Apple Inc’s new iPhone 4S made glitzy and chaotic debuts in three new Asian markets yesterday, with customers and profiteers lining for up to a week to get their hands on the popular gadget.
Thousands of people thronged Apple’s new harborside store in Hong Kong as staff cheered and clapped, while midnight launches in South Korea and New Zealand featured celebrities and sports stars.
Top South Korean mobile operator SK Telecom put the iPhone 4S on sale at midnight for 100 enthusiasts who had placed pre-orders, with the country’s most popular actor, Won Bin, and actress Shin Min-a counting down to the time.
Korea Telecom laid on comedian Choi Hyo-gong and offered drinks and a prize quiz to 100 people awaiting its own launch at 8am.
Die-hard fans had been keenly awaiting an upgrade to the earlier iPhone 4 long before the 4S was unveiled on Oct. 4.
“I’ve been waiting for the iPhone4S for over an year and I didn’t hesitate when I heard the news that it will be sold in Korea,” said Lee Jae-kwang, 31, the first in line for the phone at SK Telecom.
The iPhone 4S was due to roll out in 12 other markets from Europe to Latin America later in the day.
The celebratory atmosphere was soured in Hong Kong by the presence of dozens of aggressive profiteers and professional line-sitters, who set up a gray market outside the store almost as soon as the phones went on sale at 7am.
“I have collected about 198 phones since this morning from my line-sitters,” mobile phone dealer Ken Wong said, adding he paid the line-sitters about US$70 each.
He said the phones were for his “friends and customers.”
Regular customer Xu Yaojun came from Xiamen with his wife and eight-year-old daughter, who skipped school for the occasion.
He arrived at 10am, but staff told him there were only enough phones in stock for people who had waited in the line, which was about 1,500-strong when the store opened its doors.
“The staff told me the phones are all sold out ... I can’t wait for the official release in China, that’s why I’m here,” Xu said.
He said he would have to pay extra to buy an iPhone 4S on the gray market.
The launch was more laid back in New Zealand, where about 100 people showed up for the midnight launch in Auckland. Telecom Corp laid on pizza and entertainment, and All Black rugby star Dan Carter manned the sales desk.
The iPhone 4S is already a record-breaker for an Apple product, with more than 1 million sales in the first 24 hours of pre-orders when it first went on sale last month, shortly after the death of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. It boasts faster speeds, a voice-controlled assistant called Siri and an improved camera.
New Zealander Jonathan Mosen, who is blind, lined up for six hours to ensure he got his hands on the phone, saying its voice recognition technology was a boon for the visually impaired.
“It’s the only cellphone you can take out of the box and it is usable by a blind person,” he said.
Apple plans to make the iPhone 4S available in more than 70 countries by the end of the year.
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