Over fifty new markets to receive iPhone 5 before the end of the year

Details: James Barton; Category: Devices & Platforms; 06 December 2012; 7105 views

Apple is more than doubling the number of countries in which it sells the iPhone 5, with the goal of adding “more than 50” markets to the current total of 47 by the end of this year...

Apple is more than doubling the number of countries in which it sells the iPhone 5, with the goal of adding “more than 50” markets to the current total of 47 by the end of this year.

A number of major markets have yet to receive the newest iPhone, including Brazil, China, Russia and South Korea. Chinese market leader China Mobile will not offer the device, but it will be carried by rivals China Unicom and China Telecom.

This looks set to boost subscriber figures for the second and third place players, with China Unicom registering 100,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 5. China Telecom reportedly processed 5000 orders in one day. The device is not due to release until December 14.

The 3G standard used by China Mobile is the locally-developed TD-SCDMA standard, which the iPhone 5 does not support. China Telecom and China Unicom however respectively use CDMA and GSM/WCDMA, which are international technologies.

With the device available in the new markets, Apple will have surpassed its target of pushing the device to 100 markets by the end of 2012. CEO Tim Cook declared that it would be the firm’s “fastest rollout ever”.

The fifth incarnation of the iPhone has proven as popular as its predecessors, with five million sold in the first weekend that it was available. Apple has stated that demand for the device has “exceeded supply”. The release in the new markets coincides with the Christmas period which traditionally sees a boost in electronics sales, so sales of the iPhone 5 are unlikely to let up.

The device is launching in the following countries this month: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Grenada, Guinea, Indonesia, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Niger, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Taiwan, Turkey, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam.