01/23, 10:45pm
Region of increasing importance to Apple
The new head of Apple's Latin America division is former Sony Ericsson US and North American region head Anderson Teixeira, a Brazillian-born executive who also served in a similar capacity during his 10 years with the Sony Ericsson joint venture, which is now being folded into Sony's electronics division. Apple has been placing increasing emphasis on Latin America and particularly Brazil as a growing market, increasing its presence there significantly in recent months.
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12/13, 12:30am
Still lacks books, iTunes Match, local currency
Across most of Latin America, the iTunes Store has now expanded from selling only apps to a full-blown store, including native and international music and movies for the first time, alongside apps, podcasts and iTunes University. So far, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Equador, Honduras, Panama, Peru and Venezuela have all been confirmed as offering full stores, though not without some significant omissions.
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04/29, 4:45pm
iPhone exclusivity issue
Apple could be re-evaluating its iPhone exclusivity agreements in future global releases as it expands into Europe, Asia, Central, and South America. Spanish language news site CincoDias writes that the same business methodology that Apple used to successfully launch the iPhone in the US doesn't necessarily mean the approach works globally. The publication cites poor European sales – when contrasted to North American numbers – especially due to individuals compromising the device's exclusivity through alternative means.
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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.
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02/21, 5:15pm
Dell, Ubuntu in Canada
Dell today announced to its Canadian and Latin America customers that the Inspiron 1525n now has the option of shipping with Ubuntu Linux 7.1, as well as with the Canadian models of the XPS M1330n and Inspiron 530 – the latter two will ship throughout Latin America soon. Like the previously announced US, UK, Spanish and German models, the computers will feature DVD playback capability. Support options are available starting at $65 for 30 days, all the way to $275 for 1 year of standard support from Canonical.
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