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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Taiwan Star tout midnight iPhone sale
People wait outside an Apple store in Taipei’s Xinyi district yesterday for their chance to buy the new iPhone 6, due to go on sale at 9am this morning. Photo: CNA
IPHONE MANIA: With demand for Apple’s iPhone 6 models breaking records before its launch, people are going to great lengths to obtain the new smartphone
By Kevin Chen / Staff reporter
Taiwan Star Telecom Corp （台灣之星） is a step ahead of its domestic peers in selling Apple Inc’s new iPhones today, starting sales at midnight.
Retailers Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co （燦坤實業） and Studio A Electronic Corp （晶實科技） were also set to commence sales of new iPhones at midnight, with people already lining up outside their flagship stores in Taipei’s Neihu （內湖） and Xinyi （信義） districts respectively yesterday.
More than 10 million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were sold around the world on the first weekend after they were released in several countries on Friday last week.
The figure is 20 percent higher than 9 million units of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C sold in the first-weekend sale last year, suggesting that local demand may be high as well.
Taiwan Star has prepared 200 units of the new Apple products for the midnight sale, expecting the 64-gigabyte gold version of the iPhone 6 Plus to be the most popular among local consumers, Taiwan Star spokesman Shing Chu （朱曉幸） said yesterday.
The company’s pre-order data shows that local consumers generally favor the larger-screen 6 Plus version, with a 3:7 orders split for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, Chu added.
The nation’s three major telecoms — Chunghwa Telecom Co （中華電信）, Taiwan Mobile Co （台灣大哥大） and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co （遠傳電信） — are set to begin their official sale of the new iPhones between 9am and 9:30am today, although many people were already lining up yesterday, hoping to get their hands on the latest iPhones as soon as possible.
Industry watchers say the launch delay in China will create near-term gray-market demand for new iPhones — buying new iPhones in Hong Kong and Taiwan and exporting them to China — which could be good news for Tsann Kuen, Studio A and other retailers.
CIMB Securities Ltd analyst Wang Wanli （王萬里） predicts a total of 79 million units of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to be shipped worldwide in the second half of the year.
Morgan Stanley Taiwan Ltd analyst Sharon Shih （施曉娟） is more upbeat, forecasting total iPhone 6 and 6 Plus shipments will reach 90 million units in this period, while Deutsche Bank analyst Birdy Lu （呂家霖） said the potential iPhone 6 Plus shortage and the launch delay in China would result in pent-up demand in the first quarter next year, according to their latest research notes.
Analysts said consumers’ preference for the bigger iPhone 6 Plus would benefit system assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co （鴻海精密）, camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co （大立光） and metal casing manufacturer Foxconn Technology Co （鴻準） as they have high exposure to the larger-screen model.
These suppliers would also benefit from the increases in sale prices and gross margins due to a better product mix, analysts said.
Yet Apple is set to make more profit on the iPhone 6 Plus, according to a report by research firm IHS Technology Inc issued on Tuesday.
The report said Apple’s largest iPhone is selling for US$100 more than its other new model, but it costs Apple only US$15.50 more to make the more expensive version.
The full, no-contract price for the 16-gigabyte iPhone 6 is US$650. IHS estimates it costs Apple US$200.10 for materials and manufacturing.
The iPhone 6 Plus retails for US$750 without a contract, but IHS says it costs Apple US$215.60.
With a two-year service contract with a wireless carrier, a 16-gigabyte iPhone 6 costs consumers US$200. An iPhone 6 Plus costs -US$300 with a contract, according to IHS.（Additional reporting by AP）
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
