Who's gonna bring iPhone to the Philippines?

**morphine** · 07-27-2007, 07:12 AM

The Telecommunication giants like Smart, Globe, Sun would like to have their hands on the iPhone?

Amongst the three, who do you think will win the race to sell this iPhone?

Now an interesting question is will this be on a contract or not?

**Sponsor** · 07-27-2007 07:12 AM

**noweev** · 07-27-2007, 07:30 AM

I would think that this would definitely be under contract... rumors have been going around that it will be Smart... can anyone confirm?

**jsg123** · 07-27-2007, 08:31 AM

Smart would be nice as their 3G infrastructure is quite stable compared to Globe's.

**elbert** · 07-27-2007, 09:51 AM

At this point, no one knows. No distributor, reseller or telco has been given any indication by Apple as to who, how or when.

**pocketrocket** · 07-27-2007, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by jsg123

Smart would be nice as their 3G infrastructure is quite stable compared to Globe's.

That's IF the asian version of the iPhone will have 3G.

**morphine** · 07-27-2007, 10:56 AM

There was a rumour that the one coming in Europe would be 3G but it would be just like the US. I think amongst the European country that would get the iPhone would be Germany, France and Britain....

O2 got the contract, probably made a hefty deal with apple.

**john edward** · 07-27-2007, 11:06 AM

smart may gun for the exclusive country right to distribute it. however even if they get their way it will probably stay exclusive only for the first few months. they also need the iphone more than globe to win over more post-paid clientele. Globe's motivation will largely be just for the retention of their base.

The postpaid market as whole is very small so the most likely play of apple is to capture as much of it as possible which means granting distribution rights to whoever wants it. Im sure steve want a good slice of the cellphone pie from the likes of nokia for instance.

**King** · 07-27-2007, 11:11 AM

I'd think the Euro and Asian iPhones will go beyond 3G and do HSDPA or whatever new funky acronym geeks could think off. As I remember it Apple didnt do 3G simply because access was that spread out as EDGE and it sucked too much power.

Aesthetics over features as Apple would always doo

**elbert** · 07-27-2007, 11:16 AM

I doubt there will be any exclusive deals. Sure, all three players will push for it, but when was the last time you saw a telco have an exclusive deal on a popular and in-demand phone?

The Philippine market for high end phones is relatively small. Strategically speaking, it does not make sense for Apple (a telco newbie) to alienate other telcos by offering it to the highest bidder. It makes more sense for Apple to build relations with all of them.

I'm sure you'll find the telcos offering special deals with the iPhone, once available (i.e, free bluetooth headset, low retention plans, a free overnight at the Shang, etc).

**elbert** · 07-27-2007, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by King

I'd think the Euro and Asian iPhones will go beyond 3G and do HSDPA or whatever new funky acronym geeks could think off.

Battery life tests show why Apple skipped 3G on iPhone

Until 3G chips shrink and become a less of power hog, don't expect to see it in upcoming versions of the iPhone.