Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Time magazine's 2007 Invention of the Year - the iPhone - will soon be formally* sold in Peru.

Telecommunications giants Telefonica del Peru and Claro are already battling for customers in the Andean country.

According to reports, the multimedia mobile phone will be sold by both companies during the second semester of 2008, but with one difference.

Even though Telefonica del Peru, a subsidiary of Spain's Telefonica Group, will be releasing the iPhone first and in more countries, Claro will sell the latest version of Apple's famous phone.

After coming to an agreement with Apple, Telefonica will release the phone in its stores in Peru as well as in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Uruguay, Venezuela, the Czech Republic and Spain.

Since November 2007 and March 2008, the company has been selling the phone in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

On the other hand, Claro, the largest mobile phone network in the Americas, will be selling the latest version of the iPhone.

While Telefonica del Peru will be providing consumers with the second generation iPhone, Claro has announced that it will be selling its customers the iPhone 3G, which was released June 9.

*The iPhone can be purchased at Polvos Azules, a shopping center in Lima.