Apple's iPhone Takes on South Korea
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has dominated the smartphone market in the U.S. since the summer of 2007 when the iPhone hit AT&T (NYSE: T) carriers, and if recent advertising trends mean anything, the device has the potential to make any carrier a major player in its market.
The do-everything device is now set to launch in South Korea on Saturday and the buzz is that it will be making an immediate impact as consumers look to get their hands on the now-worldwide phenomenon.
Since pre-order came available last week, the tech-savvy South Koreans have flooded stores with 53,000 pre-orders, substantial in a market that currently has just approximately 400,000 people using smartphones.
A smartphone is defined as a mobile communications device that has the capabilities of surfing the Internet, finding directions, and playing music and movies. If the latest launch of the Apple phone can mirror that of the U.S., the South Korean market will surely begin to be flooded with devices from native companies to stave off market share loss.
Currently LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have sold 90 percent of the cellular devices on the market in South Korean totaling 47 million handsets.
The invasion of the smartphone into new territory has the potential to spur the smartphone market, helping companies like Samsung, the world's second-largest provider of mobile phones behind Finnish company Nokia Corp., to sell larger sums of their more-sophisticated products n the country.
KT Corp (NYSE: KTC) will be the local carrier for the phone which has faced hurdles to bring the product to Korea. The Korea Communications Commission just this month gave apple license to offer location based services with the country.
The commission just recently abolished regulations that required foreign manufacturers to make devices to be sold within the country to carry special software that would make them adaptable to South Korea's wireless platform. This regulation had previously made it uneconomical to sell phones in the country.
Apple now has a presence in many countries across Asia, with devices in Japan, and recently moving into the Chinese market last month.
According to Apple, the iPhone has sold 20.7 million devices worldwide in the year through September.
Apple shares are down 3 percent to $198.37 in pre-market trading. Shares of KT Corp are at $17.27 before market hours.
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