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Both Telecom Italia and Vodafone to Offer iPhone in Italy
- Thread starter bruk201ib
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It was long term enough to get revenue sharing.
Anything else would mean that Apple intended to make their European launch such a disaster purposefully.
Europeans don't put up with locked phones, but folks in the US can't seem to force the telecoms out of their draconian ways. If the consumer took a harder line stance, I think the telecoms would start to relax their policies, but too many people are all too eager to sign that 2 year contract.
European DO put up with locked phones --- they just don't put up with locked phones that is fully priced with a long (and expensive) contract.
Well... there may be a difference between exclusivity vs. being SIM locked to the network - one would have to see the contract between AT&T and Apple in order to tell.
If the rumored $200 AT&T price subsidy (which that article said, as you may recall, would only be available in AT&T stores) is true... we might see an end to physical SIM locking. That is, yeah, you get a $200 price cut when you sign a 2-year contract. If you don't want to sign a 2-year contract with AT&T, then you pay full price.
After all, physical SIM locking doesn't make a whole lot of sense when compared with locking people into contracts.
I don't see any causation here. Did you make a similar comment when Apple shifted to Intel chips (they would lose their prestige?)
Just watch, you'll get what you asked for
The real price of the unlocked iPhone will be $300 higher than one locked to a contract
I bet they won't lower the price of one locked to a contract...It doesn't matter to AT&T --- because AT&T has traditionally offered their subscribers unlocking codes for free after 90 days (except the iphone of course).
I think we're right in assuming 3G. But this is not the evidence.
My brother uses his jailbroken iPhone in Australia on Vodafone now.
Like Italy, vodafone don't have EDGE in Australia (just GPRS).
(he does complain it's slow).
I suspect that Vodafone NOT announcing sales in all the countries that currently have exclusive deals, even when Vodafone has a network in several, tells us that for now those countries keep their exclusive deals.
They signed an exclusive deal. Originally, most journalists speculated it was 5 years and some said it was a fact. Now, many journalists speculate it is for 2 years, and some say it is a fact.
We don't know.
Yeah, I think the price was set too high for Europe - and came out shortly after the $100 drop in the US. I don't know what Apple was thinking. Hopefully they recognise that price (rather than exclusivity) was the biggest problem!
I wonder if we're about to see another round of a different type of lock in.
For example - Telefonica/O2 is huge and covers several countries. T-mobile is huge and covers several countries. Orange is huge and covers several countries. I wouldn't be surprised if we see each of these Telcos announce iPhones for their other networks not in exclusive areas. (it should go without saying, that Vodafone is huge and covers several countries, we just saw their announcement.)
Of course, TIM might be a counter example. It's the incumbent telco for Italy but only owns a network in one other country.
Anyway - perhaps we'll now see a round of locked phones sold on some big players who cover multiple countries. As such... I'm waiting to see if Singtel announces iPhone for its 8(?) networks in different countries (including Optus Australia).
As an Italian, I must say that this was somewhat inevitable. Italians are used to buying handsets and telephone plans independently, and there was absolutely no chance of a "single-carrier locked-in" launch from succeeding.
it's not cool factor but the way elitists think. it is a phone after all, not a car or a boat. and for a phone, if it is well designed phone then great. besides, right now anyone can walk into an apple store and take home the phone to do a small sw update and voile, it's working on t-mobile.
We are not in the early 90s anymore, when people put their GMS sets on the dinner table at the restaurant and looked around how many stare at the table.
btw, I did not know AT&T has a cool factor larger than a cow.
iPhone Carrier Option
My friend discovered a hidden menu on his iPhone last Sunday and he had me put all the info on my blog: http://www.macnoob.blogspot.com
Link to pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrappapervlog/sets/72157604898007713/
Link to video:
http://www.vimeo.com/977685
My friend discovered a hidden menu on his iPhone last Sunday and he had me put all the info on my blog: http://www.macnoob.blogspot.com
Link to pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrappapervlog/sets/72157604898007713/
Link to video:
http://www.vimeo.com/977685