The iPhone 4S, Apple’s latest smartphone model, is expected to be available at more than 1,000 outlets of Taiwan’s three largest telecoms operators when it goes on sale on Friday, market sources said yesterday.
The sources said that because of robust preorders, the three top operators — Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone Telecommunications and Taiwan Mobile — have pledged to try their best to provide local Apple fans with the iPhone 4S by making the product available through their sprawling distribution networks.
Following negotiations, the three telecoms operators agreed to start sales of the smartphone on Friday morning, the sources said.
They are expected to stage product-launching ceremonies at their flagship outlets near Vieshow Cinemas in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), they said.
Since early this month, when the three telecoms operators launched preorders, more than 400,000 consumers have signed up for the purchases, including more than 200,000 potential buyers registering for Chunghwa Telecom’s services.
Chunghwa Telecom, which will have the smartphone available in 230 of its more than 500 outlets, said it expected its supply to satisfy the large number of potential iPhone 4S buyers.
Taiwan Mobile, which will have more than 300 outlets providing the smartphone, expects sales of the iPhone 4S to drive its growth for the fourth quarter.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
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More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
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