Hundreds of Ticos lined up Thursday evening to get their hands on an iPhone 5, which went on sale at 10 p.m. at stores run by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), and later, at private company stores.
Movistar and Claro began selling the smartphone two hours later. Service plans were kept secret until stores opened.
ICE is offering plans that include a free phone when customers sign up for a monthly contract of â‚¡34,000 ($68) for the 16 GB model, or â‚¡40,000 ($80) a month for the 32 GB phone. Both have a minimum contract of 24 months.
Movistar announced on Friday that the iPhone 5 is available for a whopping â‚¡378,600 ($756) for the 16 GB model and â‚¡436,200 ($872) the 32 GB.
Movistar customers get the phone for free if they sign a â‚¡40,000 ($80) monthly plan for the 16 GB iPhone or â‚¡45,000 ($90) for the 32 GB model.
Claro phones start at â‚¡119,900 ($239) with a monthly service plan of â‚¡30,000 ($60) for 24 months (16 GB) and â‚¡177,900 ($235) for the 32 GB model.
Costa Rica is part of a group of 50 countries that began selling the popular Apple smarthphone on Friday, after it hit the market on Sept. 12 in 47 other countries.
