iPhone Buzz » korea

Apple exec to face inquiry in Korea, iPhone 4 has 82% higher breakage than 3GS, iOS 4.2 beta on dev site

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:03:41 +0000

Apple’s Farrel Farhoudi, senior director for iPhone service, is going to face an inquiry in Korea over complaints about the iPhone 4. The South Korean parliament has demanded that the Apple exec show up for questioning on complaints that Apple is providing refurb handsets rather than giving new models, repairing existing phones, or giving refunds when a users has issues.

The accident rate for the new mostly glass iPhone 4 is reportedly 82% higher than the accident rate for the iPhone 3GS. In fact, some have complained that installing and removing snug cases is enough to break the glass front or back of the iPhone 4.

The latest iOS beta offering has landed on the Apple developer site. The new version of the firmware is iOS 4.2 Beta 3 and it works for the iPhone and the iPad. So far we aren’t sure what changes will be offered in the new OS.

Secret iPhone factory rumor, Android overtaking iPhone?, Korea approves iPhone 4

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:08:37 +0000

Rumors have surfaced that Foxconn may have a secret iPhone 4 factory. According to the rumors, the purpose of this factory could be either to build the iPhone 4 for Verizon or to produce redesigned iPhones with a better antenna design.

ZDNet reports that Android is starting to overtake the iPhone in market share. Android phones reportedly sold faster than the iPhone in Q2 2010. The big problem for the iPhone continues to be that it is tied to AT&T.

Regulators in Korea have approved the iPhone 4 for sale within the country. The exclusive provider within the country will be KT Corp and the company has stated it could be two months before the iPhone 4 is available for customers to buy.

South Korea finally making progress with the iPhone 3G

Shawn Brown — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:03:39 +0000

After much delay, the iPhone is finally coming to South Korea. Based on the mobile industry as a whole we expected South Korea to be one of the first to get this handset. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) had been requiring handsets to use the locally built WIPI mobile platform, but that has changed.

“…considering global industry trends toward the use of general-purpose mobile operating systems, we concluded that there was a need to allow carriers the freedom to decide whether to use WIPI or not,” said Shin Yong-sub, the director of KCC’s policy bureau.

Restrictions such as this have kept many foreign manufacturers, like Apple, from bringing their handsets to South Korea. Carriers KTF and SK Telecom will be testing the iPhone out in South Korea for the next few months. People in South Korea who have been patiently (or impatiently) waiting to get their hands on one will still have to wait because as the rule requiring WIPI will be effective until April of 2009.

[Via MacDailyNews]

iPhone next stop, South Korea

m3ga — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:25:06 +0000

After a successful launch, Apple has not stopped wooing carriers. The latest mills is iPhone 3G might land in South Korea. Apple’s own website revealed a job opening for “Korean iPhone Account Manager” – located in Seoul, South Korea’s capital city.

The country is the home of two mobile phone powerhouses, Samsung and LG. Korean seems to be very loyal to its home based company and have very advanced wireless connectivity; that pose some threat to how well iPhone 3G will fit in with only data transfer up to 3.6Mbps.

None or less, iPhone 3G has been proven to be a success in advanced wireless country such as Japan. I’m willing to bet that it will be the same for Korean market due to it well developed touch technology and OS.