Korea and Japan use strictly W-CDMA for cellular networks. Being a GSM device with no 3G, the iPhone lacks W-CDMA, and is therefore not Pacific Rim friendly. Of course that is all about to change soon, when Apple launches the expanded awaited, rumor surrounded, now holy grail of a device 3G iPhone. It is assumed to be launched at WWDC of course.

According to one rumor, the possibility of the iPhone making its way to these two countries is very real. It seems as whether NTT DoCoMo and Korea Free Telecom will be the lucky carriers to get the new 3G iPhone, and apparently it will be

an exclusive. It is not clear whether there will be any sort of subsidies or whether the revenue sharing agreement will come into play.

There is only one problem for Apple in these countries though. Korea and Japan have much more advanced handsets and networks, so the question remains as to whether or not the device will sell well in these countries. Though there will most likely be plenty of buyers, Apple might want to assemble the deal a little juicer, I don’t know possibly subsidies could be a good thing for them.

[Via Apple 2.0 Fortune Blog]

Orginal post by Chase Higgins