SmarTone provides iPhone 5's first 4G network in Hong Kong
Apple to start accepting pre-orders next Thursday in HK, as networks catch up
The newly launched iPhone 5 will be available in Hong Kong and eight other markets next Friday, with SmarTone Telecommunications serving as Apple's 4G mobile network partner in the city.
CSL and Three HK also announced they would start selling the phone on that day and the latter has started accepting pre-registrations on the internet. But their pages include no reminder that subscribers will be connected to slower 3G networks before their infrastructure is ready.
Taking the wraps off yesterday, Apple chief executive Tim Cook declared it "the thinnest, lightest, and best iPhone we have ever shipped". The iPhone 5 is 7.6mm thick and weighs 112 grams, about 20 per cent less than the previous, iPhone 4S, model. It has a larger, four-inch, high-definition display.
Hong Kong, where iPhone models used to arrive later than in the United States, will be included in the first batch of sales for the first time. Its Apple Store will start accepting pre-orders next Thursday.
A release schedule for the mainland was not announced.
An important feature on the iPhone 5 is its support for 4G mobile, based on technology called long-term evolution (LTE). High-speed 4G LTE networks can provide theoretical internet download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second. The fastest 3G mobile networks run at 42Mbps.