New iPhone 3GS brisk Thai sales expected
The Nation: 4 Aug 2009
iPhone 3GS expected to be hot itemTrue Move expects sales of the new iPhone 3G model - the iPhone 3GS - will exceed 50,000 units by the end of the year.
Papon Ratanachaikanont, assistant to the president and CEO as well as being deputy group chief commercial officer of True Corp, yesterday said sales of the new gear were expected to be higher than those of the current 3G model, of which True Move had sold all 50,000 allocated units as of last month.
The iPhone 3G made its debut in January.
He added that US maker Apple had allocated only around 50,000 iPhone 3Gs for True Move, which is the exclusive authorised cellular-service provider of iPhone 3G devices in Thailand.
He claimed the Thai market had showed the highest sales for the model within the region.
Reservations for the new iPhone 3GS model can be made from tomorrow through to August 24 at www.truemove.com.Customers are required to pay a deposit of Bt2,000 and they can specify the True Shop where they want to receive their handsets. They can pick up their iPhone 3GS devices from August 28 to September 3.
The 16-gigabyte 3GS phone costs Bt24,500, while the 32GB model is offered for Bt28,500. Papon said these were subsidised prices.
True Move offers monthly installment packages for the phones exclusively for existing subscribers of the True business group.
Papon said True Move had to require a deposit in order to provide Apple with the precise number of mobile-phone users committed to paying for the iPhone 3GS. This should make Apple allocate an appropriate volume of the new model for True Move, should there be high demand.
He said Apple had allocated only about 1,000 units for True Move in the first batch.
The TrueMove launch of iPhone 3G devices is aimed at fostering the company's brand image and increasing its number of post-paid subscribers.
Papon said that initially most of the subscribers for the existing iPhone 3G model had been prepaid users, before later switching to the post-paid option.
Meanwhile, True Move has launched its 3G wireless broadband service on a trial basis, using its existing 1,800MHz spectrum.
The service is available in downtown Bangkok, including the Silom, Siam Square, Sathorn, Ploenchit and Sukhumvit areas, as well as at Suvarnabhumi Airport and in Cha-am, Hua Hin and Phuket.
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