Apple’s iPhone 3G is continuing its march around the globe with reports of 120,000 sold by T-Mobile in Europe, plus a deal for distribution in Russia.
In an interview Monday, the head of Deutsche Telekom told the German magazine Focus that its wireless arm, T-Mobile, has sold that number since it was made available on July 11. The sales figure was reached, said Hamid Akhavan, in spite of distribution problems.
22 Countries Simultaneously
Those problems, Akhavan said, include customers having to wait weeks for delivery, although he added that the backlog of deliveries will be resolved by the end of this month. He attributed the delays to Apple’s decision to distribute the iPhone 3G in 22 countries simultaneously.
Akhavan said 75,000 of the sales were in Germany. In Europe, T-Mobile also sells the iPhone in Austria and the Netherlands.
The news about the iPhone 3G’s progress in some parts of Europe comes on the heels of a report that Apple has agreed to a deal for distribution in Russia. A Russian business daily newspaper, Vedomosti, reported a deal with the largest mobile-phone operator in Russia, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS).
Negotiations are also reportedly under way with the other two top carriers, VimpelCom and MegaFon. The sale of iPhone 3Gs in Russia is expected to begin in October. The report indicates that MTS alone expects to sell one million 3G iPhones over the next two years, and all three carriers together are targeting 3.5 million in sales over two years. Apple has set a goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of this year.
‘International Appeal’ of 3G iPhone
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