3:13 PM
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Considering the Philippines market economy today by its purchasing power, Apple is considering the country be one of their starting point in Asia to have the much awaited iPhone 5. It is expected that by next week the said phone will be available in the United States.
In an interview with the chief wireless advisor of Smart Communication Inc, Orlando Vea, he said in the Asian Carriers’ Conference (ACC), that Apple is looking for possibility that it may enter country first ahead of any in Asia.
“Hopefully we are the first in Asia,” Vea said.
He explained that the Philippines' high consumption of social media such as Facebook and Twitter make it a "digital literate country" that is well positioned to become an initial market for the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5 has been much anticipated as it is rumored to sport a larger and thinner form factor than its predecessors, and is Apple's first flagship phone since the demise last year of its visionary leader, Steve Jobs.
Smart's parent company, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), claims a total subscriber base of 67.4 million, of which 3.1 million are broadband subscribers. For its part, Smart has a 26.9 million-strong subscriber base, with an additional 24 million subscribers under its Talk 'N Text subsidiary brand.
Smart's newly-acquired subsidiary, Digital Telecommunication (Digitel), has 15.9 million subscribers under its Sun Cellular brand.
