3 Hong Kong has assured the 60,000 customers who ordered new 3G iPhones that they will be able to receive the much-hyped gadget within the next few weeks.

“We have quantity stock and will have shipments every week from Apple," Dennis Lui, CEO of Hutchison Telecommunications International, told press at the company’s gala debut of the 3G iPhone on Friday. "We are comfortable that we can deliver the iPhones to all the consumers who ordered the handset in the coming weeks."

Although 60,000 consumers had ordered the handset via 3 HK’s dedicated website a few weeks ago, only 1,500 subscribers were notified to pick up their handsets at the gala event last Friday. 

 Hong Kong is the first market in Greater China and also one of the four Asia markets, along with Australia, Japan and New Zeland, to launch the newest version of iPhones.

 While the queues in Hong Kong were not as long as in Tokyo and New Zealand (where a 22-year-old student queued in freezing temperatures for 60 hours for the phone), many in Hong Kong are thrilled to be among the first to own the new 3G iPhones.

 Ho Kak-yin, 31, was the first person in Hong Kong to get an iPhone. He said he had waited for hours and was surprised to find out that he was the first.

  “I feel so great….iPhone is not just a handset, it also comes with a lot of software, applications and accessories,” said Ho, who bought the 16GB version of the 3G iPhone with the HK$498 ($64) monthly tariff plan.

  Ram Venkatraman, 37, who signed up for the same plan and model, said the phone is the first Apple product he has owned. An existing 3 HK customer, Venkatraman said he was attracted not only by iPhone’s design but also the wide array of functionalities, especially the internet connectivity.

  Lui said one fourth of its subscribers who ordered the phone have signed up for the HK$498 plan. To lure customers, 3HK also offers iPhone users a one-year worldwide insurance program which entitle them to a replacement in the event their iPhone is stolen or damaged.

Source:telecomasia.net