Gold rush: Scramble to make money on back of sought-after iPhone
Staff Reporters 2013-09-28 13:18
A gold skin for an iPhone 5S — all the status at a fraction of the price. (Internet photo)
Gold skins for the iPhone 5S offer all the status for a fraction of the price. (Internet photo)
If you can't get your hands on the sought-after gold edition of the iPhone 5S, why not shell out on a gold shell instead, as Chinese manufacturers have already begun making gold cases for Apple's latest smartphone. The latest iPhone may have underwhelmed in tech reviews but there's no denying that offering the new model in China's favorite color has been a masterstroke by Apple, prompting rivals Samsung and HTC to announce plans to launch gold models as well, according to the Shanghai-based Labor Daily and Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao.
Seven out of the first eight people to buy the smartphone at one China Telecom outlet plumped for the gold model. On Taobao, China's most popular online shopping platform, a gold iPhone was on sale for 8,888 yuan (US$1,400), around 3,500 yuan (US$570) more than the silver model. Many sellers are already regretfully announcing that they have sold out of the gold handset.
Always quick to spot a trend, phone accessory manufacturers have begun offering iPhone 5S cases in "champagne gold" and "space silver," seeking to recreate the color and tone of the gold and silver iPhone 5S.
Offering a range of color options has not done much for sales of the iPhone 5C, however which comes in five colors and has a deliberately cheap and cheerful appearance. A vendor operating on Taobao said the white model has been slightly more popular than the others but the price disparity between the five iPhone 5C models is small and ranges between 4,088 to 4,188 yuan (US$668-$684).
Samsung announced on Wednesday that it will release a limited edition of its Galaxy S4 which will come in two colors, brown gold and pink gold.
HTC is also to launch a genuine gold-plated edition of its flagship One smartphone in Russia, which will be named the HTC One 24kt Gold Edition since part of its casing will be of 24-carat gold. The phone will come packaged in an oak box bearing a certificate for the gold, according to Chinese web portal Tencent.
Apple may launch a gold iPad due to the popularity of the gold iPhone before the end of this year, when the company is expected to launch the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2, according to China-based technology news website ZOL, which said it has reason to believe Apple will use the gold color on iPads or even Mac models in the future.
