Still no 3G iPhones. Here’s why.
January 15, 2008 by Jayvee Fernandez
Filed under Apple, Cell Phones, Mobile Monitor, iPhone
With barely an iPhone update from today’s Keynote, Steve Jobs might just have to announce the 3G iPhones at a later date.
He probably might announce the iPhone SDK, 3G iPhones and iPhone availability in another press conference that may just coincide with CTIA Wireless this April 2008. But then again, it is not like Jobs to join in on a convention to announce new products. I think the delays are mostly due to securing additional partner telcos in Asia, as the Western mobile market is rather different compared to what we see in the East. The fact of the matter is that the business model for post paid line acquisitions lean more towards how the iPhone is being sold in the west.
Another thought does occur to me — one reason why the iPhone is taking its time for launch is because the iTunes Store does not fully support all the countries in Asia. For instance, back here in the Philippines we don’t even have iTunes Store purchasing power because you need a US billing address. iTunes forms a huge part of Apple’s business model as this will be the conduit for serving iPhone apps as well. When we see the store extend to even more countries in Asia, that’s when we will see the iPhone.
