Smart to launch iPhone4S in Manila by end-’11

10:24 pm | Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

PH LAUNCH The new Apple iPhone 4S became available in the US market last Oct. 14, 2011, costing $199-$399, depending on included storage space, with a two-year service contract with Verizon Wireless, Sprint or AT&T. It will be launched in the Philippines hopefully before the year ends through Smart Communications, according to Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, Smart’s parent firm. AP PHOTO/ERIC RISBERG

MANILA, Philippines—Wireless telecommunications giant Smart Communications is set to heat up competition in the offering of telco services bundled with Apple products with the rollout of Apple’s game-changing smartphone iPhone to premium subscribers within this year.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Smart’s parent firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., confirmed that Smart was in talks with Apple to launch the latest version of the iPhone—iPhone4S—before yearend.

Similar to what happened to bigger markets like the United States, Germany and Canada, consumer electronics giant Apple has abandoned the regime of exclusive iPhone distribution.

With the lapse of the exclusivity deal with Globe Telecom, the original iPhone official carrier in the Philippines, Smart is now getting ready to launch iPhone4S as well.

Pangilinan said iPhone4S would initially be offered by Smart to high-end postpaid subscribers.

Smart will also soon start offering wireless broadband services bundled with Apple’s iPad tablets, Pangilinan said.

However, he could not yet say when the iPad will be offered to Smart subscribers.

“We’re working on the iPhone4 first because there’s a lot of demand for it,” he said.

Expectations that Smart will also start offering iPhones intensified recently when the mobile phone company published a conspicuous tribute to Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder, who passed away recently.

With the recent acquisition of Digital Telecommunications, Smart now controls about 70 percent of the wireless telecommunications market in the country.

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Tags: Apple , iPhone4S , New Products , Smart Communications , technology

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QWEDHCSIUQ32H4ZP5UO67777O4 Chen Dai Jian

Why wait for Smart and Globe, we are selling Iphone4s almost the same price as in US market order now search on Sulit website I am iphone.
Anonymous

its nice to know that smart will be releasing the iphone4s here in the country. it will drive the prices down. the iphone in the philippines is very expensive

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GURBWYA3AIXC22EF6E6HIHRNQE Ornbort Vortingeresdemesus

what in the world would you want an iphone for (four?) it gargles electricity, is bulky, predictive text is irritating to use, and it’s like holding a microwave oven to your ear. my phone? a cheap nokia that holds a charge for days and can be reasonably charged when jacked into any mini stop recharging station for one cycle. it’s kind of pathetic that people who have the 4 can’t wait for the 5 …just because of dr sbaitso’s great great granchild siri?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GURBWYA3AIXC22EF6E6HIHRNQE Ornbort Vortingeresdemesus

siri in tagalog ftw. lolz. “buksan ang pintuan ng bay”. “Amo, hindi ko po magagawa ang inuutos nyo”
Anonymous

well, its a good smartphone for starters. offers great apps that could be used for productivity and at work. my phone is a good phone too but i would rather buy a phone that has good apps.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GURBWYA3AIXC22EF6E6HIHRNQE Ornbort Vortingeresdemesus

i have an ipad for that. i find it strange when people have both devices..seems there is a cult that drools everytime apple e j a c u l a t e zz a product
Anonymous

i’d rather use an iphone or itouch for apps. why buy a separate device just for that. i think you’re referring to fanatics.
Anonymous

I have both an iphone 4 and an ipad 2. I use them differently, although most of my use of the iphone can be duplicated in other smartphones. In fairness the ipad 2 is making the iphone 4 obsolete and I might get an android phone when the iphone conks out.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BV5XUIS2NB44OMRVV42QVN4GVI Johnlove

Why aren’t iPhone sold at authorized Apple resellers?
Anonymous

Disregard this.
Anonymous

It’s good that Globe’s exclusivity over iPhone has ended. They simply price it too high. In other countries, carriers subsidize the cost of the phone and make money instead from the postpaid plan. Here in the Philippines, because of Globe’s greed, they even add a premium on top of a 24-month postpaid plan. Filipinos have had to resort to the grey market to sate their iPhone appetite.

Anonymous

Let’s see. All of these prices came from the AT&T website which I can’t link since Disqus won’t let me.

iPhone 4S 16GB – $199.99
cheapest phone plan – $39.99 for 450 minutes, no SMS included
mandatory data plan (cheapest) – $15 for 200MB, 2GB for $25
optional unlimited SMS plan – $20

So we have a plan that costs about $55 a month excluding taxes (this varies from state to state thus hard to compute for) and an initial cash out of $199.99 plus $16.50 sales tax, for a total of $216.49. Going by today’s exchange rate (11/10/11) of $1 = PhP43.31, the initial cash out is equal to PhP9,376.18. The plan would be equal to P2,382.05 per month. Since the iPhone 4 was sold at $199.99 as well before the 4S came out, these computations also apply to it. Globe sells the iPhone 4 for P8,399 when you get the P2499 plan which is consumable any way you want to. Knowing Globe, they very seldom reduce the prices on the phones they sell, let alone the iPhone (which doesn’t enjoy a price cut until the next iteration comes out). However, the plans here in the Philippines are very different from the US – any usage is deducted from the consumable monthly bill, the person who places the call is the only one who pays for the costs, unlike in the US where both parties’ minutes are consumed, and as far as I am aware, there are no data caps for mobile phone internet. Though our carriers’ networks are inferior to US ones.

From these computations you can say that the iPhone sold in the Philippines is cheaper than in the US.

(If i made a mistake with the iPhone 4′s selling price before the 4S came out, please let me know.)

Anonymous

You should compare initial cash out prices at the lowest possible plans. This after all answers the question on whether Globe made the iPhone affordable, not whether you got the similar value for it or not regardless of carrier and desired services.

Below are the initial cashout cost for the lowest postpaid plan when they first launched:iPhone 3G 16GB – AT&T ($299 =approx P12,857 at P43); Globe (P22,300 at Plan 1599)iPhone 3GS 16GB – AT&T ($199 = approx P8557 at P43); Globe (P29,500 at Plan 500)iPhone 4 16GB – AT&T ($199 = approx P8557 at P43); Globe (P29,199 at Plan 299)

So these are the prices anyone would have to shell out if they simply want to get an iPhone. I’d say for Globe, the prices are prohibitive especially in the Philippine market.

AT&T began offering the 3GS without a contract at $599 or around P25,757. In contrast, Globe offered a prepaid kit at P38,850. For the iPhone 4, AT&T’s price is again $599 (P25,757) while Globe originally offered the prepaid kit at P37,499.

These prices are why a lot of iPhone users in the Philippines did not get their phone from Globe but rather the grey market.
Anonymous

You are correct on the prepaid part. However, you cannot simply use the cheapest plan available on Globe because that defeats the purpose of finding a similar priced plan for AT&T. Since the carriers subsidize part of the unit cost whenever you get a plan, it makes sense to compare similarly priced plans. Of course getting an iPhone at plan 500 (which is about ~$12) is more expensive that getting it at a $39.99 plan. They cover the expense they made subsidizing the unit with their monthly rates and they need to make it back within your 24 month contract. It is pointless subsidizing a large part of an iPhone’s cost with a Plan 500.
Anonymous

For comparison’s sake, let’s look at Singtel’s prices for the iPhone 3G. Should be a fair comparison, given they’re in the same geographical region so any taxes and shipping costs should be similar.

Singtel’s lowest iPhone 3G plan costs S$56/month with a cashout of S$508 (at then-prevailing rate of P32.8, that’s P1,836.8/mo and cashout of P16,662.4). That includes 200 minutes, 500 SMS, and unlimited wifi.

Globe’s lowest plan is Plan 1599 at P1,599/mo. with a cashout of P22,300. This includes 100 minutes, 350 SMS, and 40 minutes of mobile internet and 20 hrs free wi-fi.

That’s almost P6,000 difference in the cashout. Singtel’s is more attractive and affordable while offering lots more value.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_USCOXHI2GTJQEFVTGKX4S2DV5U Rui

tama. tas mabilis pa 3g .. haha
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_USCOXHI2GTJQEFVTGKX4S2DV5U Rui

hay naku cge plan na lng ng singtel.. magresearch ka..

Anonymous

hey! do your research first.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_USCOXHI2GTJQEFVTGKX4S2DV5U Rui

totoo. yung nagreply taga globe yan.. asar talo

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_U7T7BP5KQKFBP7PMJ66OLQ35JA Reggie

@yahoo-AWB7S5BD62L4DGXVVLF6HVC34Q:disqus
It’s only expensive here in PH. In the US, it’s a good deal

8GB iPhone4 for $99? Not bad.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AWB7S5BD62L4DGXVVLF6HVC34Q Manuel

expensive piece of junk

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SZOPSQBAKYXNRIT36CFB3NV774 Joe

bitter.. wala ka lng talagang pambili…lol

Anonymous

i hope apple will also sell open line iphone.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_352DUSDRY37N7PPISY3D6W7QJQ Paolo Jose

lol. if you’re smart (or even globe for that matter), why would you sell something that can your competition use (open line phones).

thinking sometimes help

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_E5ORRID3TABTYUM5SDYNPMZX7E Franz

ryq24 said “apple”, not “smart”. And as a matter of fact, apple does sell unlocked versions of the iPhone4S.

btw, its “thinking sometimes helps”, learn your grammar.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_352DUSDRY37N7PPISY3D6W7QJQ Paolo Jose

oh yes. he said apple. sorry about that.

and thanks for teaching me in grammar
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IUT52OF65ETHYCJPFBFNXHYBLQ rouge

Speaking of grammar, “it’s” not “its”

Isn’t it funny that the person correcting somebody else’s grammar himself committed a grammar faux pas?
Anonymous

there are reasons why some people prefer an open line phone. I travel overseas a lot for long periods because of work. It is more economical to get a new sim than use Globe/Smart’s international roaming. Here in Australia, phones are locked but we can ask the provider to unlock it so that it can be used when traveling abroad and roaming is not an option.

so yeah, thinking sometimes help. You should try doing it sometimes.

Anonymous

it will be nice to buy unlocked iphones so it can be used when going traveling overseas, but apple partnered with telcos.

Smart to launch iPhone4S in Manila by end-’11

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