LIME Drops Apple iPhone 4S price with Apple iPhone 5 Launch slated for Black Friday - Apple iPad Mini and iPad 4 coming at LIME's House at the End of the Street

“This iPhone price reduction from LIME is set to propel the Jamaican mobile pioneer’s subscriber base further up the global trajectory where the best mobile operators are being distinguished by their ability to offer innovation, including fast mobile Internet services as well as the most modern devices that customers are increasingly demanding.”

Excerpt of the Press Release on LIME’s Website reported in the Jamaica Gleaner on Tuesday November 6^th, 2012

The Apple iPhone 5 is on its way to Jamaica possibly by Friday November 23^rd 2012 or Black Friday as the Americans call it or possibly in January 2012, that is, if I’m reading the tea leaves right. Even more exciting, the Apple iPad 4 and the Apple iPad Mini may be surprise guest stars at the Launch of the Apple iPhone by Telecom Provider LIME!

This as the following has occurred, possibly indicating that hell has frozen over:

1.      The People Republic of China’s getting the Apple iPhone 5 exclusively on state-run Telecom Provider China Unicom in late November 2012 as stated in the article “China Telecom snags iPhone 5 for late 2012 launch”, published November 9, 2012 10:47 AM PST by Don Reisinger, CNET News.

2.      Telecom Provider LIME has dropped the price of the Apple iPhone 4S by 20% as stated in the article “BUSINESS: LIME reduces iPhone 4S price”, published Tuesday November 6, 2012 3:15 pm, The Jamaica Gleaner.

3.      Bermuda, British Territory has gone stark raving mad over the Apple iPhone 5 roughly a week after its launch in the US on Friday September 21^st 2012. So hot is the Apple iPhone 5 that it’s creating Nano-SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) shortages on the Island that’s smack dab on the Bermuda Triangle as mentioned in the article “iPhone 5 arrives - but nano-SIM card shortage poses challenges”, published Sep 27, 2012 at 6:00 by Marcia Breen, The Royal Gazette

These cues usually herald the coming of a new iteration of the iconic smartphone the world over! This announcement or pre-announcement rather, again if I’m reading the tea leaves right, is keeping in pace with Telecom Provider LIME’s usual habit of launching new Apple iPhones. This year, it seems slated for either the Second Quarter of 2013AD or most likely Black Friday. Black Friday is traditionally the Friday after Thanksgiving in the US of A, the Fourth Thursday of November, with deals extending as far as Friday November 30^th 2012 in the lead up to Christmas!

This was the case when the Apple iPhone 4S was launched on January 13^th 2012 in Jamaica by Telecom Provider LIME, it was announced that the Caribbean and China would be receiving the Apple iPhone 4S as reported in Kelroy’s Geezam blog article entitled “iPhone 4S Officially Invades Caribbean on January 13”.

20% drop in the price to J$12,720 plus GCT (General Consumption Tax) is quite a generous gift to the Corporate Executives who love their smartphones.  That is, once you opt in for their Internet Packages  similar to the ones described for the Apple iPhone 4 as described in Kelroy’s Geezam blog article entitled “LIME Jamaica iPhone 4 Launch: Postpaid Plans detailed”.

This development is certain to “propel the Jamaican mobile pioneer’s subscriber base further up the global trajectory” as it relates to smartphone adoption! After all, if Bermuda,  British Territory, can get the Apple iPhone 5 roughly a week after its launch in the US on Friday September 21^st 2012 as mentioned in the article “iPhone 5 arrives - but nano-SIM card shortage poses challenges”, published Sep 27, 2012 at 6:00 by Marcia Breen, The Royal Gazette, why not Jamaica by the end of November 2012, effectively Black Friday in the US of A?

Pre-announcement was the case with the Apple iPhone 4 launched in grand style on Tuesday June 14^th 2011AD as given the full Press Release in my blog article entitled “LIME and the Apple iPhone 4 - The Young and the Restless Gone in Sixty Seconds” and the Apple iPhone 4S on January 13^th 2012 again as given the full Press Release in my blog article entitled “Apple iPhone 4S to debut in China and Caribbean on Friday January 13 2012 - LIME gives Jamaica the Best of Both Worlds”.

Since the Apple iPhone 5 went on sale on Friday September 21^st 2012 as stated in the article “New iPhone hits market September 21”, published Thursday, September 13, 2012, The Jamaica Observer, the Apple iPhone 5 has been outpacing all expectations for the device from Apple.

With the customary long lines for North Americans eager to get their hands on Apple’s latest serving, Apple also achieved another milestone as reported in “iPhone 5 launch draws fans worldwide”, published Friday, September 21, 2012, The Jamaica Observer and “iPhone 5 lines cropping up across country, overseas”, published September 19, 2012 11:36 AM PDT by Greg Sandoval, CNET News.

Or rather broke a previous one, selling out some with two million (2, 000,000) iPhones sold via pre-orders in the first 24 Hours of the phone going on sale as noted in the article “Phone 5 preorders top 2M in first 24 hours, shattering record”, published September 17, 2012 5:43 AM PDT by Roger Cheng, CNET News. The Apple iPad and its Tablet devotees are slowly killing off Laptops, Ultrabooks (Ultra what?) and the now almost-extinct mouse as reasoned in my Geezam blog article entitled “How the Apple iPad killed Ultrabooks, Printing and the Mouse as the World Rediscovers Tablets”.

So if this reasoning holds and the conversion of the “IN” Crowd to the “Smart” crowd continues unabated as prognosticated in my blog article entitled “Blackberry popularity wanes as Jamaicans go smartphones - Android and Apple's Smartphone Revolution”, then the only hurdle to making the switch is the following:

1.      How to access 3G and 4G Wireless Internet from that unlocked Modem Dongle, Smartphone or Tablet friends and relatives sent to you via “de Barrel” this Christmas. I did the following Geezam blog articles entitled “How to Access LIME or Digicel’s 3G Internet using an unlocked Huawei E1556 Modem Dongle or Nokia Modem Dongle” and “How to Access LIME or Digicel’s 4G Internet using an unlocked 4G LTE Modem Dongle, smartphone or Tablet”

2.      How to Clean and care your Touch Screen Device as explained in Geezam blog articles entitled “How to make your own Cleaning Fluid and Cleaning Tips for your Smartphone or Tablet”

3.      How to make a Nano-SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) or Micro-SIM using your original Mini-SIM Card in your Digicel or LIME smartphones and tablets as explained in Geezam blog articles entitled “How to make you own Micro-SIM or Nano-SIM Card”

4.      How to import you stuff from your Blackberry to your Smartphone, be it Apple iPhone or Google Android powered smartphone, for which I have an article in the pipeline

5.      How to replace BB Messenger with WhatsApp, for which I have yet another article in the pipeline

With this the third year of Telecom Provider LIME’s continued support for the Apple iPhone, does this mean that they are committing themselves fully to Mobile Computing via their faster 3G Network? Hopefully Telecom Provider LIME can meet the demand for the Nano-SIM that the Apple iPhone, Apple iPad and the Android Clones utilizes and avoid the troubles

It would seem so, as the statistics from the OUR (Office of Utilities Regulation) for the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD as stated in my blog article entitled “OUR Records Voice Decline for the Fourth Quarter of 2010” and the Second Quarter of 2011AD as stated in my blog article entitled “OUR Telecom Provider Stats indicate JA$14 billion profit for Second Quarter of 2012 - Telecom Providers Stacking up all Faces on the Argo Video Calling and VoIP on smartphones” suggest.

Thus along with a launch of the Apple iPhone 5, most likely sometime in January 2013AD, expect to also see the hot selling Apple iPad Mini and the Apple iPad 4 as Tablets slowly begin to take flight in Jamaica. Most likely this will be propelled by the GOJ (Government of Jamaica) adoption of Tablets via the insistence Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell.

This in a bid to cut back on the Paper Fuelled Bureaucracy in Parliament as mentioned in the article “Parliament ICT Bound”, published Wednesday, 31 October 2012 09:41 by Douglas McIntosh, The Jamaica Information Service and “Jamaican lawmakers to be allocated Tablet computers”, published Wednesday October 31, 2012, The Jamaica Gleaner.

I’m betting the ranch it most likely the Microsoft Surface Tablets as explained in my blog article entitled “GOJ Parliamentarians upgraded to Microsoft Surface Tablets and GovNET Wide Area Network - Minister Paulwell efforts to reduce paper may accelerate Jamaican Tablet Adoption”.

So the Apple iPad 4 and the Apple iPad Mini may also be coming in a joint launch with the Apple iPhone 5 at Telecom Provider LIME’s House at the End of the Street (2012) Launch in the First Quarter of 2013AD or possibly even on Black Friday, Friday November 23^th 2012 and beyond!