Apple iPhone 3G makes international debut

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-11 09:54

TOKYO/WELLINGTON -- Apple's new iPhone made a glitzy debut on Friday as frenetic buyers in New Zealand and Japan, some of whom had camped in line for days, stormed outlets to get their hands on the gadget.

The new iPhone -- a music and video player, cell phone and Web terminal in one -- is an updated version of the original that sold to 270,000 people within days of its June 2007 launch.

After New Zealand and Japan, the sales of the 3G iPhone will roll out to more than 20 countries across the globe.

An iPhone is seen in a store before it goes on sale in central Sydney July 10, 2008. [Agencies] more photos

Several hundred people waited outside Vodafone shops in New Zealand's three main cities, supplied with music, food and entertainment, before a spirited countdown saw the first person in the world politely ushered through the door to the counter.

"I'm going to put this on charge, have a play around with it and have a nice long sleep," said 22-year-old Auckland student Jonny Gladwell, who queued in freezing temperatures for around 60 hours to be the first to buy it, at a minute past midnight.

A Vodafone New Zealand spokeswoman said more than 400 phones were sold in early morning trade.

Softbank Corp which sells the iPhone in Japan, said over 1,500 people lined up outside its flagship store in Tokyo just before its launch.

Analysts expect the new iPhone to draw as many as 10.5 million buyers worldwide this year and -- with 6 million of the older devices already in use -- help Apple beat its target to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008.

The next-generation iPhone is the first taste for Asian consumers of the multimedia device, with earlier models only available in the Unites States and Europe.

The gadget has faster Web links than the first iPhone, supports third-party software like games and instant messaging and is heavily subsidized by a coterie of phone carriers, some of which are giving it away to lure new users.

TOKYO BUZZ

Queues formed in the pre-designated Asian markets as early as Wednesday. In London and Hong Kong, carriers were swamped by tens of thousands of online applications.

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