Apple twists arm of new vendor SK Telecom

Korea Times | March 14, 2011 | Kim Yoo-chul
iPhone maker meddles in such details as disclosing preorders
By Kim Yoo-chul
SK Telecom is regarded as being at the top of the value chain in the wireless telephony industry.
The Korean carrier has bossed around handset makers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
Those days are over, not due to domestic vendors but its new business partner, Apple.
On March 9 SK Telecom started taking orders for the iPhone 4 in advance of its release, with 28,000 having signed up in the first seven hours.
The carrier dropped its updates on the numbers, saying that it was required to consult with the maker before publicizing the number of preliminary orders.
SK Telecom spokeswoman Kim Ji-won declined to comment on the issue, citing the company-to-company confidentiality.
Steve Park, Apple’s local representative, also declined to comment.
A senior SK official however said the decision had everything to do with pressure from Apple.
“SK Telecom has decided not to reveal the numbers on the iPhone 4, ’’ the official said Friday on the condition of anonymity.
He added that Apple is “overly sensitive’’ to announcing the updates of orders, insinuating that Apple had asked for it.
Rarely has SK Telecom accommodated a request by a handset maker so quickly.
But industry watchers point out that SK Telecom is desperate to regain lost ground with KT, which has been riding high on exclusive sales rights of the iPhone from late 2009.
Although SK Telecom accounts for more than 50 percent of the market, its pole position was threatened as the popularity of the iPhone series was unabated.
In this climate, SK Telecom recently struck a year-long deal with Apple to sell the iPhone.
The company will begin to release of the feature-rich smartphone to its own clients on March 16.
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