A round-up of international iPhone news
“iPhone sales are continuing to accelerate,†said Matthew Kay, CEO of O2 UK. Despite the dismal economic climate, the division’s annual sales were up 10.6 percent in 2008, thanks in large part, said Kay, “[to] the success of our products at the top end of the market, including BlackBerry and iPhone.â€
Telefonica’s worldwide sales were up 6.9 percent for the year, led by growth in its Latin American (12.9 percent) and European (5.9 percent) divisions.
Meanwhile, in Japan Softbank, the country's exclusive carrier of the Apple device, is cutting iPhone prices "as sales flag," according to mocoNews.net
As part of its three-month “iPhone for Everybody†campaign that kicks off today, Softbank Mobile is giving the 8GB iPhone away free to new subscribers signing up to a two-year contract. New subscribers can also opt for the 16 GB model whose price has been slashed from $350 to $118. The iPhone’s maximum data plan also has a new price, dropping from $62 a month to $46.50 a month.
Meanwhile, Unicom is set to be the iPhone carrier in China starting in May , reports ShanghaiDaily (quoting unnamed sources). Appleand China Unicom are close to an agreement to introduce the iPhone 3G into China, the world's biggest mobile phone market, industry officials said.
It has been reported that Apple has been in talks with China Mobile since 2007 to introduce the iPhone into China but both sides haven't announced any agreement. China Unicom, which will debut its 3G services using the widely used WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) in in May, said recently it was in talks with Apple to introduce iPhone 3G, adds Shanghai Daily.
Be sure to check out the Macsimum Valetine's Day Coupon book below. It has discounts available only to Macsimum readers.