By MYLA IGLESIAS

iPhone fever is hitting Metro Manila’s college students, young professionals, techies who had for the past two years have been waiting for the local launch of Apple’s most successful product.

Come August 22 or eight days from today, Globe Telecom will launch the iconic phone. Singapore Telecom has the exclusive right to operate the phone in Asia, Globe, being a SingTel affiliate is the only service provider for the phone in the Philippines.

Notwithstanding the flood of Chinese made copies of the phone, China phones, available at P8,000 per unit at 168 Mall in Divisoria, Globe’s reservation list for iPhones is kilometric.

Globe has 3G subscribers of 700,000, captive market for this type of phone.

Globe is offering the phones at P42,000 for the 8Gb version and P49,000 for the 16Gb model. Post-paid services are available from starting cash of P20,000 plus.

Despite it being pricey, mobile phone aficionados could not wait for the launch.

Imagine, just like in the movie Minority Report, a hand wave can control the unit, you can open your e-mail, watch movies or TV shows.

Earlier, Gerardo Ablaza, president, in his report to stockholders said the launch of the iPhone will drive growths for Globe.

The " iPhone fever" notwithstanding, rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., (PLDT) is trying to be blasé about the launch. PLDT owns Smart direct competitor of Globe.

Ramon Isberto PLDT spokesperson said "not a single handset( iPhone) can tune out our strategy".

He said PLDT stays the course in promoting aggressive mobile internet usages.

It is expanding its third generation (3G) network coverage to offer more 3G services on a wide ranges of handsets.

"We are expanding our 3G network and rollout to promote the use of 3G not only on a single handset, but also on the wide range of handsets which includes 3.5, HSDPA, 3G, 2.5, and 2.0". Blueberries and other PDAs for the less techno savvy.

Isberto claimed that 3G usages in the country has been picking up. Formerly we were ruing that 36 growth has plateaued, but overall 3G use is growing," he said.

Isberto is quite proud that SmartBro plug a wireless mobile 3G service has been widely successful. Isberto said "We have increased the use of internet usage on mobile phone, the first manifestation was our successful Smartbro plug-in".

SmartBro’s prepaid Plug-It service, which was introduced in late March 2008, already has over 32,000 subscribers as of end-June; Plug-It offers instant internet access through a portable wireless modem and is available in all areas where Smart’s network coverage is present.

"We are excited by the early success of Plug-It’s prepaid version as it demonstrates that there is a strong demand for internet access beyond the traditional postpaid market", added Orlando B. Vea, Chief Wireless Adviser of Smart.

Smart Bro, Smart’s wireless broadband service – through its wholly-owned subsidiary Smart Broadband, Inc. - subscriber base grew by 35 percent for the first half of 2008 to reach 408,000 at end-June 2008, adding about 60,000 new subscribers for the second quarter alone.

In addition, Wireless broadband revenues grew 109 percent to about P1.9 billion in the first half of 2008, a significant improvement over the P930 million in the same period in 2007.