10/08, 12:05pm
New apple store opens, extended iPhone warranty
In brief: Residents of Brazil can now purchase Apple merchandise directly from Apple through a local online store. To celebrate the grand opening of the Brazilian store, Apple is currently offering a free gift bag to any customer who purchases an iPod or Mac before October 20th. Meanwhile, GadgetGuard has announced that it is now offering an extended iPhone warranty. The warranty has two tiers, and covers things left out from Apple's own terms, such as water damage and cracked screens.
more
08/04, 9:35am
Mex., Brazilian stores
Apple has launched a Mexican version of the iTunes Music Store, opening up digital music sales to the country. All tracks are DRM-free, as in the US, but cost a universal 12 pesos individually, though album prices may vary. Music videos cost approximately 24 pesos each. The Mexican iTunes Store as a whole continues to lack some features; though iPhone apps are available, movies and TV shows are not. Similarly, the mobile version of the iTunes Store remains non-functional.
more
03/28, 12:55pm
iPhone Brazil
Representatives from Apple recently visited Brazil in attempts to gauge the feasibility of an iPhone introduction in the country, reports indicate. A number of hurdles to introduction exist, including a high smuggling rate (90% of iPods sold in the country are imported illegally), steep taxes and more. Portal Exame reports that in December, Apple sent its senior-manager of governmental affairs for Latin America, Susan Cronin, directly to Brasilia. According to sources, Apple plans to introduce the iPhone in Brazil and, given high-enough demand, start manufacturing devices there at a later date.
more
12/10, 9:15am
40 new retail stores in 08
Some 40 new Apple retail stores will open in 2008, a company executive says. Speaking at a press event for the 14th Street store in New York City, senior retail VP Ron Johnson has said that Apple will expand with an international focus in the new year. The first Brazilian store is in fact opening this month in the Shopping Iguatemi mall in Sao Paulo, and the city will get a second store within 2008, located inside Shopping Marketplace. Apple is meanwhile rumored to be negotiating for space in the Torre Mayor office complex in Mexico City, a structure that includes 33,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
more
