To capitalize on the hype of yesterday’s iPhone5 launch, Kijiji Canada has launched a microsite specifically for the iPhone.
Bart Molenda, Kijiji Canada’s head of marketing, explained that Kijiji sees a huge increase of postings and product searches each time Apple announces a new product. “We’re addressing that consumer demand,” he said. “The demand for Apple products and the iPhone specifically.”
On average, Kijiji receives 21,000 searches for “iPhone” every day, Molenda said. To date, the site has seen 7.4 million iPhone search inquires and 960 thousand iPhones listed. Each time Apple releases a new product, Molenda said the site is flooded with postings looking for the new phone as well as older iPhone models users are looking to unload.
The site, Info.Kijiji.ca/iPhone5 (which at press time was down due to heavy traffic), shows available iPhones by location, a clock counting down to the Sept.21 shipment date, links to Apple accessories for sale and lists of the Kijiji staff’s favourite apps. The company is also donating one dollar from every iPhone sold on Kijiji between Sept. 21 and Nov. 13 to Evergreen, an environmental charity.
There were few surprises during Apple’s much discussed product launch yesterday, which debuted the new lighter, thinner iPhone. One of the biggest changes to the new model is its larger screen, according to WhatsYourTech.ca reporter Ted Kritsonis. The slightly taller screen marks the first iteration of the iPhone to have a new screen size, a move Kritsonis said was likely a response to the large screens on similar smartphones sold by Apple competitors like HTC and Samsung.
Kritsonis said the release of the full list of iPhone5 specs was met with a mixed response. While some were impressed by the faster A6 processor chip and longer battery life, other pointed out the phone still has no near field communication (NFC) abilities, a technology retailers like Walmart and Target are using to develop a mobile wallet in the U.S.
As Apple has built a reputation as an innovator, Kritsonis said consumers expect huge changes each time it launches a product, which can lead to disappointment. “Apple is expected to be super innovative every time they hit the stage and I don’t know how realistic that is,” he said.
“You can’t reinvent the wheel every time,” Kritsonis said “This one’s not going to shoot out a hologram.”
