What, you didn’t know you couldn’t buy the iPhone from at least one carrier in all 193 widely-recognized sovereign nations of the world? It’s true; one need look no further than South Korea, one of the most technologically-advanced wireless societies, where much of the growth over the past several years has occurred in a self-imposed bubble thanks to the existence of policies requiring the presence of a custom software layer for connecting to data services — a layer that gave local players like Samsung and LG an almost impenetrable advantage over foreign competition. Local authorities have been loosening those restrictions in recent months, and the Wall Street Journal is reporting this evening that they’ve just signed off on a waiver that would allow the iPhone to be sold despite a “technical ban” that had been keeping it off shelves. Local carrier KT had been saying for a while that it intended to carry the phone, so this step seems like little more than a formality — but in a market accustomed to T-DMB tuners, limitless color choices, and wide VGA AMOLED displays, it’ll be interesting to see whether there’s profit to be had.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
South Korea clears iPhone for sale originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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