Chris Cantell Discusses Technologies: Moscow and Beijing- iPhone trader’s paradise by Martina Janeckova

In the days of Soviet era, Russians asked their American friends to bring jeans, rock records and other Western goods into their country. Nowadays Russians can buy almost anything they want there except one thing: Apple Inc.’s iPhone. The iPhone is a multimedia mobile phone which functions include those of camera phone, portable media player and internet services including e-mail, web browsing and local Wi-Fi connectivity. The new version of iPhone went on sale in 21 countries on July 11 2008 and will soon be released in 70 countries. However, Russia and China are not on the list. Nevertheless analysts estimate that only U. S. has more iPhone users than Russia and China. Eldar Murtazin of Moscow’s Mobile Research Group believes that 400.000 iPhones have been brought to Russia since June 2007. China is believed to have at least twice as many. Moscow and Beijing have become a paradise for iPhone traders. Russian web sites offer the new iPhone for about $1.200, six times the $199 base price in the U. S. Online auction sites in China, such as taobao.com, were offering the new model for $1.370 on the day of its release. Some Russians and Chinese buy their iPhones for themselves when abroad or ask their friends to do so and then pay a fee- around $100 in Russia- for unlocking for local use. However in the U. S. the new iPhone is subsidized by mobile carriers and buyers have to activate service contracts. So people in China and Russia need to decide if they purchase a smuggled phone or buy one abroad with a contract or wait until Apple signs contracts with Russian and Chinese providers.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080718/ap_on_hi_te/black_market_iphones;_ylt=AmY3EbVG5S_s7xZxap5tUlas0NUE

by Martina Janeckova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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posted by Lucia Adamova