The iPhone has now successfully stormed the mobile markets of both the Emerald Isle and the birthplace of the Oak. For those keeping track at home, this brings the official score card to:
| Europe |
North Am. |
South Am |
Asia |
Africa |
Oceania |
Antarctica |
| 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(Not counting the massive gray market, ‘natch).
What makes the two newest iPhone launches unique, however, is that while hardware pricing is consistent with other EU countries, it looks like Austrians won’t be loving them some unlimited data any time soon, with T-Mobile caps firmly in place at 3GB. Of course, they’re still better off than their O2 bedeviled Irish launch-mates, who not only get even less data at a miserly 1GB, but also don’t get Visual Voicemail! (We should point out that, according to Apple Insider, use of Visual Voicemail in Austria will also count towards your 3GB of data!)
So are these capped data plans the future of iPhone? Are the European EDGE networks so obsoleted by 3G that they can’t handle more or is Apple being forced to concede on their data demands to get their units into more and more territories?
And now that 5 and 6 are settled, who’s in the running for 7? Apple COO Tim Cook did promise us Asia this year, which makes Japan (who knows about China?) a possibility. What about Australia? Scandinavia? Are we betting on Antarctica before data-gouged Canada? (I am!)
As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, ever since the 1.4 firmware dropped, complete with a carrier reference for T-Mobile in Austria, we’ve known who will carry Herr Jobs’ miracle phone into its fifth European country. And now we know when!
Tomorrow, March 14th!
This revelations comes courtesy of Electronista (via Ars Technica) and the ever-lax security of T-Mobile private web pages (hit the aforementioned links for the screen caps).
The 8GB and 16GB versions will be available for €399 and €399 respectively, with rate plans ranging from €39 to €55, depending on the talk-time and SMS package. And unlike the Irish, it reportedly WILL rock Unlimited Data and Visual Voice Mail.
Austrian iPhone fans, better get in line now before the Governator buys them all!
As posted (and updated) earlier, O2 has officially launched the iPhone in Ireland, making it the fifth country (after the US, UK, Germany, and France) to enjoy the revolutionary phone and breakthrough internet device… ish…
Apple Insider reports that Irish iPhone plans, unlike all previous iPhone plans DO NOT come with unlimited data or visual voicemail (a feature often touted by Steve Jobs as being a prime example of carrier cooperation and hence, the benefit of exclusivity).
There seems to be two options here:
- We’ve heard before that Edge (2.5G data) coverage isn’t strong in Europe (which more quickly embraced the faster 3G data model), so could this be a (potentially temporary) situation that O2 will rectify over time? If so, we could be looking forward to service improvements and price drops like we saw with O2 in the UK.
- Or is this a sign that Apple is no longer pressuring carriers to offer affordable, unlimited data plans or features like visual voice mail as part of the iPhone package? If so, this could be the beginning of a far more sweeping and important story. It’s long been rumored that extremely high data rates have kept the iPhone out of countries like Canada, so if Apple is bending to carrier demands on these issues, it could allow the iPhone to spread wider, but at the cost of the concessions Apple was previously able to leverage. (And which analysts said could change the wireless industry)
What do you think? Is this just a temporary road bump on the way to Irish iPhone bliss, or a sign of changing times in carrier-land? And if so, would you prefer to see the iPhone in more countries, even if you get less data and fewer features? Or do you want Apple to hold the line on unlimited plans and visual voicemail-style innovations?
Current exclusive UK iPhone carrier O2 has apparently confirmed to Pocket-lint (via Engadget) that Apple’s finest will be launching on Ireland’s emerald shores come March 14th.
As with the UK, the device will sell via O2 Retail and Carphone Warehouse, cashing in at €399 (incl. VAT) for the 8GB or €499 (incl. VAT) for the 16GB, with rate plans starting at €45.
With O2 expanding its exclusivity into Ireland, and T-Mobile set to expand theirs into Austria, what’s next? Orange in Belgium? AT&T somehow getting into Canada? What’s your guess for iPhone’s next move?
UPDATE: Looks like the 1.1.4 firmware confirms carrier listings for O2 in Ireland and T-Mobile in Austria (Macity via Ars Technica).
UPDATE 2: It’s official, O2 launches the iPhone in Ireland (via Engadget).
After a full weekend of the iPhone in Europe, how well has the iPhone been doing? Well, T-Mobile reported that they sold 10,000 iPhones on the first day. That’s not too shabby; it’s not an incredibly high number either, but it’s not bad either.
O2 hasn’t published any numbers yet, so there’s a bunch of hemming and hawing about whether the UK launch was a success or failure — and same with the German launch, actually. My guess is that since possibly 250,000 iPhones have been unlocked and sent overseas and Apple has had to limit purchases to 2 and require a credit card for purchase, that the iPhone launch must have been pretty good over there when it started a few months ago.
There’s a big line at the mothership Regent Street Apple Store in London. The line started forming yesterday, and though there hasn’t been torrents of rain pouring down on the line waiters like there was in Germany, it’s been fairly cold — about 45° F. Still, the mood is chipper, and everyone is looking forward to getting their iPhone, and they’ll only have to wait about 2.5 hours before the official launch at 6:02 London time.
figure 1: Deutschland is the German word for Germany
Well, the iPhone has officially launched in Germany with T-Mobile, and with fanfare at that. Heise.de reports that there was a bunch of hooting and hollering, which reminds me of the Mall of America launch — they did a good job of making people feel like they were part of something big. Even if it was just for waiting for the release of a smartphone in a collapsible chair for 11 hours.
The CEO of T-Mobile is pleased with the demand for the iPhone, and is not sure that supplies will keep up with demand over the holiday season:
We’re not giving out precise forecasts, but registrations on our Web site lead me to believe (the Christmas sales period) will be a strong sales period.
iPhone: Bei mir, bist du schön.
Details of the iPhone’s launch in the UK is spilling out rapidly, and O2 are making some last changes in preparation for iPhone’s arrival. Their CEO granted an interview that gives a peek into Apple’s carrier selection process. O2 has changed the way that they deal with limited “unlimited” plans — they still limit them, but at least they will give users a warning before they punt people away. And lastly, UK gadget magazine tried out the iPhone for a while, and they have information about the 1.1.2, the upcoming firmware update and iTunes 7.5.
Read the rest of this entry »
Engadget posted up a briefly leaked document from T-Mobile.de that indicates costs and charges for T-Mobile Germany unlimited data plans for the iPhone. There are three tiers — a 200MB tier (M), a 1GB tier (L), and a 5GB tier (XL).
They’re not as unlimited as I’d like, and it looks like they cap your data speeds at about 25% once you pass your download limit, but it’s a start — the other option is to charge you out the nose for exceeding your data limit.
I think my new favorite bit about the international iPhone is how it forces carriers (or operators or whatever) to have a conversation about what manner of data plan and minutes plan the iPhone will be paired with. That, and the promise of a fully unlocked iPhone someday. My two new favorite bits about the international iPhone….
Apple finally confirmed that Orange would be the carrier for the iPhone in France. The iPhone will be sold on Orange’s website and in Orange’s retail stores for €399, which is around $566 American. Information on plans has not yet been determined or revealed. They did set an official date, however: November 29th. It is widely expected that the iPhone will retail for a higher price if sold without a contract as required by French law.
figure 1: Apple and Orange?
It was widely expected that Apple would have some happy things to say about the iPhone and French mobile operator Orange last week at Apple Expo Paris. But, the expo came and went without any sort of iPhone news whatsoever. It looks like we may now know the reason why.
Apple may have problems with a French law that
“would require the iPhone to be sold both with and without contracts, undermining its exclusivity for Orange and Apple’s demand of up to 30 per cent of voice and data revenues”
Clearly, the only option here is to not sell the iPhone at all and wait for the law to change. Instead of charging the no-contract folks an extra $150 or €150 or whatever and skip the revenue sharing. Doing that would require weeks upon weeks of delays. It’s practically not worth it at that point. Why even bother? [via]
Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodaphone, is “absolutely” confident that they’ll get a second chance to distribute the iPhone somewhere in the world. Anywhere, really. He’s still bullish on the 3G iPhone. By the time Apple comes out with one, I’m not sure what major markets will be left for a contract. Asia maybe?
It looks like Norway, Finland, and Sweden may be the next countries to get the iPhone. Apple is reportedly in talks with both TeliaSonera and Telenor to determine who will be the carrier for the iPhone in their respective countries. It’s regarded as likely that TeliaSonera will win Sweden and Finland and Telenor will be the carrier in Norway. Representatives from Telenor noted that the iPhone is unlikely to come out on their network this year.
Didier Lombard, the CEO of Orange, confirmed that Orange would be the sole provider of the iPhone in France. He didn’t reveal any details at all, merely confirming that they were not going to subsidize the cost of the handset. Rumors have indicated that unlimited data will not be part of the deal.
He’s probably going to let Steve reveal that information at Apple Expo Paris (Google Translated)next week. Hopefully for Lombard’s sake, he didn’t reveal any secrets that Steve Jobs wanted to reveal himself; I know that he’s punished partners for revealing his secrets before — ATi was punished around July 2000 for leaking that new iMacs and PowerMacs were coming.
One day after Apple confirmed that they will partner with O2 in the U.K., it was announced that Apple will partner with T-Mobile in Germany for sales of the iPhone. The iPhone will be available on November 9 for €399 and requires a 2 year contract. It doesn’t appear that the plan details are available yet, so they might still be working those plans out — T-Mobile’s Deutchland site doesn’t have much information, just the typical marketing spiel. You heard Steve say it all in January: ein revolutionäres Telefon, ein Breitbild iPod, und ein wegweisendes Internetgerät, right?
