I have a little too much time recently, and so I have put together this price comparison between Korea, UK and the USA on the cost of the iPhone.

One of the things I noticed is that KT have actually brought out the phone cheaper than the US and UK.

Below you can see the like for like comparison. It was difficult because AT and T in the US have a very confusing price package. The UK is based on Orange’s price plans.

I hope this is useful for you.

 

Well, well, well – this is something I have only ever dared dream about. I never thought it would happen. But it truly has happened now.

Thank you KT, and thank you Apple for finally giving the most online country in the world the chance to buy and use the iPhone. It’s taken 2 years, but we’ve finally got it.

Thank you also to all the guys and gals who have commented on the iPhone posts I have made during the course of this year. It feels like there have been so many people out there who have self the same way I  did about the iPhone, and it is truly wonderful to read so many comments written in English, which I know for many of you was very difficult. I really appreciate the effort you guys made in writing here and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Now it’s time for us all to go out there and prove the doubters wrong. Buy the iPhone and enjoy the experience. Prove that Korea really does want the iPhone and lets create a waiting list.

It’s been a while since I posted here and there is a very good reason for it.

The main reason is that I have been very busy. After a quiet September, October came at me like a tidal wave. This left me with very little time to write anything useful. In addition to work work, I have also moved house (a very stressful time) and did all that while working incredibly long hours.

But mustn’t grumble eh?

Anyway, the main reason for the post is to give you guys a heads up on the GTD system I have been changing to. GTD stands for “Getting Things Done” and is written by David Allen

I am currently changing my system from Franklin Covey to the GTD system, and so far everything is running smoothly.

As soon as I have changed my system over completely, I shall be writing a full review. But for now I just wanted to point you guys in the right direction.

 

What is it about Korean companies and copying other ideas? It was not that long ago when Korean companies were at the forefront of innovation and new ideas. But I have noticed that in recent years Korean companies have been copying the ideas and designs of others.

Even Korean pop music is copied from original songs (although they are strenuously denied)

When I saw the new Hyundai Sonata YF I thought WOW!! that looks fantastic! Then I began to feel I had seen that car somewhere before. So a little research on the internet revealed the Mercedes Benz CLS Class. Then I saw it. The new Hyundai YF  looks just like the Mercedes CLS.

Take a look for yourself. Which one is the Hyundai and which one is the Mercedes?

Well it is with some happiness that I write tonight to report that things are certainly looking good for an iPhone launch here in Korea soon. All I can say is … “it’s about bloody time!” Reports in the Korean Times today claims that KT are planning to launch the phone in November at the earliest. (I can wait^^)

So I recommend that all you guys out there waiting for the iPhone to keep checking this site for confirmation Once the Korean flag appears, then we can all go out and celebrate.

Other news today making me smile … was the report that SK’s “App Store” is failing to attract the downloads that they were expecting. – Well guys, it doesn’t take a Harvard MBA graduate to work out that by restricting your downloads to your own highly expensive network is simply not going to work. I sometimes wonder where the people who are making these incredible decisions over at SK keep their brains. Surely, they should have worked out by now that the people of Korea are no longer going to tolerate high prices for substandard services.

So I will be keeping my fingers crossed and hope for a November launch of the iPhone.

Available today, you can view my recent presentation at TEDx Myeongdong, Korea.

more about “My TEDx Presentation“, posted with vodpod

Over the weekend I have been playing around with the new iTunes 9.0 and in particular iTunes U.

iTunes U has been around for over a year now, but I have never really taken a good look at it. But after having a play this weekend I have to admit it must be one of the best value services available online today.

As far as I can tell, all the tracks, audio files and videos are free. The content is incredible and if you are like me and are interested in many things, then this is the place to play.

Check it out. If you haven’t got it already, then download iTunes from HERE and have a look around, there is so much free content you just might find something you are interested in.

I came across this little article about the modern successful business, and I have to admit that I completely agree.

http://www.copyblogger.com/village-of-customers/

I am increasingly concerned about what is happening here in Korea with the technology companies. In particular I am concerned with Anycall Samsung and LG Cyon.

Way back in 1999, Samsung came to Europe with fantastic silver flip phones. They were new, they were a different colour to the standard black and they were smaller than the standard Nokia mobile phone European users were used to. This innovation and development took Samsung from an almost unheard of mobile phone manufacturer to the number 2 spot in the UK.

Then Samsung brought in the colour screen phone and they cemented their number 2 spot.

But since 2004 that innovation and invention has stopped. It feels like Samsung and now LG Cyon just wait for either Nokia or Apple to bring something new out and then copy it.

Apple on the other hand operate differently. They never follow, instead they lead. Over the years this has led to some spectacular failures. The LISA and Newton PDA spring to mind, but they are not afraid to bring something new to the market.

In 1997 everyone was happy to use boring, beige, ugly desktop computers and black laptops. Then Apple came along with the blue iMac and the orange and white iBook. It was dangerous, it was a risk, but it revolutionised the computer industry. Suddenly every computer manufacturer was following. Bright coloured computers was not an innovation,they were always available, but nobody dared do it until Apple did.

That is what Samsung was like at the end of the 1990’s. Daring and revolutionary. What has gone wrong? Why is Samsung and LG waiting for the next big thing instead of making the next big thing? (I do not include memory chips and TV screens – I accept that Samsung and LG are innovating here)

Then came the iPhone. Touch screen technology had been around for a while, but nobody had the guts to develop it into an amazing user experience. Apple did. Apple began using touch screen with the Newton in 1993, I was lucky enough to use a Newton, they were not great compared to today, but WOW was that touch screen fantastic!!

Now I look at Samsung and LG Cyon, I walk past the thousands of mobile phone shops here in Seoul and feel so depressed. The display phones outside on the sidewalk are just so boring, so uninspiring, so copied. Samsung and LG’s latest “smart phones” (some smart phone – no WIFI!) just look like the  iPhone copies I saw in Thailand last month – and people are foolish enough to pay W1,000,000 for them. All the other phones I see look like 3 or 4 year old Nokias or Motorolas.

Please Samsung and LG, PLEASE start innovating again. Be the next big thing. You’ve done it before. Please do it again.

I came across this fantastic interview of Sir Richard Branson at TED.

I have read a lot about Sir Richard Branson over the years, and he is one hell of a marketing and business man. This interview is well worth watching.