A shortage of stock placed a slight dampener on the midnight sales of Apple's iPhone 4 in Cape Town, today, but those that bought them appeared happy.
While mobile network operators MTN and Vodacom tried to out-party each other at elaborate launches in Johannesburg last night, there was a more subdued scene at the Victoria & Albert Waterfront, where the first Cape Town iPhone 4 sales were made.
Just before midnight, groups of between 20 and 40 people gathered in front of the MTN and Vodacom stores and in front of independent resellers iStore (which sold MTN contracts) and CelluCity (which is an independent Vodacom reseller).
“I wish we had more stock. Tonight was as we expected, but the next few days will be hectic,” said Bruno Lopes, CelluCity media manager.
MTN branch manager Shihaan Jakoet said she was satisfied with the stock levels at the time, but she was a little worried about the days to come.
However, independent Apple reseller Digicape, which retails the iPhone 4 with Vodacom contracts, was still waiting for its consignment of 60 units today.
“It has been very frustrating for us, because we do have clients waiting and our consignment has not arrived yet,” said Gaynor McArthur, Digicape director.
Pricing of the iPhone 4 and the contracts did not appear to be a factor for the early adopters. Neither Vodacom nor MTN were selling the iPhone 4 for cash, only on contract. The lowest value contract from Vodacom was the Talk 500, at R929 per month, which includes 500 free voice minutes, 250MB data, and 100 SMSes. MTN's lowest package was the Anytime 200, at R479 per month, including 300MB data and R200 airtime.
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