Korea’s KTF in talks with Apple to bring the iPhone home

Too bad it didn’t work out for KTF’s Japanese partner, NTT DoCoMo.

They were trying to present a joint front to bring the iPhone together to Korea and Japan, just as they did with LG Wine.

Softbank made sure that it will be the proud carrier to sell Apple’s flagship cell phone in Japan, leaving NTT DoCoMo high and dry for now.

But all is not lost for Korean Telecom Freetel (KTF) itself, as it is now trying to clinch a deal of its own with Apple to be the lucky carrier furthering Apple’s conquest to put Asia under the “i” spell.

According to KTF’s officials, as much as they want to get iPhone on to their portfolio, no definite agreement has been reached by either parties, mainly due to technical issues. The technical issues in question here mainly relate to the famous iPhone browser and the necessity for a local wireless internet platform built around it. Adding insult to the injury is the rumor that Apple is playing the devil, being simultaneously in talks with SK Telecom, another WCDMA provider in Korea.

With the iPhone being almost a year old coupled with the impending release of the next-gen 3G iPhone, interest in the original device might be waning, not to mention the fabulous touchscreen cell phones that LG and Samsung have been churning out, which make Korea their first stop as a rule. But among all these problems, it remains to be seen if KTF manages to woo Apple into including them in their grand plans. At the pace the talks are moving right now, Koreans can only hope to see the famous device land in their backyards earliest by next year.

Via

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Posted on 05 Jun 08 - Filed in Apple, Wireless - Comments - Written by Staska

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