iPhone in Russia soon?
From the looks of it, Apple is preparing to launch the iPhone in Russia, soon.
According to reports originating from Russia, Apple is due to launch a localized iTunes Music Store in Russia on the 21st of April 2008.
Billboard ads that could be seen around Moscow, as well as a banner on the website itunes-store.ru, owned and operated by Apple, all state that Apple is currently in the process of preparing and launching the iTunes Music Store in Russia.
This move will allow for new firmware downloads for Russian iPhone and iPod Touch users (word has it that the latter ones were unable to upgrade their firmware due to iTunes store not being available, even though iPod Touch devices are sold legally in this country), thus driving the Russian Federation one step closer to the official iPhone release date.
This will also drive Apple further into the somewhat complicated Russian online music sales industry, which has seen the likes of such downloads services as the recently closed allofmp3.com, well known for its cheap (and legal - at least for Russians) downloads services (our contact in Russia stated that iTunes’ $0.99 USD per track simply wouldn’t cut it in Russia as a business model — due to much lower wages paid there).