Australia’s top telecoms companies said yesterday they had received unprecedented pre-launch interest in the updated iPhone, days after the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
The iPhone 4S hits the Australian market on Friday, but networks began taking orders over the weekend.
Telecom giant Telstra said there had been huge interest.
“Tens of thousands of customers have already registered their interest in iPhone 4S — more than any other iPhone launch to date,” a spokesman said, without revealing figures.
Vodafone said interest had been high, despite the device disappointing some analysts because of its similarity to the earlier iPhone 4, released last year.
“Australia’s love affair with iPhone continues,” director of sales Noel Hamill said.
“Since pre-ordering opened on Sunday, the appetite we’ve seen for the iPhone 4S has been very strong. It’s the first time pre-ordering the iPhone has been available and customers are definitely taking advantage of that to get in early.”
Optus painted a similar picture, saying it was “really pleased” with the response since its pre-order site went live on Saturday.
“We cannot divulge volumes at this stage, but are happy with the number of pre-orders to date and due to higher stock levels than previous years we are confident we can meet customer demand,” a spokeswoman said.
Pre-orders began in the US on Friday, with AT&T announcing it had sold more than 200,000 in the first 12 hours, which it described as “extraordinary demand.”
The iPhone 4S looks the same as the iPhone 4, but the new smartphone is faster than its predecessor, has a better 8-megapixel camera and features new software such as the Siri personal assistant.
Separately, South Korea’s LG Electronics yesterday launched a new smartphone with ultra-high-speed network technology in a bid to catch up with rivals Apple and Samsung.
LG, the world’s third--largest handset maker, said its Optimus Long-Term Evolution (LTE) smartphone based on 4G wireless technology offers photographs and videos with “true natural colors” that are easier on the eye than other smartphones.
The 4G wireless service, based on LTE technology, promises fast data traffic and quicker access to applications such as television program, movies and video streaming.
Samsung Electronics, LG’s bigger rival and the world’s No. 2 handset maker, last month introduced a new version of its popular Galaxy S II smartphone based on the technology.
“Since mobile devices are widely expected to become the main platform for media consumption in the LTE era, high-resolution displays on smartphones will be even more necessary,” said Park Jong-seok, chief of LG Electronics’ mobile unit, in a statement.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six