I can still clearly remember the day when the iPhone was officially released in the Philippines over 6 years ago. I was with members of the media to attend and cover that historic event that will change the smartphone market in the country.
As our tribute to this week’s Throwback Thursdays, we’d like to share with you the milestones and timeline from 2008 with the iPhone 3G to 2013 with the iPhone 5S.
August 22, 2008. Globe Telecom launched the iPhone 3G in the Philippines, the very first entry of the Apple smartphone in the country.
By midnight of that very day, over a thousand people lined up for hours at the Makati Stock Exchange to be the first subscribers and owners of the iPhone 3G.
The event broke records and it was the very first time we saw people lining up in the wee hours just to be the first to get a new handset. But it was Apple and Globe’s affinity with SingTel gave it the advantage to grab exclusive distributorship of the iPhone in the country.
You can read our review of the iPhone 3G here.
July 31, 2009. The iPhone 3GS was officially released in the Philippines. Globe continued to take foothold by maintaining exclusivity over the distribution fo the handset in the Philippines.
The handset was free on Plan 7000; there’s a Php1,000 cash-out for Plan 5000; Php9,550 for Plan 3500; Php17,450 for Plan 2500 and Php24,650 for Plan 1800. The iPhone was certified for postpaid big-spenders.
September 26, 2010. The iPhone 4 was launched in the Philippines with Globe leading the way to selling thousands of units to people lining up at several distribution centers across Metro Manila.
The iPhone 4 was offered free on Plan 3799 and became more affordable at Plan 1799 (with Php10k cash-out).
Renaissance Hotel was one of the distribution centers. Hotel food and drinks were served to waiting subscribers. It was like a house-warming party.
The iPhone 4 was selling like hot cakes it was fetching as high as Php90,000 in the gray market (we bought our own iPhone 4 to review for Php55,000).
You can read our review of the iPhone 4 here.
December 16, 2011. The iPhone 4S was finally released in the Philippines after so many months of waiting. This was also a memorable day as both Globe and Smart were both competing for subscribers for the iPhone.
Pricing and postpaid plans were very competitive as rival carriers try to grab new subscribers.
I can clearly remember this day as it was also the same day I lost both the Nexus S and Razr Maxx in the parking lot after rushing the review of the iPhone 4S in between meetings and coverages.
Globe offered the iPhone 4S at Plan 1799 with Php4,800 cash-out (it was the most popular plan then) while rival Smart offered it Unli Data Plan 200 with Php2,500 cash-out.
You can read our review of the iPhone 4S here.
December 14, 2012. The iPhone 5 was officially released in the country with both Globe and Smart doing their own individual distributions across Metro Manila and key cities in the country.
This was also timely as LTE was being rolled out by both carriers, each of them promising unlimited LTE access as long as you are under a data plan.
Globe introduced a Reset Program where subscribers can pay a reset fee in order to get a new iPhone 5 and just extend their subscription period. Smart countered this with their own Wipe-Out Promo as well.
You can read our review of the iPhone 5 here.
November 15, 2013. This day will also mark a highlight in our timeline as it will be the first time Apple will release the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C thru Globe and Smart.
No details are out yet on what the plans would look like but inside sources have given some really good prospects especially for existing iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 subscribers.
You can read our review of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C here.
Throw it back at You.
The iPhone has been with Globe since, like, forever. Can’t believe it’s been 6 years since and so much have changed in the smartphone market.
I’ve been a Globe subscriber since the iPhone 3G , re-contracted for the iPhone 4 and then again with the iPhone 5.
We’re closely watching the developments since it all started back in 2008.
So, how was your iPhone history since 2008? Share it to us in the comments.
The post #TBT: 6 Years of iPhone in the Philippines appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.