With all the new iPhone 3GS news coming out in just a few more days, I was curious as to how they’ll market this outside the U.S. And not so surprisingly, Korea has been way ahead of their mobile phones technology, which I’m sure Samsung Anycall and LG would appreciate having no deal with another big competitor like iPhone. Here’s a little scoop from The Korea Herald if you’re wondering how iPhone will or will not reach Korea anytime soon ;-)

iPhone in Korea: Will they or won’t they?

Apple was widely expected to unveil its new line of iPhones in the United States yesterday, rekindling speculation among Korean technophiles that the much-anticipated gadgets may come to Korea. A local newspaper reported yesterday that KT, the country’s top telecom firm, may launch the iPhone in Korea in July or August, quoting an unnamed executive of the company. KTF, a mobile carrier that now belongs to KT, has shown interest in launching the iPhone in Korea.

But a KT spokesperson said yesterday that “Nothing has been decided on the iPhone rollout.”

Uncertain prospects

Should the iPhone finally debut in Korea, will it be able to duplicate here its success in the United States?

Or will it be another victim of the Korean market, which has been dominated by homegrown companies?

Market watchers say initial iPhone sales may be robust here, driven by demand from tech-loving young customers who are eager to hold the sleek device.

But experts are skeptical of whether the gadget will be able to break into the Korean market, given sluggish smartphone sales and ferocious competition.

“The iPhone is unlikely to have a big impact on the local market,” Han In-Q, a researcher at IDC, said. He said the iPhone may be able to win the hearts of gadget lovers, but not mainstream users.

“The local smartphone market is small. And the iPhone is not better than other handsets here in terms of specifications,” he said.

Dominant local players such as Samsung and LG have already offered sleek touchscreen phones, he added.

Slow smartphone growth

Since late 2009, foreign handset makers such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Research in Motion and HTC have tried to crack the local market, but with limited success.

Despite a series of launches, local smartphone sales are expected to remain almost flat at 300,000 units this year, from last year’s 296,000 units, according to IDC Korea.

A smartphone is a computer-like handset powered by an operating system that allows it to run productivity applications. A smartphone also gives users direct access to the mobile internet.

It also remains to be seen whether Korean customers are willing to pay expensive data rates for access to the mobile internet in one of the world’s most wired nations.

Blame for slow smartphone sales

However, in the long-term, the smartphone market is expected to grow; local smartphone sales are expected to reach 530,000 units next year and continue to grow, IDC Korea said.

This could hurt mobile carriers’ data revenue as it allows users to directly access the mobile internet without having to access operators’ portals.

Portals are lucrative sources of revenue for carriers as they charge users for downloading content such as music files, games and ring tones.

“The biggest reason why the iPhone has not been introduced in Korea is that mobile carriers have been lukewarm towards negotiating with Apple, worrying that they may lose their clout in (mobile) data communications,” Rhyu Han-seok, an IT columnist, said in an online column last week.

With consumer demand growing for a rich internet experience, however, mobile carriers seemed to make a strategic shift; they have introduced a series of smartphones and fixed-rate data plans that go with them.

However, current flat-data rates are still expensive, leading many Koreans to avoid surfing the web with their mobile phones.

“The future of Korea’s smartphone market is uncertain unless cheap flat-rate data plans are rolled out,” Rhyu said.

(hjjin@heraldm.com)
By Jin Hyun-joo
2009.06.09