11 November 2010
Apple remains a luxury brand for most Yemenis, with MacBook laptops costing nearly twice as much as their PC branded counterparts. But the company's much admired iPhone could become their big success story in Yemen.
Sales of Apple computer products have struggled to gain a foothold in the market, facing fierce competition from the established, and considerably cheaper, PC brands. The price of an Apple laptop starts at USD 1,480. Other brands, such as Toshiba and Dell, are less than half the price at USD 600.
"Because of the high price of Mac products, only rich Yemenis or foreigners buy Apple," said Sami Saleh Ba Hubaishi, operations manager at Radix, Apple's sole agent in Yemen.
But sales of the company's world famous iPhone have jumped nearly 40 percent in the last year. In 2009, USD 237,500 worth of iPhones were sold in Sana'a, increasing to USD 332,500 in 2010.
The multi-functional iPhone is unlike a normal cell phone, with its most notable features being a touch screen user interface and a virtual keyboard. Other functions include a camera, visual voicemail, a portable media player and Internet access including Wi-Fi connectivity. Third-party applications are one of the most popular aspects of Apple's smartphone, with more than 300,000 'apps' (applications) approved by Apple. The multi-purpose apps include games, GPS navigation, social networking and advertising.
Ibrahim Owaidi, a computer networks engineer and Toshiba laptop owner, has no plans to by a MacBook. But he is considering an iPhone because of its unique features.
"Apple sales in Yemen remain limited because other computers, laptops and portable devices already meet their [Yemenis] needs, and Apple products are too expensive for Yemeni customers," said Owaidi.
The iPhone's popularity is currently spreading by word of mouth, according to Ba Hubaishi and as more people see the product being used it helps promote other Apple products.
The fourth generation iPhone 4, launched earlier this year, has two cameras for FaceTime video calling and a higher-resolution display. This latest version is USD 120 more expensive than the preceding iPhone 3GS, but Nezar Shukri, technical manager at Radix is confident Apple can continue to expand its market. Shukri explained that Radix is working to develop Apple sales by carrying out media campaigns, expanding maintenance points and promoting Apple's quality service.
Apple's latest earning figures showed quarterly worldwide profit leapt by 70 percent to USD 4.31 billion and record revenue of USD 20.34 billion a 66 percent rise. Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones in 2010, up 91 percent from 2009.
Apple remains a luxury brand for most Yemenis, with MacBook laptops costing nearly twice as much as their PC branded counterparts. But the company's much admired iPhone could become their big success story in Yemen.
Sales of Apple computer products have struggled to gain a foothold in the market, facing fierce competition from the established, and considerably cheaper, PC brands. The price of an Apple laptop starts at USD 1,480. Other brands, such as Toshiba and Dell, are less than half the price at USD 600.
"Because of the high price of Mac products, only rich Yemenis or foreigners buy Apple," said Sami Saleh Ba Hubaishi, operations manager at Radix, Apple's sole agent in Yemen.
But sales of the company's world famous iPhone have jumped nearly 40 percent in the last year. In 2009, USD 237,500 worth of iPhones were sold in Sana'a, increasing to USD 332,500 in 2010.
The multi-functional iPhone is unlike a normal cell phone, with its most notable features being a touch screen user interface and a virtual keyboard. Other functions include a camera, visual voicemail, a portable media player and Internet access including Wi-Fi connectivity. Third-party applications are one of the most popular aspects of Apple's smartphone, with more than 300,000 'apps' (applications) approved by Apple. The multi-purpose apps include games, GPS navigation, social networking and advertising.
Ibrahim Owaidi, a computer networks engineer and Toshiba laptop owner, has no plans to by a MacBook. But he is considering an iPhone because of its unique features.
"Apple sales in Yemen remain limited because other computers, laptops and portable devices already meet their [Yemenis] needs, and Apple products are too expensive for Yemeni customers," said Owaidi.
The iPhone's popularity is currently spreading by word of mouth, according to Ba Hubaishi and as more people see the product being used it helps promote other Apple products.
The fourth generation iPhone 4, launched earlier this year, has two cameras for FaceTime video calling and a higher-resolution display. This latest version is USD 120 more expensive than the preceding iPhone 3GS, but Nezar Shukri, technical manager at Radix is confident Apple can continue to expand its market. Shukri explained that Radix is working to develop Apple sales by carrying out media campaigns, expanding maintenance points and promoting Apple's quality service.
Apple's latest earning figures showed quarterly worldwide profit leapt by 70 percent to USD 4.31 billion and record revenue of USD 20.34 billion a 66 percent rise. Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones in 2010, up 91 percent from 2009.
© Yemen Times 2010
