Apple’s latest iPhone completely sold out by Thursday morning when it was officially distributed in Vietnam for the first time.
Local telecom giants Vinaphone and Viettel said they imported only 500 phones each and this first batch was sold out completely after just a few hours, according to a report posted on the news website VnExpress.
Long lines of people waiting to buy the phone gathered in front of Vinaphone and Viettel stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City at around 7 a.m. As there were not enough phones to sell, many customers went home empty-handed and angry, VnExpress said.
Pham Ngoc Tu, Vinaphone marketing manager, said that demand was much higher than expected. He said his company will import another 300 phones next week.
The iPhone 4 was launched in the US in June. Although the smartphone has been available at phone shops around the country for months, it was only distributed officially in Vietnam via Vinaphone and Viettel for the first time this week.
Official prices are set at VND13.4 million for the 16 gigabyte version and VND15.6 million for the 32 GB model. Prices at these official outlets are VND2-3 million lower than prices at small-scale phone shops.
Vinaphone and Viettel began selling the previous versions 3G and 3GS of the iPhone in March.
