AfterDawn: News

iPhone headed to Russia

According to a market source, Apple has agreed to a distribution deal with Russian mobile carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) that will bring the iPhone to the world's second fastest growing market for cell phones.

"MTS has made an agreement with Apple on the sale of iPhones," the source said. "Sales are likely to begin in October."



MTS is Russia's largest mobile phone carrier and is controlled by the gigantic Russian services conglomerate Sistema.

Although the iPhone is not officially sold in Russia, unauthorized sales have been growing exponentially with industry experts saying sales of unlocked iPhones are at about 20,000 per month now in the country.

Both Apple CEO Steve Jobs and MTS CEO Mikhail Shamolin both recently made comments regarding the iPhone heading to Russia but no one knows the details behind the deal nor pricing.

We will keep you updated.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Aug 2008 16:15

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• 3 comments

• Kerpalguy

  Good thinking. Since the 3G version does not work properly, let's just sell it to the Russians and put them out of commission that way. The new cold war :-))

  22.8.2008 17:10 #1

• DXR88

  i think its a splendid idea, ya gotta love the good ol Russians this will be jail broke before it hits Russian soil.
  
  give it the Russian Touch and wallah a jail broke Iphone.

  23.8.2008 01:07 #2

• susieqbbb

  (And so the clone wars begins.)
  
  Think about this most stores in russia will find some way to clone the phones os and build a clone look at china they have nearly 36 iphone or chiphones if you want to get technical and the same thing will happen in russia.
  
  So good idea but bad idea if the goverment there doesn't step up there efforts to stop pirated versions of the phone.

  24.8.2008 01:53 #3