iPhone Mania Hits Taiwan, Expects to Sell 1 Million by February
Last week the iPhone 6 went on sale and racked up sales north of 10 million units. One week later and the mania has begun anew in Taiwan today with long lineups once again. News out of China this morning states that "Media reports of a botched update of Apple's iOS operating system, and of the larger model's metal case bending when pressure is applied did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of loyal Apple fans, many of whom had waited for up to 35 hours at electronics retailers and telecom stores to obtain the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus."
A man surnamed Lin said he had been in a queue since 5pm Thursday, holding a place at the head of the line at an Apple store in Taipei. "This is a birthday gift for my sister," he told reporters, with tears in his eyes.
Another Apple fan surnamed Wang said he waited for 34 hours to buy a gold iPhone 6 Plus 128G, a model that he described as Apple's answer to his prayers for a big-screen phone. "(I'm) so happy!" the 42-year-old Taipei resident said.
At a telecom store where sales began at midnight Thursday, three members of a family held the first three places in the line. "Everyone in my family likes the iPhone very much," said one them, a 36-year-old surnamed Chen.
Sales of Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Taiwan are expected to reach 1 million units by Chinese New Year in February, market analysts said Friday, the first day the devices hit local stores.
The first batch of orders of the iPhone series by Taiwan's four major telecom operators could reach as high as some 800,000 units, with Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications, the country's second- and third-largest operators, claiming to have placed orders of 200,000 units each, analysts said.
Although Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest wireless carrier, said it had ordered only 100,000 units, it is widely believed to take orders for up to 400,000 units, market analysts predicted.
Combined with sales through electronics retailers and Apple stores, the total sales of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus will likely reach 1 million units within five months if there's no shipment disturbances, according to the market analysts.
A week ago we posted a report titled "Samsung weeps as iPhone 6 Mania Rocks around the Globe." Today Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 is set to launch and it will compete with Apple's new iPhone 6 Plus. Have you heard about or seen news reports about lineups around stores worldwide to buy one? No. Consumers "like" cheap, but lining up for it? That's not going to happen.
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