Korean pre-orders for the iPhone 4S began on Friday 4 November and had, three days later, reached a total of 200,000 through carriers KT and SK telecom.

Local news site The Chosun Ilbo reported the figure, stating that demand had been high enough that high traffic caused the carriers' websites to crash.

This figure is significantly higher than for iPhone 4 in August 2010, which reached 130,000.

Not buying local

Even Samsung hasn't done so well in its home country, with 120,000 of its Galaxy S IIs pre-ordered over three days in April this year.

The Korean company is still considering its injunction against Apple, the aim of which would be the banning of devices in Korea. A decision will apparently be made around November 11, when iPhone 4S sales are due to start.

Legal battles have erupted between the two companies around the globe, including in Germany, where product bans were put in place, and The Netherlands, where modifications to Samsung devices were enforced.

Ban be-gone

Since 2009 the games category had been banned in Korea, due to strict government guidelines laid down by the Games Ratings Board being flouted by the App Store.

The ban has since been lifted and Korean developers and publishers have been working to popularise home grown content.

[source: The Chosun Ilbo]