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As planned, VinaPhone on December 16 morning officially launched iPhone 4S into the market. The sale prices offered by the network operator are 15.6 million dongs (16 GB), 18 million dongs (32 GB) and 20.5 million dongs (64 GB) for postpaid subscribers. As for prepaid subscribers, buyers have to pay bigger sum of money: 16.4 million dongs for iPhone 4S 16 GB, 18.8 million dongs for 32 GB and 21.3 million dongs for 64 GB version.
At 6p.m of the same day, the iPhone 4S distributed by Viettel also appeared on the market. The prices posted for 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB are 16.4, 18.9 and 21 million dongs, respectively.
However, despite the attractive price and charge policy, the iPhone 4S distributed by the two network operators still cannot catch the special attention on the market, the thing they could do in October 2010, when they marketed iPhone 4S.
Both Le Thi Nguyet, a saleswoman at the shop at No. 384 Xa Dan Street and Quach Thi Viet, head of the VinaPhone shop at No. 5 Lang Ha Street have affirmed that the 16 GB black and white versions are the best sellers.
Analysts say that iPhone 4S are bearing a hard pressure because its features are not much more outstanding than iPhone 4. Meanwhile, the products distributed by official resellers appeared on the market later by two months than the products distributed by private shops.
In Vietnam, mobile phones come from different sources. Besides the officially distributed products, mobile phones can be imported through unofficial channels or carried to Vietnam across the border by foreign travelers or Vietnamese people.
Therefore, the market demand at this moment is not too big. Buu Dien Viet Nam has quoted the salesman of the Viettel shop on Ngoc Khanh Street as saying that the number of customers who have ordered iPhone 4S is not high.
The shop at 199 Minh Khai Street once invited people to come to attend a lucky draw to find out the people who get the right to buy the products. However, since the number of people attending the lucky draw was too low, all the products have been put on shelves like other normal products.
At the shop at 26 Hang Dau, though 64 people registered to attend the lucky draw, only 20 turned up.
There was one thing that surprised the customers at the Viettel shop at 199 Minh Khai Street: The posted price of iPhone 4S 64 GB was higher by 300.000 dongs than the price quoted by private shops.
Private shops still keep prices unchanged
DigiWorld Hanoi on December 18 told Buu Dien that it will keep the current sale prices unchanged at 17.49 million dongs for both black and white 16 GB versions, 19.29 million dongs for 32 GB versions and 21.29 million dongs for 64 GB versions.
“I hoped that the products distributed by VinaPhone and Viettel would help force the market price down. However, the modest volume of products distributed by the two network operators cannot help change the market prices,” said Tran Manh Son, a customer of DigiWorld Hanoi.
Nhat Cuong, iShop, TechLand all are offering the same prices of 17.5 million dongs for 16 GB version and 19.5 million dongs for 32 GB version, the prices which have been applied for the last many days.
T.Phong
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