Apple taps MTS to bring iPhone 3G to Russia

Reuters reports that a "market source" has confirmed that Apple has finally sealed a deal to bring the iPhone 3G to Russia in an official capacity, launching on Mobile TeleSystems "likely" in ??????? (October, that is). Neither MTS nor Apple would agree to comment on the situation -- no surprise there -- but seeing how Russia is one of the remaining gargantuan markets where the iPhone has yet to materialize, it seems like a no-brainer deal for all parties involved.

[Via mocoNews]

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 4:29PM]

in Soviet Russia, Putin tap *you*

[CraigJ @ Aug 21st 2008 4:57PM]

Then he slips some polonium-210 into your caviar...

[Colin Potter @ Aug 21st 2008 5:37PM]

"In International News today, Russian citizens overthrew the government in what is being dubbed the "Tap-Tap Revolution""

[Jason @ Aug 21st 2008 6:00PM]

I can still imagine 'W' sittin' down and calling him Mr. Puddin'

[jared Rada @ Aug 21st 2008 4:30PM]

russia doesnt deserve an iphone, period.

[RC @ Aug 21st 2008 5:10PM]

Took the words right out of my mouth.
The commies can keep their AMPS phones for all I care.

[heffeque @ Aug 22nd 2008 6:14PM]

Wow... it's interesting the double moral some people have. So... tell me... we from the US deserve iPhones because we don't invade other countries killing thousands of people? It's interesting how our government can act as the police of the world and when Russia wants to do the same thing we think that they are bad people. LOL! Tell me ANYTHING that Russia has done recently that we haven't done recetly either. We are as bad as Russia is, and I say "we" because "we" voted our politicians, so it's our fault we have the government we have.

May I also remind you that the Georgian war was started by the Georgian president and that the US helped Georgia out when Russia started counter-attacking? Can't say that we're not involved in this war either. Is there any war that we aren't going to be involved in?

It's obvious that a lot of people only read local press. Read some press from abroad and compare it to our press and you'll find out that a lot of countries are actually more mad with Georgia for starting a war they couldn't win than with Russia for counter-attacking harder than they should have.

Still the US starts putting anti-missiles in Poland... Russia isn't happy about it. Guess what... does Cuba sound familiar? Well now their Cuba is now our Poland, definitely not at the same level, but it's sure in the same category.

Stop acting like sheep and start reading news from news agencies that aren't from our own country. You'd be surprised how biased our news are. Not saying that news in other countries aren't, but you can definitely get a better picture when you have a lot of different sources and not just the same pro-"we are always the good ones and the rest are all bad people".

Good night, and good luck.

[DaLa @ Aug 21st 2008 4:32PM]

Putin = Oppression

[Wwhat @ Aug 21st 2008 10:53PM]

You = gullible target for propaganda

[f50gtr @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:02PM]

?? fail ^

[Sam @ Aug 21st 2008 4:33PM]

KILL IT

[DerekJ @ Aug 21st 2008 4:34PM]

Russia: I can has Georgia?
Us: No, but u can has iPhone!
Russia: k thx bye!

[sip @ Aug 21st 2008 4:35PM]

The iphone should distract them long enough for the US to put in more missile shields in their surrounding countries. muahahaha!

[getStringFromObj() @ Aug 21st 2008 5:42PM]

Apple is a pawn of the US Government, here is the plan: Sell 10 million iPhones to the wealthiest of Russians, then flip the internal kill switch and bam, 10 million little nuclear bombs will go off sending the country into disaster. The plan won't work though, because it will only kill politicians, lawyers, bankers, and car salesmen; see all of the engineers, scientists, and smart people use winmo.

[Adrian Williams @ Aug 21st 2008 5:44PM]

Do they really work

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Aug 21st 2008 5:45PM]

getString,

Actually the smart non-corrupt people in Russia probably can't afford a smartphone at all.

And the Russian fashionistas will own the iPhone for about 3 days until they find some new hotness. ...and people think Americans are image-conscious!

[jupiterthunder @ Aug 21st 2008 6:39PM]

@getString

Wouldn't it be easier if they just had a mass unboxing of Omnias?

[Todd @ Aug 21st 2008 4:36PM]

A picture of Dmitry Medvedev would make more sense..

[dennis @ Aug 21st 2008 4:39PM]

Medvedev is under Putin's other lapel.

[Sam @ Aug 21st 2008 4:51PM]

Not if you're looking for a photo of who REALLY controls The Sovi- uh, I mean Russia.

[lotares @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:36AM]

Medvedev makes more sense because he already own an iPhone.

[tf @ Aug 21st 2008 4:38PM]

i'm all for it. give them all the faulty chip set iphones to clear out the inventory so i can finally buy the non-lemon version.

[Rob @ Aug 21st 2008 4:38PM]

You forgot to put the red horns on this a--holes head. Apple, just like Yahoo, is showing that the "to hell with people, money comes first" attitude is what works in business. Oh well, the iPhone has never appealed to me.

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 4:41PM]

um... because other tech companies don't sell products to oppressive countries? list please!

[CraigJ @ Aug 21st 2008 4:53PM]

So, according to you, companies should not sell their products to the people of Russia or China, because the respective guys that run those governments are assholes?

Punish the people for the oppressive government. Gotcha.

[Rob @ Aug 21st 2008 5:02PM]

Well, why not? You guys are forgetting that is the people that tell government employees what to do and not the other way around. If there's something the people want and the government is doing something that prevents that, you'll bet there's going to be hell to pay. Just ask the Dems how much heat their getting right now for their position against drilling in the U.S.

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 5:07PM]

um Rob, I seem to have misplaced my smart pills, but i have no idea wtf you're talking about

[CraigJ @ Aug 21st 2008 5:17PM]

Are you telling us that the people of Russia tell the government what to do? Seriously?

[N3XuS @ Aug 21st 2008 5:25PM]

i really hate people who think they know what they're talking about but they're actually talking out of their arses...

[Tim @ Aug 21st 2008 7:40PM]

Seriously, in {soviet} russia, putin votes for you. end of story.

[Horrific @ Aug 21st 2008 4:42PM]

stupid geeks, doesnt even really know what happened between Russia and Georgia....stop watching US media, and start reading Russian blogs, if you want to know the truth....fcking tired of your american bullshit....

and stop saying something like "In Soviet Russia, something had you" or some shit like that, its just stupid.....

[andrew oh @ Aug 21st 2008 4:44PM]

Don't be mad because Amerika won the Cold War. We tore down your wallz lawl

[phanbouy @ Aug 21st 2008 4:45PM]

riiiiight.. instead of international news i should read Russian propaganda for the "inside scoop" on Motherlands's Glorious Conquests

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Aug 21st 2008 4:51PM]

In soviet russia, russian blogs read you. (and then invade you)

[Horrific @ Aug 21st 2008 4:55PM]

phanbouy
I said read Russian BLOGS, were people who LIVE there, or know wtf is going on there, telling whats going on there....
international media doesnt want you guys to know the truth, especially american media....

for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8XI2Chc6uQ

im not gonna say anything else, cause its just pointless, your guys already "zombies"...your gov. "washed" your brains...

[BigD145 @ Aug 21st 2008 4:54PM]

Nobody won the Cold War. It fucked over everyone and made the entire planet a bit less safe to live on.

Don't listen to anyone but the Ossetians.

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Aug 21st 2008 5:09PM]

@horrific
May be you should stop reading and watching russian mass media so your eyes are not covered as easily as ours.

[Craig B. @ Aug 21st 2008 5:12PM]

I'm willing to bet there are no less than 10 governments represented in these comments, so which gov. are you referring to? Honestly though, lighten up, don't take it too seriously.

In any case, it's in Russia's - and the Eastern European countries - best interests not to have an iPhone. Look, if there are reports saying the Russia-Georgia conflict was finally sparked by a flat tire/tyre/pneu/автошина (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/georgia/2570754/Georgia-conflict-How-a-flat-tyre-took-the-Caucasus-to-war.html), image what catastrophes lie ahead with dropped calls? Can you imagine the mayhem if Medvedev thinks Yushenko hung up on him?!

[The Dude @ Aug 21st 2008 5:18PM]

READ TEH RUSSHIN BLOGZ 4 TEH TRUTHINESS. OH MOTHALANDZ! WE BRING TOGETHA REPUBLIKS UNDER IRON FIST LIEK GOOD OLD DAYZ, DA?

No possibility of nationalist conflict of interest there, right?

[dennis @ Aug 21st 2008 5:19PM]

Engadget is going to have to add nationality flags to our IDs, so we can know which government and media we're denigrating. Otherwise, this will never get anywhere.

[Rob @ Aug 21st 2008 5:19PM]

Well, go believe all the bullcrap your self-appointed dictator Putin, and not his little puppet Medvedev, feeds you. I for one don't believe a single word coming out of this asshole's mouth. He'll turn civilization back to the early 80's again. Just what we've been craving for. Get it, komrade?

[Mike10010100 @ Aug 21st 2008 5:36PM]

Riiiiiiigh. Horrific, I'll tell you exactly why the 12 year old girl and her mom were saying only good things about the Russians, because if they didn't on US television, either they or their family who are still in Russia would have been punished.

If you want the truth on anything, look in a history book. Nothing is clear except in hindsight.

(I would know about Russia censorship and trying to make themselves look good. If you go onto a BZflag Russian server, type "Russia sucks, communism sucks," they could get in HUGE trouble.)

[Engadgetier @ Aug 21st 2008 7:54PM]

@Dennis

Im way ahead of you. ;)

[Mark @ Aug 21st 2008 4:41PM]

I would say..deny Russia the chance to have the iPhone. If they can't behave themselves then why give them access to new tech?.

[Jason @ Aug 21st 2008 5:58PM]

Yes, I can see how the iPhone would really clinch the deal here.

[andrew oh @ Aug 21st 2008 4:42PM]

Do an Apple Arms Deal with Georgia. Georgian pplz get iPhone, haz GPS and google maps access.

Georgian civvies go covert and snap/share photos of Soviet emplacements.

iPhones will have direct secure/encrypted voice data.

Steve Jobs hurry upz.

[CraigJ @ Aug 21st 2008 4:55PM]

Nothing in Georgia shows up on Google maps...

[grull27 @ Aug 21st 2008 4:42PM]

America should just bomb them. Then they'll get what they deserved and they won't get iPhone 3G's.

[Rob @ Aug 21st 2008 5:22PM]

Right, because a nuclear war is exactly what we need right now.

[N3XuS @ Aug 21st 2008 5:34PM]

and another idiot talking out of his arse.....wasn't this topic about the iphone 3G, i could've have sworn i'm on a technology site...