AppAdvice International: Britain's LTE Market, Turkey's Online Store, iPhones In India

It's that time of the week again: welcome to another edition of AppAdvice International. This time, we're discussing Britain's 4G LTE market, Turkey's first Apple Online Store, and the availability of Apple's iPhone in the world's second-largest smartphone market, India.

Apple's iPad Air

But first, how could we not mention the launch of Apple's iPad Air? As a reminder, the fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad went on sale in a huge number of international territories last Friday, and surprisingly, the tablet is still shipping within 24 hours in countless Apple Online Stores. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that consumers were disinterested in the iPad Air; in fact, adoption rates for the new tablet have been through the roof, and predict that the iPad Air could be Apple's most successful tablet to date. Instead, it seems that supply levels are high, and that as a result, Apple - for once - has been able to cope with the demand for its new iDevice, and then some. Unfortunately for those planning on purchasing an iPad mini with Retina display, the same can't be said of Apple's second-generation small-size tablet. Instead, supplies of the product are predicted to be constrained once it launches "later in November," and as if to back up the scores of reports anticipating poor second-generation iPad mini availability, Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook confirmed during last month's financial earnings conference call that demand for the forthcoming iDevice could prove to be too much. As a reminder, the iPad Air, on the other hand, is available to purchase in the following countries:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (Wi-Fi models only), Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

We'll keep you updated with further information on iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display availability as we receive it.

Britain's 4G LTE market

The almost-year-long monopoly British carrier Everything Everywhere (EE) held over the United Kingdom's emergent 4G LTE market is now over, and as such the country's carriers are now competing with one another in an attempt to offer subscribers the best, most appealing 4G LTE price plans. In a surprise move, however, it seems carriers in Britain are going so far as to offer smartphone owners 4G LTE PAYG (Pay As You Go) plans, with one particular carrier - O2 - having announced an attractive PAYG offering recently. As the original article explained:

A 30 day bundle of data costs £3 for 100MB, £6 for 500MB, £10 for 1GB, £15 for 2GB, £20 for 4GB, and £30 for 10GB. PAYG customers will receive 10GB of free data to use in 90 days, and in 2014, they’ll be awarded 2,014 free minutes. It’s a pretty close call then — stick with O2′s PAYG over time and you’ll reap the benefits, while EE offers more bang-for-the-buck from the get-go.

So far, O2 and EE are the only British carriers offering PAYG 4G LTE plans. But other carriers, including Vodafone and – eventually – 3, have pay monthly deals available. Though of course, in terms of 4G LTE coverage, EE still reigns supreme. Indeed, the one-time exclusive 4G LTE carrier in the United Kingdom launched its super fast cellular data network an a number of additional towns and cities across Britain this past week. The new markets include Benfleet, Caerphilly, Caldicot, Canvey Island, Carlisle, Chepstow, Cwmbran, Grays, Harlow, Hatfield, Kenilworth, Rayleigh, Southport, and Worksop, meaning that a total of 131 towns and cities are now supported by EE’s 4G LTE network. Furthermore, a number of "supported cities" can also access EE's super-super fast 4G LTE network, which offers cellular download speeds of 80 Mbps. Markets include Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Southampton, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield, Walsall, West Bromwich, and Wolverhampton. Olaf Swantee, chief executive officer of EE, said in a press release:

One year on from our launch we are bringing 4G to even more places, making the UK’s fastest mobile network available to even more people. We continue to grow our 4G coverage all around the country, and the new range of plans gives consumers and businesses more flexibility and choice in how they access superfast mobile.

The 4G LTE market is definitely improving for Brits. We're excited to see how it continues to grow over the course of the forthcoming months.

Turkey gets an Apple Online Store

Apple launched a new Apple Online Store in Turkey this past week, making it possible for consumers in the country to purchase Macs, iDevices, and accessories online, directly from the Cupertino, Calif. company. The news comes following a previous report stating that Turkey is set to get its first Apple Retail Store, too, early next year. As a reminder, Apple’s retail presence is set to expand to Istanbul, and particularly the city’s Zorlu Center (pictured below), at some point in early 2014. The new Apple Retail Store will be located between two designer label stores, and once launched, it’ll mean Apple has retail locations in 15 different countries. Of course, until the Apple Retail Store in Istanbul becomes available, our readers based in Turkey can now purchase products directly from Apple using the country's new Apple Online Store.

Apple's iPhone in India

Apple's iPhone went on sale in the world's second-largest smartphone market this week, however early reports signalled that Indian smartphone users wouldn't be too impressed with Apple's offerings. This seemed to change, though, when news of the country's new subsidized iPhone contracts surfaced online. The news reached us from The Wall Street Journal, which explained that both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c would be available for a slightly more accessible price:

The contract system, which is widely prevalent in other parts of the world, is a rarity in India. Telecom operators in India don’t subsidize the handset for their subscribers as the lack of a universal data base–such as the U.S.’s social security number–makes it difficult to track users and determine their credit worthiness.

Reliance Communications explained that it is offering the iPhone 5s for 2,999 rupees ($48.50) per month and the iPhone 5c for 2,599 rupees ($42.10) per month. This includes phone and cellular data usage. Reports have also claimed that Apple is hoping to increase its share of the Indian smartphone market through selling in smaller towns, where the Cupertino, Calif. company’s “loyal following” is nevertheless present, albeit on a smaller scale. Before this, we’d heard that Apple had reduced its iDevice profit margins in India, too. As such, we anticipated promising iPhone sales in India, and this indeed appears to have occurred. In a recent report from The Economic Times, the publication explained that iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c sales have been off to a particularly strong start in the country:

Apple has completely sold out its premium iPhone 5s in India in less than 24 hours of its retail launch, while the iPhone 5c model has become the fastest-moving model in stores and is expected to be sold-out during the weekend, the country's top multibrand cellphone retail chains said. This is the first time a new iPhone model got sold out in India in such a short span of its launch, with fresh stock of iPhone 5s available again from Wednesday. Sales of the lowerpriced colourful iPhone 5c, however, picked up pace only from Saturday with consumers buying the model since 5s was sold out, mirroring a global trend.

Though we don't know what India's iPhone supply levels were like (after all, elsewhere in the world Apple's iPhone 5s has proved difficult to get hold of), it's nevertheless encouraging to see that consumers in India are clearly interested in both of the new handsets. Apple previously held the No. 6 position in terms of smartphone sales in India. However, it looks like the Cupertino, Calif. could ascend the rankings in the world's second-largest smartphone market over the course of the next few months. That's all for this week's edition of AppAdvice International. Remember, we publish this latest AppAdvice column every Tuesday at 10 a.m. GMT. If you have a story you'd like us to discuss, send an email to joe@appadvice.com. See also: Apple Updates AirPort Utility App With Support For 64-Bit A7 Processor, Nike Launches M7-Powered Nike+ Move App, Releases Nike+ FuelBand 2.0 For iOS, and Today's Best Apps: CoverMe And Haunted Legends: The Undertaker.