Hello? My name Is iPhone. I heard that my recent arrival in South Korea is bringing remarkable changes in the consumer market. As a result of my appearance, the Korean telecom market is very active. Actually, it was hard for me to come to Korea. I had to overcome a lot of barriers. Finally, I am coming here and I truly cannot wait to see everyone. I think you are just like me. A lot of people have been waiting to see me and I may have tremendous global popularity. If you use me or twitter, you may know me well, but some of you may not. Would you like to know more about me? Once you get to know me, you will understand iPhone syndrome. Will you sit down and listen to my story?
Let me introduce myself!
As I said before, my name is iPhone and I am one of the smart phones which have many functions like a camera phone, a PDA, a multimedia player, and a wireless communication device. I was made by Apple Inc. and I use third generation technology(iPhone 3G). Apple first announced me on January 9, 2007 at MacWorld 2007 in San Francisco. I went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. local time, while hundreds of customers lined up outside the stores nationwide. People came to wait in line four days before the release date. That was the first time in the history that people waited for a phone. It was hard for me to meet Korean costumers, even though they were proud of having the world's strongest internet. My nickname was the "next month phone" because everyone said, "the iPhone will be released next month" for a long time.
iPhone syndrome in Korea.
My debut is stirring up the local mobile phone market. I officially launched in Korea on November 28, 2009. Consumers lined up to meet me in front of event launching place staring at midnight. KT Corp, the phone carrier said about 53,000 people made reservations to meet me on the official launching day. More than 65,000 smart phone users made contracts with KT. Many major newspapers and online portals in Korea produced news articles about me. For technophiles in Korea, my debut was not jest about the fancy smart phone. Many Korean netizens were looking forward to my appearance because of their problems with the local mobile marker. They have long been victims of unfair market practices and monopolistic tricks by manufacturers and wireless carriers. Local mobile phone users have been forced to pay for poor mobile internet services at a premium. How could the Korea manufacturers and wireless carriers do these things to their users?
iPhone Shock in the Korea telecom market
In Korea, there were telecommunications regulations that have prevented fair and competiton with foreign manufacturers. Korean manufacturers and wireless carriers have monopolized the local mobile market for many decades. Korea telecom companies did not want to have Wi-Fi(wireless fidelity) enabled on their mobile phones. Their products do not have functions to surf the web via public wireless networks. The South Korea government required all cellular phones sold in this country to include the WIPI platform to avoid inordinate competition with other country's mobile companies. It made the cost of using the internet impossibly expensive. Also, the price of cell phone in Korea was much higher than other countries. The average selling price for Samsung and LG phones is nearly twice as much in South Korea as it is outside the country. This situation made people anticipate my arrival, the iPhone.
Becoming the Public's Cultural Icon
I have become much more than merely a phone. The iPhone is a huge phenomenon with a following of users who could not get enough of the features and entertainment devices. How could I become one of Korea's cultural icon? First of all, many people were surprised by the user-friendly User Interface. I have an entirely new interface based on a large multi touch display and innovative new software that lets people control everything using only their fingers. People can surf the web from practically anywhere. Also, all convenient services and applications are connected to the 3G network or Wi-Fi, so users can choose from thousands more applications at the Apple Store and download them or develop programs themselves. Moreover, I have the simplest design among recently available smart phones. I am one of the smart phones ever.
What are the lessons?
The lesson for the Korean local mobile market is that satisfying the customers is more important that just selling and making a profit. My debut in Korea has evoked a sense of emergency among Korea's telecom companies. What they need now is a change of focus. They should make customer-friendly products like iphone. If Korea handset markers try to produce potential softwares that can compete with Apple's Tunes and the Appstore, they can protect their existing subscribers. Actually, Samsung recently opened its own online applications store and is currently developing its own smart phon operating system. Also, wireless carriers should lower mobile data fees provide affordable smart phones. It may have a highly positive impact for Korean user. I hope very much that this will happen quickly, and the competition will improve services.
By Cha Yoon-jae CP Reporter
yukixiah@cnu.ac.kr