Russia and China may have felt left out, however - Apple does not yet plan to sell the latest version of its phone in these countries. But they should not worry - anyone, in either country, will be able to buy the fashionable device, no matter what Mr. Jobs says.
The new iPhone, which comes in 8-gigabyte ($199) and 16-gigabyte ($299) models, will be launched this month in six countries. Apple later plans to extend sales to 29 countries in Europe, 15 in Latin America and eight in Asia and Africa.
The strange thing is that a list featuring Egypt, Peru, Kenya and Niger does not include Russia or China. This is especially strange because, as Mr. Jobs himself has said, these are important and attractive markets.
The official explanation is that Apple has not yet negotiated with Chinese and Russian network operators on division of profits.
A year ago Apple persuaded operators in other countries to pay it part of the profits from services provided to iPhone owners, and this year the operators will subsidize sales of the company's handsets. Mr. Jobs says that such agreements could be reached with Russian and Chinese operators before the end of 2008.
But it still seems strange that consumers in two of the world's biggest, fastest growing and most attractive markets are being asked to wait six months, or even more, to buy a new product. One might well wonder if there are ulterior motives at work, and on closer inspection it appears there are.
Eldar Murtazin, an analyst at Mobile Research Group, said that a company selling a new product must provide maintenance services for it, which means setting aside up to $45 per unit (though not all this money is actually used).
But the enthusiasm of Russian consumers for all kinds of new gadgets will make it a difficult market to defy. Many Russians are ready to forgo any kind of warranty just to purchase a new gizmo, and some analysts think the new iPhones will make it to Russia much earlier than Mr. Jobs announced (the company's management seems to realize this too). But only so-called "gray" handsets will be supplied.
The mechanism is quite simple. As more phones are dumped on the American market than it can absorb, some of the extra handsets will find their way to distributors, who unlock them (a simple enough procedure with the right technology) and send them on to Russia. For Apple, this is a win-win situation: they corner new markets without investing a cent in services networks.
That was how the first iPhones arrived in Russia. The same pattern is followed in China, where officially there are still no Apple communicators on sale. But unofficial figures show sales of an estimated 600,000 first-generation iPhones in China in the first quarter of 2008.
Banning supplies to China is likely to be counterproductive, and not only due to tight official controls. Chinese companies simply respond to the appearance of any fashionable device by producing replicas. Their imitations, such as HiPhones, already outsell iPhones by a wide margin.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
