iPhone 4S in Israel next weekend

Two months after hitting US market, Apple's new model landing in stores of country's three leading cellular providers. Official price yet to be disclosed, but device already available in private stores for NIS 4,000-4,500

Gilad Nass, Calcalist|Published: 12.07.11 , 15:02

iPhone's new model, the 4S, is scheduled to be launched in Israel on December 16 by the country's three leading cellular providers, Calcalist has learned.

Apple authorized the three distributors to begin marketing the cellular device starting on the said date, so effectively they can begin selling it at midnight next Thursday.

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Even so, it is unlikely that the cellular providers will operate their sale points at such an irregular hour. Reactions on the market to the launch are unenthusiastic as compared to the launch of the first iPhone that hit the Israeli market in 2009, for which the cellular companies kept sale points open all night.

The official price has yet to be disclosed, but the device is already available in private stores for NIS 4,000-4,500 ($1,070-1,205).

Apple controls the launch date in each country and the cellular providers are the only ones which have the authorization to sell the device in Israel using Apple's support services, such as the replacement of malfunctioned phones and the use of its branding assets to market the device.

Despite tepid reviews due mostly to the fact that it heralds no technological innovations as compared with its predecessor, the new model elicited record sales among US cellular providers.

The 4S's technological claim to fame is the Siri voice-operated operating system, irrelevant to Hebrew speakers as it is not Hebrew compatible.

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