Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California. Apple unveiled the Apple Watch wearable tech and two new iPhones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. — AFP/VNS Photo

by Lan Dung

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The launching of Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has warmed up the Vietnamese market, as stores nationwide released information on the availability and prices of the two phones.

On September 9, Apple announced the launching of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. The new models will officially go on sale in various markets such as the United States, Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom on September 19.

On its website, retail store CellphoneS announced it would be selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on September 19. The phones have a memory capacity ranging from 16GB to 64GB and are available in three colours: gold, silver and gray. The iPhone 6 is priced at VND25 million ($1,190) and the iPhone 6 Plus, VND28 million (US$1,300).

Basic information on the phones' size, weight, storage and connectivity is also available on hoanghamobile.com, the website of Hoang Ha Mobile, a retail store of Hoang Ha Trading and Construction Company Ltd. But information on the price and date of availability of these phones has yet to be released on this website.

CellphoneS, a mobile retail store in Ha Noi, publicises information on the prices of its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The new mobile phones are expected to be on sale on September 19 - the same time they have officially been launched in various markets such as the US, Singapore and Japan.

Mobile phones sold on the websites are all from abroad. In Viet Nam, only FPT, Viettel, and VinaPhone are official distributors of Apple products.

Nguyen The Kha, deputy director of Apple Business of FPT Shop, told Biz Hub on Thursday that the iPhones from abroad might be sold at double or triple the price of the products delivered by Apple's official distributors. Kha said his company has yet to receive details on iPhone 6 delivery to the Vietnamese market.

"Apple has so far sent basic information on its new products to us. I don't know the specific time they will be available in Viet Nam, but based on our experience with iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, Apple informs us one or two weeks ahead of the sale of its products in the country. The product is expected to be available at the FPT Shop by end-October," he added.

Dang Thanh Phong, an official of The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World) Investment Joint Stock Company, said the giant mobile phone retailer has prepared for the sale of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in its stores in Viet Nam.

Phong revealed that the company would be ordering a large number of the new phones from Apple distributors in Viet Nam. It has received 16,000 orders from customers nationwide and the number is expected to increase in the future.

The Gioi Di Dong's price list shows that the iPhone 6 will be sold at VND13.6 million ($650) for the 16GB model, VND15.7 million ($750) for the 32GB version and VND17.8 million ($850) for the 64GB model. The iPhone 6 Plus will be sold at VND15.7 million for the 16GB version, VND17.8 million for the 32GB model and VND19.9 million ($950) for the 64GB version. — VNS

First iPhone 6 Plus in Viet Nam? A shop assistant of Nhat Cuong Mobile shows the new iPhone 6 Plus. The photo is posted on its Facebook Fanpage on September 11, attracting lots of attention from customers. — Photo courtesy of Nhat Cuong Mobile A photograph of the iPhone 6 Plus that was posted on Nhat Cuong Mobile's Facebook Fanpage on September 11 has attracted much attention from customers. Tran Quang Anh, director of Nhat Cuong Mobile retail store, told Infonet online newspaper that a customer brought the phone to its store to install it for use in Viet Nam. "I'm afraid that I don't know anything about this iPhone 6 Plus such as its capacity, originality and international mobile equipment identity (IMEI). I just know that a customer driving a luxury car asked us to install it and took it back immediately," he said.