Vietnamese mobile network operators Viettel and Vinaphone said Friday they had sold out the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on the morning of the same day, when Apple’s latest smartphones were officially distributed in the Southeast Asian country.
But there were no jostling crowds or long lines in front of their stores as both mobile carriers had earlier taken preorders for the much anticipated devices.
Vinaphone, the telecom unit of state-run VNPT, attracted many early customers as it offers the iPhone 6 at a starting price of only VND16.09 million (US$757), cheaper than other distributors.
Bich Chau, head of a Vinaphone store in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, said her shop sold more than 30 iPhone 6’s and 6 Plus’s as of 9:30 am.
“We let customers register to get a number, and called them to pick the product in turn,” she said.
People jostled to buy new versions of Apple’s devices during the previous product launches.
Vinaphone sells the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with a contract, either postpaid or prepaid, at a price band of VND16.09 million to VND24.59 million ($1,157).
“Customers mostly chose the postpaid package as it goes with the cheapest iPhone, plus a number of incentives as per Vinaphone policy,” Doan Xuan Hop, the carrier’s spokesman, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
Each Vinaphone store in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City received 120 handsets for sale in three days, while stores in other provinces and cities countrywide were allotted 40 devices each for a two-day sale, according to Vinaphone’s selling plan.
Military-run Viettel said it sold around 300 iPhone 6’s and 6 Plus’s on Friday morning, with most customers preordering the products online.
The price band of Viettel products, coming under the locked and unlocked versions, is from VND16.49 million ($776) to VND24.99 million ($1,176).
Vietnamese users were able to buy Apple’s latest smartphones as early as September 19, when the devices were officially released by the U.S. tech titan in ten markets, including Hong Kong and Singapore, thanks to products brought to Vietnam as personal belongings by traders who attended the launches there.
Customers who want to buy the officially distributed products have had to wait for nearly two months before Viettel, Vinaphone, and FPT – a local telecom giant which is also authorized to sell the newest Apple devices – began their sales.
A few dozens of Vietnamese Apple diehard fans in Hanoi reportedly lined up overnight to be the first to buy the officially distributed iPhones.
Here is the price table for the devices:
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Đăng ký: VietNam News