is released.
On July 11, Apple will give Asian consumers, as well as the rest of the world, the first chance to purchase the new iPhone. Websites in Asia pertaining to the new phone have already been bombarded with early orders.
Twenty customers were lined up outside a Softbank Corp store in Tokyo on Wednesday morning. A customer at the head of the line held a sign reading “We Love iPhone.”
"The big appeal (of the iPhone) is that this is an Apple product," said Hiroyuki Sano, a 24-year-old student who traveled 225 miles to be first in line.
Sano will spend his 25th birthday waiting in line to purchase the iPhone with 16 gigabytes of memory. An 8-gigabyte version will also be available.
"I've told my professor I was going to go buy an iPhone, and he gave me permission," said Sano, wearing an Apple t-shirt. "He is an Apple-lover too."
The highly anticipated 3G iPhone will be released first in Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia on Friday as part of a worldwide debut in 22 countries. The new phone features faster Web links, and supports third-party applications such as games, unlike its predecessor.
Unlike the original iPhone, which was only available in the U.S. and Europe, the 3G iPhone will be available in 70 countries by the end of the year.
Both Apple and Softbank shares rose on Wednesday.
Apple reduced the handset price of the new iPhone and is allowing carriers to subsidize the phone, doing so will allow the product to reach a far larger market.
According to research firm Enterbrain, 6.7 percent of 1,200 people surveyed in Japan wanted to purchase the iPhone immediately.
Four New Zealanders began lining up on Tuesday night outside of the Auckland shop of Vodafone. The store will be the first in the world to launch the phone when it opens its door at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning.
"I'm really just doing it to be able to say that I'm the first one in the world with one of these phones," said 22-year-old student Jonny Gladwell.
Vodafone, which is New Zealand's top mobile carrier, is selling the phone for as little as NZ$199 ($150) if customers agree to a two-year contract. Vodafone's New Zealand website crashed on Tuesday due to the heavy demands for pricing details.
In Hong Kong, 60,000 online applications were received by Hutchison Telecom International to purchase one of the 500 available iPhones.
Many applicants pleaded that they needed the phone to appease demanding wives, or emphasized that it was their birthday.
One woman in Tokyo was standing in line to purchase the phone for her company, Ubiquitous Entertainment Inc, so they can develop content for the device.
Analysts say that Japan’s 108 million mobile users might not be wowed by the new iPhone.
Many people in the Tokyo line said they wanted the product as their second mobile phone.
"We can expect certain demand from core Apple fans and others, but there will be users who would hesitate about buying the iPhone because of the high monthly charges of some 8,000 yen," said Hironobu Sawake, a senior analyst for JPMorgan in Tokyo.
"Even though there will be other features that are more attractive than ordinary phones, the fact that the iPhone does not offer some features that are available on most handsets could turn off some users too," he said.
Source:
Asian iPhone Fanatics Stand In Line 2 Days Before Product Release - International - redOrbit
anyone got one?
