iPhone 3G set for HK launch

Apple lines up 22 key markets for new-generation phone

The wait is nearly over. Apple will first release a faster and cheaper iPhone 3G, with Chinese-language support and a slew of software applications, in Hong Kong and 21 other selected markets worldwide on July 11. “We're launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price,” Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said late on Monday (California time) to kick-start the company's five-day Worldwide Developer Conference. On July 11, Hutchison Telecommunications' 3 network will join Japan's Softbank Mobile as the first batch of operators in Asia to release Apple's new and advanced iPhone 3G. Apple will initially introduce its latest smartphone to 22 markets and later this year, to a total of about 70 markets worldwide. Unlike the first model released to the consumer market on June 29 last year, the iPhone 3G will also be targeted at corporate users – a direct challenge to current worldwide business smartphone market leader BlackBerry from Canada-based Research In Motion. The iPhone 3G supports Global Positioning System location-based services, Microsoft Exchange and third-party software applications that can be downloaded, either with charge or free, from Apple's App Market, which is available from July 11. Apple did not provide its monthly unit shipment targets per market, but noted that the suggested maximum price will be US$199 for the 8-gigabyte model and US$299 for the 16GB model. The device is the cheapest touch-screen, 3.5G network-supported smartphone in the global market. “We've made it more affordable and faster in our desire to reinvent the mobile phone market worldwide,” said Bob Borchers, senior director for Apple's worldwide product marketing for the iPhone. The phone will also run on High-Speed Downlink Packet Access Data (HSDPA) - also known as 3.5G - mobile networks, which can achieve data transmission speed of up to 14.4 megabits per second. Hutchison Telecom International, which runs mobile phone network services in Hong Kong and Macau under the “3” brand, currently runs HSDPA services capable of 3.6Mbps data transfer speed. The company is the first cellular network operator in Greater China to partner with Apple and release the iPhone 3G. “Our customers are keen users of multimedia mobile Internet content, and we are confident that they will benefit greatly from the unsurpassed communications and infotainment experience that this revolutionary phone will bring to them,” said Dennis Lui Pok-man, chief executive of Hutchison Telecommunications. Hutchison's 3 will first offer the iPhone 3G in Hong Kong on July 11 and in Macau shortly thereafter. “We're thrilled to be working with Hutchison Telecom to bring iPhone 3G to millions of mobile customers in Hong Kong and Macau,” said Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer. “We can't wait to get this revolutionary mobile device in the hands even more people around the world.” The device would be the cheapest touch-screen 3.5G smartphone not only in Hong Kong, but also around the world. Mr Borchers said the service pricing plan, terms and conditions of using the iPhone 3G in a market would vary from market to market. “Obviously some markets, operators are obligated to sell ‘unlocked' phones while others do not,” Mr Borchers said. The case of “locked” iPhone units – which prevent a non-subscriber with Apple's partner-operator to use the handset using another operator - had led to a thriving worldwide grey market for hacked iPhones. China Mobile has reported it had about 400,000 Edge cellular network-based iPhone units on its network last year. Hacking the device immediately voids its original warranty, so users of hacked iPhones cannot ask Apple for support. There is apparently no technical restriction for a mainland phone subscriber to use a new iPhone 3G purchased in Hong Kong, Macau or other launch sites in their home market. “From a technical standpoint, there is absolutely no reason they can't use the device inside China,” Mr Borchers said. “The iPhone 3G operates in four bands of GSM and three bands of HSDPA (high speed download packet access).” Despite the increased competition from Apple's iPhone, Finnish firm Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone supplier, is unfazed. In a statement, Nokia said: “It's great to see this latest innovation. As we have said before, we welcome Apple in this very opportunistic market segment.” A spokeswoman from Nokia in Hong Kong noted the company has made available an HSDPA smartphone with 5-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-fi and Bluetooth support and up to 8GB of memory since last year. This is the company's N95 model, which has so far sold 10 million units worldwide. Nokia, unlike Apple, has a broad portfolio of mobile phones released every year, covering most price points. According to research firm Gartner, Nokia sold 14.588 million smartphones in the first quarter this year to secure a dominant 45.2 per cent share of this market segment. RIM sold 4.312 million in the same quarter to hold a 13.4 per cent global share and the No 2 spot behind Nokia. Apple shipped 1.725 million units in the same period to clinch the No 3 ranking and a 5.3 per cent global market share in smartphones. The supposed iPhone 3G rival, the recently released Touch Diamond from Taiwanese smartphone maker High Tech Computer, costs more than HK$5,000. Other markets that will first receive the iPhone 3G include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and the United States. Mr Jobs said the iPhone 3G would ultimately be available in more than 70 countries later this year. Apple expected to sell as many as 10 million iPhone units this year. To date, there have been more than six million iPhone units sold since it was introduced last year. The new and improved model has built-in Global Positioning System support, for expanded location-based services, and iPhone 2.0 software, which supports Microsoft Exchange and runs hundreds of third-party applications built with the recently released iPhone software development kit (SDK). Those features extend the use of the iPhone 3G to enterprise deployments, which would let Apple challenge the current global business smartphone market share leader, the BlackBerry from Canadian firm Research In Motion. Market research firm Strategy Analytics projected the iPhone would account for 17.4 per cent of 3G handsets sold worldwide this year. iPhone 3G gives users faster access to the internet and e-mail over their cellular network with quad-band Global System for Mobile and tri-band HSDPA connections for voice and data. The device automatically switches between those network links and Wi-fi to ensure the fastest possible download speeds. It delivers an amazing 10 hours of talk time on 2G networks and 5 hours using 3G, with up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing, as many as seven hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback. Multi-tasking has been made easier, with users capable of simultaneous voice and data communications. So with iPhone 3G a user can browse the web, get map directions, or check e-mail while on a call. The new iPhone 2.0 software's support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync technology will allow provision of over-the-air push e-mail, contact and calendar syncing. Support for Cisco Systems' IPsec virtual private network technology allows encrypted access to corporate networks and ability to remotely wipe out all data in the device in case it is lost or stolen. The iPhone SDK allows developers to create applications that make use of the iPhone's groundbreaking Multi-Touch user interface, animation technology and GPS technology. iPhone 3G includes the new App Store, providing iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The App Store on iPhone works is available over mobile networks and Wi-Fi, which means it is accessible from just about anywhere, so users can purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Some applications are even free and the App Store notifies a user when application updates are available. The App Store will be available in 62 countries. Additional features available with the iPhone 2.0 software include the ability to mass-move and delete multiple e-mail messages, search for contacts, access a new scientific calculator, turn on parental control restrictions for specified content, save images directly from a web page or e-mail them to the iPhone and easily transfer them back to a photo library on a user's Macintosh or Windows-based personal computer. SCMP. Jun. 10, 2008.