See folks,
this is the kind of mess you end up with after you gleefully do a deal with the devil. According to a roundup of reports over at
Unwired View, three of Russia's major mobile operators could be looking at massive (we're talking hundreds of millions of bucks) fines if they can't sell through their iPhone allotments, and unless a significant market shift happens within the next few months, that situation seems remarkably unlikely. We're told that Vimpelcom pledged to sell 1.5 million iPhones within two years, while
Megafon committed to 1 million and
MTS the same. Today, just 900,000 iPhones have been imported to Russia, with over half entering the country via grey market channels; we'll let you figure out the math there, but it ain't pretty for Russia's carriers. Of course, we're not shocked in the least -- after getting burnt by a
bootable-but-not-usable iPhone over there, are you seriously going to give Apple another chance to win you over?
posted May 22nd 2009 2:01PM
First!
in soviet Russia you're still a moron
@webon: That made too much sense.
First only to be eaten by a soviet tiger for lunch.
Starting yesterday, I post a comment and it doesn't show up. i get the message:
You did it!
An e-mail has been sent to confirm your e-mail address, as well as a password for you to use if you comment regularly. Click on the link within the e-mail to activate your comment and password!
..and there's no email in my mailbox. I entered my email and password correctly. whats going on?
obvious troll is obvious
This is OneLove
I had that on an old profile. I don't know if I was banned or not. I can still sign into that profile and edit it, but I can't post. Who knows. This place has the worst comment system in the history of the world. Yeah, it's that bad.
looks like it worked to me
I just made a new account. Put one more vote in for Engadget's comment system being SHIT.
I think I was banned from an old email address either because I kept calling out Ryan Block on his Apple fanboyism. Since this is a smaller website with a less formal comment system, they can ban anyone for any reason. Unfair - maybe; unreasonable - certainly not.
As for the iPhone fines -- why? Who is fining them for poor sales? That seems like a bad idea, to fine businesses that are already suffering from poorer-than-expected sales.
Same thing happened to me and my e-mail address. No longer works. =/
Happens to me periodically. Once a month or so. Engadget Comment System SNAFU
test
The last sentence makes it sounds like the author is implying it's Apple's fault that somebody made some fake iPhones and ripped people off with them.
Can we please cut out the faboyism on either side? That crap is for the comments, not the posts by Engadget contributors.
I'm pretty sure he was joking there bud
I agree, this was not Apples fault in the least. Further more, to the guy having issues with the comment system, although I agree it leaves something to be desired to say the least, might I suggest running the fdsk program? This is sure to solve your issues. If for some reason it does not, simply pack the computer up into the box it came from and return it to the owner as you are clearly too stupid to operate a computer.
Durrrrrr Hurrrrrrrr I thought for a second the writer was actually talking about Apple IPhones, I hadn't seen the other article.
Not a surprise. It's Russia where they seem to get a lot of phones early. The iPhone is yesterday's news there.
Uhh...that's being early? We got wind of the lil' ole iPhone almost 2 years ago. I'm pretty sure we (USA) have heard of it before.
And?
Russia get every Sony, Nokia, Samsung, LG and other phones first. The iPhone isn't good enough to compete with the new phones coming out (although the next generation might be). That's why it's flopped.
The reason iPhone is doing bad in Russia is not because of other phones. The real reason is because Russia's economy is in the crapper: oil is a lot cheaper right now.
@berkut
Oh yeah. That must by why millions of other phones are selling.
What millions?
Are you insane?
In Russia official iPhone costs like $1000 in prices of 2008.
Today, when dollar has raised to ruble - it costs near $750.
But at the same time (like everywhere) thousands of people lost their jobs and salaries was frozen or even dropped.
The reason is simple - too expensive.
No, it's because it's outdated. The Nokia 5800 sold over 100K in it's first month and worldwide smartphone sales increased.
Oh and I should point out that smartphone sales volumes in Russia have risen by 9% with 800K sold so far. The operators have had to lower prices to boost this however as that includes the iPhone it affects all units.
I think the Russian Lada cars must be cheaper than the iPhone.
In Soviet Russia iphone sells you!!!
Oh this comment made my day. Thank you very much!
no, the russians are advanced when it comes to phones, the iphone is NOT an advancement.
only americans think its the greatest thing since sliced bred. the phones that sell over there are windows mobile and symbian.
Amen. the iPhone is a great media player and that's where it ends. Good luck trying to document for work with a virtual keyboard. Besides I like having control of how my phone looks and behaves, only I set the limitations.
You do realize that Windows Mobile 6.5 is not much different from 6.1 and looks like it belongs in 2003. And it hasn't even been released yet.
Yeah, that's kind of the point. WM hasn't changed in any significant way, SINCE 2003!
But it's some how more useful, as a business tool, than the super-hyped iPhone.
I'm guessing the sales of high-end phones go to business users that need what WM / Symb offer. Rather than people that want a phone built into their PMP.
I seriously doubt the problem with slow sales has much to do with people being ripped off for trading something of value for an iPhone on the street. Now if this happened in a brick and mortar authorized retailers shop, then there would be a reason for people to avoid it.
Maybe, just maybe not everybody is batshit nuts over the iPhone in Russia. Stranger things have happened I'm sure.
Hum! I wonder where those 450,000 grey market iPhones came from?
trade for women probably
Most of these grey market phones are bougt from the USA and countries where contract phone are offerred at reduced prices.
There is a good number of iphones which are taken on contract and sold on classifieds like craigslist (Sells for around $400, wayy cheaper then in russia, India and china where the subsidised phone concept has'nt been as prevalent).
One of my friends is from Russia, and next time he goes back I think he said he's bringing two from the US back with him - mostly because I think he said the equivalent price of an iPhone over there is roughly 600 bucks.
Nokia and the rest rule in Russia, iphone is a toy to russians, and really thats what it actually is..... "Allan kalashinokia 47". I love russian names....
In Soviet Russia, Apple takes bite out of YOU!
LOL
Let's see USA France Italy adore iPhone .
Russia does not.,.I wonder what that says ,?
You != All of USA, France, and Italy. Even if you are an American of French and Italian Descent.
apple = devil?
pretty much.. i think there's an app for that..
No it got rejected because you could type blasphemous things. Like "Nokia isn't that bad."
iPhone won't sell because outside the US, they are dumbphones, years behind the competition. "No video recording and BT file transfer" could sound like a joke to many...
they are dumbphones,
Cheaply made...... Plastic Toys
what an ignorant comment, oh no my BT doesn't work on my phone. This is just plain dumb. I agree the iphone has a lot to be desired but why the hell would I want to do anything that has to do with torrents on my little itty bitty phone...
The iphone is not "years" behind the competition either. there are programs that allow you to do everything aside from video conferencing on the phone and not many phones out there allow you to do that either. I can control my servers remotely, run word,, excel and other apps. I can run any DB scheme out there. Alas, I can not watch the latest rerun of the simpsons for lack of a TV tuner nor can I listen to some crap FM radio station that plays the "latest hit" 75 times a day....
Just because you can not afford one or are to ignorant to see the plethora of fatal flaws in WM dont judge other people that do not share your opinion...
Yeah.... actually my phone is more expensive than the iPhone, and does flash in its browser, among many other countless stuff the iPhone can't do.
And 12 fps video is not video. This camera wasn't made for video capturing. And finally, BT is a big deal. For 7 years now, you can take a photo from your Nokia phone and send it to all your friends with a single touch using BT.
Just because you know NOTHING about the "competition" doesn't mean you can speak out of your ass.