14 DAY TRIAL // Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White checked with his sources following the iPhone 4S launch in Hong Kong and learned that pre-orders sold out in the first 10 minutes of availability.
Despite the iPhone 4S becoming physically available in Hong Kong (and 14 other countries) later this week, "In our view, this is a very positive sign for iPhone 4S demand in Greater China has Hong Kong represents the first entry of the new smartphone in the rapidly growing region, and we expect the 4S to reach Mainland China in December," White said in a note to investors.
White added that his firm believes “this rapid sell out will rest concerns surrounding the uptake of the iPhone 4S in the Greater China region that were driven by the limited language capability of Siri, which did not launch in Mandarin or Cantonese."
Apple is also reportedly testing a special version of Siri to appease owners of older iPhones.
Beginning Friday, November 11, Apple’s newest iPhone will be available not only in Hong Kong, but also Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania and South Korea.
The phone is currently available in 29 countries around the world. Cupertino promises to make it available in more than 70 countries by the end of 2011.
The 16GB version of the iPhone 4S goes for HK$ 5088 in Hong Kong. The high-en 64GB version sells for HK$ 6,688.
Following the iPhone 4S announcement in October, Apple dropped the price on its iPhone 4 to just US$99 (or equivalent currencies) and made the iPhone 3GS free with a two year contract from participating carriers.
It appears that Apple’s iPhone 4S is not bound by any carriers in Hong Kong, meaning customers get to buy an unlocked unit directly from Apple.