Apple’s iPhone suffers great debacle in Russia

The current sales of Apple’s iPhone 3G in Russia are insufficient in comparison with the previously announced plans. Only 30,000 devices were sold in Russia in 30 days since its official launch in the country. Experts say that the situation is not going to change for the better during the upcoming months. To crown it all, Apple plans to cut the production of its 3G phones by 40 percent.

Photo: Apple’s iPhone suffers great debacle in Russia

About 100,000 iPhones were already in use in Russia prior to the start of official sales of the 3G version of the renowned device. Original iPhones made the lion’s share of the amount, whereas the percentage of iPhone 3G was extremely low. The original version of Apple’s device continues to dominate the home market.

“iPhone appeared in Russia about a year ago. I wish we could sell it back then. Now the sales meet the demand,” an official spokesman of Russia ’s cell phone retailer Euroset, Dmitry Patratsky said.

The press service of another retailer, Svyaznoi, said that they had sold 10,000 iPhones 3G (a half of it had been sold in Moscow ).

Analysts say that the plans, which Russia’s three major cellular operators originally declared, will not be possible to execute. “The numbers, which the operators provide, can not be compared with advertising, marketing costs and promotional efforts,” Mforum analyst Aleksei Boiko said.

The poor sales of Apple’s revolutionary device in Russia can be explained with the late appearance of the phone on the Russian market, the onerous terms of the contracts that come with the device, the absence of fully developed 3G and Wi-Fi networks in Russia, the lack of iTunes support and so on.

Nokia’s new smartphone, 5800, may strike another serious blow on iPhone’s sales in Russia. The new phone by a hugely popular and reputable cell phone maker may leave Apple’s device far behind, experts say. “If no measures are taken, the total sales of Apple’s iPhone 3G in Russia will not exceed 50,000 pieces until the end of the year, including the New Year booming sales,” an expert said.