“KTF is negotiating with Apple to sell the highly popular iPhone in South Korea, its chief executive Cho Young-chu said Thursday,” Cho Jin-seo reports for The Korea Times.
“‘We have been trying to bring the iPhone here, but we have to wait,’ Cho told The Korea Times after attending the iMobicon 2007 conference held at the COEX in Seoul. He said that the firm is waiting on Apple’s decision. ‘The deal is up to the supplier, not us. Because the (Korean) market is so small, they will not release it until they have confidence in its marketability here,” Cho reports.
“Apple Korea’s spokesperson Park Jung-hoon refused to confirm the talks, saying it is against company policy to comment on ongoing events. He only said Apple is considering selling the iPhone in Asian nations from early next year,” Cho reports.
“A KTF official said that the iPhone to be sold in Korea will be built on the new WCDMA platform. The iPhone was originally built for the GSM network which is dominant in the United States and Europe. Adopting it to the CDMA or WCDMA platforms has been considered easily achievable,” Cho reports. “WCDMA, often dubbed as a third-generation (3G) technology, is capable of communicating with both GSM and CDMA phones.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Patrice” for the heads up.]
The little phone that united the world.
So what about Japan?
What about CANADA? Damn you ROGERS!
Meanwhile KFC is in talks with Apple to add the iDrumstick and iThighs to their fried chicken lineup.
Macromancer,
That one had me laughing out loud!
Thank you!!!
Maybe we can get a CDMA phone for Canada and ROGERS can take a flying…….
does this mean there will be an iPhone compatible with Verizon?
mr_matalino
No, it only means that the phone will be upgraded to UMTS for entering the Asian market
China already has their iPhone (knockoff). That covers 2/3 of the southeast Asia population.
Um….part of that article is wrong……WCDMA/UMTS phones will NOT work with regular CDMA networks, but most of those phones have backwards chips that are backwards compatible with GSM networks because both are mapped the same way.
In other news, WTF in talks with Microsoft Zune to carry Dixie Cup lines in Vermont late 2012.
If the next gen iPhone can run on either GSM or CDMA networks, that would be huge. You could switch service between AT&T;or Verizon or any other U.S. carrier. Wow.
@ Scarbro & John Smith
Just get an iPhone unlocked and you will be able to use it here without waiting for Rogers to get their act together. I am presently using one on Fido’s network (yes, I know Fido is owned by Rogers).
Like Korea, we are a relatively small market and Apple is not in a hurry to bring it here if Rogers will not play ball.
Great. Now I have to sell my current iPhone and move to South Korea. And buy another iPhone. And also learn to speak Korean.
so what about sister America’s? as in Latin America..I was there a few weeks back and had many, many people ask about my iPhone ! They are aware of the phone and they want it Apple!
WTF? ” Cho reports. “WCDMA, often dubbed as a third-generation (3G) technology, is capable of communicating with both GSM and CDMA phones.”??
Really? He means network. That it the phone can connect to both GSM and CDMA network.
There is nothing good in CDMA and is totally useless. GSM on the other hand is all over the world.
Oh I thought it was Kentucky Fried Chicken talking to Apple, never mind. Now I know what I want for lunch.