iPhone 4S hits Malta without the hysteria

Sales of the new iPhone 4S have gone “really well” since it hit stores last Friday, according to official Apple communications partner Vodafone Malta.

But there was no repeat of the hysteria and all-night queues that greeted its release overseas.

“To avoid people waiting, we furnished all our outlets across the islands with the iPhone 4S. We noticed a continuous flow of customers coming in specifically for the device, a Vodafone Malta spokesman told The Sunday Times.

The company had expected great demand for the product as “hundreds” of people had been enquiring about the iPhone 4S at outlets and on the Facebook page for several weeks before its arrival.

She also confirmed there is a definite trend for iPhone owners to sell their current iPhone – often advertised online as being ‘in mintcondition’ – in order to purchase the latest model.

The manager of Dickens retailer in Sliema agreed there had been high but manageable demand for the product, with a continuous stream of enquiries and sales since Friday.

He said the public appeared to be ditching their conventional mobiles in favour of smartphones inincreasing numbers.

This was because handsets and tariffs had come down “a lot” from the levels they were at when smartphones first hit the market.

Another retailer with stores in San Ġwann and Sliema had completely sold out of handsets in just 36 hours. “We didn’t expect it to go so fast,” he said. The iPhone 4S is the fifth and latest version of the Apple iPhone phenomenon. One new and popular feature is Siri, a voice-activated ‘personal assistant’ who allows users to get things done just by asking. Siri even understands language context and simple vocal questions.

Seen as Apple co-founder and visionary Steve Jobs’ last mobile device, it was initially launched in the UK, US, Japan, France, Germany, Australia and Canada on October 14 – nine days after Jobs’ death from cancer.

Customers had queued for more than 24 hours outside stores in the launch countries, some of them wearing Steve Jobs masks andcarrying tributes.

Maltese Apple-obsessive Jason Borg thinks the overseas hysteria was not echoed in Malta because many enthusiasts had already got their hands on an iPhone 4S from the UK.

He had sold his iPhone 4 last month and transferred £699 (€815) to a Maltese friend in London to buy him the 64 GB version of the device on its release.

He also believes telecom providers in Malta make little effort to reach out to Apple lovers like himself, which dampens enthusiasm for product launches locally.

Mr Borg, who even Tweets about Apple products (@QaddisMalti), believes the company devices have developed such a cult following because they are so user-friendly.

“If an alien came to earth and compared Apple devices with other devices, he would think they were developed on different planets – that’s the difference in quality,” he said.

Although not official Apple mobile communications partners, Go and Melita are also offering iPhone 4S packages and their outlets are selling the iPhone 4S locally.

Vodafone is offering four plans for the iPhone 4S, ranging from a free handset (€95 monthly rate) to a €549 handset (€30 monthly rate).

Go offers three plans, ranging from a free handset (€99 monthly rate) to a €449 handset (€40 monthly rate).

And Melita offers a €399 handset with a €60 monthly rate and a €299 handset with a €75 monthly rate. Different incentives are offered by the operators.

The cheapest 16 MB handset without a contract found by The Sunday Times was €699 and the cheapest 32 MB handset was €799.

Prices vary depending on the retailer.