“When Phil Schiller introduced the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c last September at Apple’s HQ, the SVP of Worldwide Marketing proclaimed that Apple would officially partner with over 270 carriers in 100 countries by the year’s end to distribute the iPhone to customers,” Zac Hall reports for 9to5Mac.
“That trend of expansion has seemingly continued as we saw Russia’s second largest carrier Megafone reestablish a direct relationship with Apple and commit to a three-year deal to purchase and carry the iPhone at the beginning of this year.,” Hall reports. “Now it seems Apple has inked deals with two carriers in Serbia to officially distribute the iPhone in the European nation for the first time [Mobile Telephony of Serbia, or mt:s, and Vip Mobile].”
Hall reports, “Apple is also signing deals in Lebanon.”
Read more in the full article here.
Hello, I’m Predrag’s little brother Prodrog. I would like to tell you that Apple Maps is a black hole where Serbia is located. T’here are no roads, no villages, no street names, no towns, no nothing. It is as if Serbia has disappeared off the face of this Earth.
I am making this a public service announcement in case you are unaware. I have written to Tim Cook many times but he seems to be too busy to pay any attention to Serbia.
I didn’t know Predrag had a brother.
Prodrag seems to lose every time
Predrag Troll!
Same with the Ukraine… no goggle Maps or anything. Actually, it is getting better but there is still no pothole warnings.
Where?
Sorry, aimed at Prodrog’s first post, not yours, MizulnOz: we all know exactly where the Ukraine is, especially Kiev.
Good luck for the future.
Serbia is a black hole you say. Are you living in the alternate world?
There are many parts of the world that need mapping. Google Street View didn’t happen overnight. Canada was over a year behind the US before the major cities got mapped. The smaller cities and towns are still in the process. Serbia might be important to you as Canada is to me but I recommend patience. US companies take care of US citizens first. If Serbia wants maps, maybe they could invite outsiders to do it for them OR they could contract with Apple to do it OR they could have invented the iPhone themselves and created the world’s biggest company on their own like the Fins did with Nokia. Light a candle instead of cursing the dark.
One of your better posts for sure!
Aren’t you a funny guy…
That’s funny. I have a friend in Lebanon and he already got an iPhone 5S.
When it isn’t officially released in lebanon, it doesn’t mean itt is not available. I am in lebanon and I got the iPhone 5s since october and it was even available in gold, but it launched at a price of 1200$ then became about 870$ and now its price is 750$ ( for the 16GB model)
wow.
official iPhone representation in LEBANON!
wow, thanks Apple!
After all, Lebanon is the smartest, most educated, most democratically open market in the Middle East…about time it’s recognized after its Phoenician past…
Lebanon? Does an iPhone command-detonate an IED better than a Droid or an old style flip phone?
I don’t know about Lebanon, but there is an existing market for iPhone in Serbia, with probably hundreds of thousands of them in circulation, and that was without an official App Store and iCloud support. People would register in Hungary, Romania, even Croatia, and just change the credit card info later, and it seemingly worked.
Hopefully, they will now all switch to the new Serbian App Store, which should quickly ramp up business in the country.
Most importantly, having an official carrier, with subsidised plans, the devices will finally become more affordable.
Where is that iPhone store? I didn’t know there is one.
There isn’t one yet. All iPhones currently in circulation in Serbia were purchased overseas and imported. Since there is no official Apple Store for iOS apps in Serbia, the only way to activate an iPhone was to register in Hungary or Croatia.
MTS Serbia hasn’t yet started selling iPhones, but it is now a matter of weeks (hopefully). The contract has been signed with Apple and they’re now in the process of setting things up.