iPhone France Launch and Unlocked iPhones (100 Euro?)

[MacRumors]

Retuers reports on Orange's expectations for iPhone sales in France. Orange expects to sell nearly 100,000 iPhones by the end of 2007 after its launch later this Wednesday.

MacScoop reported on the leaked rate plans for the French iPhone last week. The rate plans were revealed on iphone.orange.fr. Pricing points include 49 euro/mo, 59 euro/mo, 79 euro/mo, and 119 euro/mo.

Orange will also be offering an unlocked iPhone. The Reuters article provides no details on the price of the unlocked iPhone but places it "significantly lower" than the unlocked German iPhone.

The MacScoop report, however, indicates that the French iPhone will be unlockable even before the typical 6 month wait-time for only 100 euro. While on the surface this seems much cheaper than the German pricing, it does not appear that this removes the 2 year contract requirement with Orange. This means that while you can buy an unlocked iPhone in France for 499 euro (399 + 100), the main advantage will be to avoid roaming charges when traveling as you are still contractually obligated to Orange. Meanwhile, the unlocked German iPhone has no contract requirement, but comes at a higher cost. These details have not been confirmed by Orange. Official announcements will be made on Wednesday.


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[windowsblowsass]

it really is amazing what jobs has been able to accomplish.

 

[studiomusic]

That would be sweet to unlock my iphone for 100 euro in December when I'll be there... they probably won't do that for me though as I'm with AT&T.
Too bad, I'll have to hack it then to not be charged HUGE roaming fees.

 

[lofight]

yes it's amazing what jobs accomplished, i also read the forbes article of jobs being the most powerful person, interesting...

 

[Macnoviz]

but how can an unlocked cellphone be bound by a contract?

 

[Over Achiever]

How much is the cancellation fee with Orange? Add that to the 100 euro, it shouldn't be too bad, right?

 

[ebouwman]

how can you have an unlocked iPhone, and still have contracts that partially lock you to orange? Then it isn't really an unlocked iPhone.

 

[ebouwman]

yes it's amazing what jobs accomplished, i also read the forbes article of jobs being the most powerful person, interesting...

yes he is, because imagine if he started to backmask secret messages into iPods Then he would have an army of teenagers at his side
hahaha

 

[studiomusic]

You still are in a contract with Orange. But, your iphone is unlocked for roaming.

 

[Mydel]

Yeah thats seems acceptable. German 999 Eur is waaaay to much..

 

[manu chao]

German provider undercutting T-mobile

The German mobile phone provider Debitel is offering customers a 600 Euro voucher for using the iPhone with them. Its cheapest offer is only 39 Euro per month (against 49 Euro with T-mobile) and includes 100 min and 100 SMS (against 100 min and 40 SMS with T-mobile).

http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/mobil/0,1518,520006,00.html

 

[goosnarrggh]

but how can an unlocked cellphone be bound by a contract?

Once you pay the unlocking fee, you've basically taken what used to be 1 unified entity (phone+contract) and converted it into two separate entities - a phone on the one hand, and a contract on the other. Both entities continue to exist separately.

The phone itself is no longer bound by the contract - conceivably, it would be possible to pop out the original SIM card and install other SIM cards connected to whatever service provider you like. So you can travel about and use a local carrier wherever you go to avoid roaming charges.

However, YOU will still be bound by the original contract, requiring you to make regular monthly payments to Orange. (Or if the contract allows for it, you may be able to temporarily suspend the payments while travelling, or maybe even pay an early termination fee to get out of the contract early.)

Whether or not you choose to exercise the rights that have been granted to you under that contract by plugging in your SIM card and placing phone calls (or even whether you choose to plug the SIM card into the iPhone versus any other GSM phone) is a separate issue.

 

[shadowfax]

but how can an unlocked cellphone be bound by a contract?

no phone, locked or unlocked, can ever be locked to a contract. YOU are locked to a contract and your phone is locked to a carrier. now, you can opt out of your contract for a nominal fee, but your phone is still locked. you can also pay to get your phone unlocked from a carrier to put in other SIMs, but YOU are still under contract to the network. you have to opt out of contract and pay to have your phone unlocked to be completely free.

 

[CalfCanuck]

how can you have an unlocked iPhone, and still have contracts that partially lock you to orange? Then it isn't really an unlocked iPhone.

Since you buy the phone from Orange, I assume they set up the contract during the purchase.

The unlocking allows you to use other SIM cards in the phone - this is quite normal when traveling. You can buy a "pay as you go" Austrain or Spanish SIM card when you are in Vienna or Madrid for 30 euro, for example, and then you'd be paying local prices that might be 80% cheaper than roaming with your French cell phone number in those countries.

And if you travel to a country a couple of times a year, you can keep the same number and just "top it off" each time you come back to the country.

 

[Macinposh]

it really is amazing what jobs has been able to accomplish.

Yes,that is true.

He has taken greed to a completely new level AND is getting good press all around the world. Not only from media,but from the fans as well..

People in the telecommunications business on this side of the pond are really awestruck how apple has managed to fix this thing.

I only fear that apples arrogant behiavour will start a backlash soon on it.
The big operators and manufacturers (nokia,sonyeriksson) have allready started it´s lobbying to try to restrict/hinder apples rampage.
Soon apple might face same kind of trouble that microsoft is facing.
Both on the tele side and on computer side.

And that will hit it´s stock hard.
Prepare to buy some shares...

 

[mpw]

Yeah thats seems acceptable. German 999 Eur is waaaay to much..

€967 isn't waaaay cheaper than €999 though is it? and I don't know if those prices include sales taxes at the same rates either.

EDIT: Sorry my sums were off the french price is €1,087 for a 12month contract at €49, and I still don't account for taxes

 

[Hattig]

49€/mo Plan:
- 2 hours + 2 (late evening or week-end) hours of voice calls:
- 50 SMS
- 10 hours of Orange Wifi
- Unlimited VoiceMail, E-Mail and data

59€/mo Plan:
- 3 hours + 3 (late evening or week-end) hours of voice calls:
- 100 SMS
- 10 hours of Orange Wifi
- Unlimited VoiceMail, E-Mail and EDGE data

79€/mo Plan:
- 5 hours + 5 (late evening or week-end) hours of voice calls:
- 150 SMS
- 10 hours of Orange Wifi
- Unlimited VoiceMail, E-Mail and EDGE data

119€/mo Plan:
- 8 hours + 8 hours of voice calls:
- 1000 SMS
- 100 hours of Orange Wifi
- Unlimited VoiceMail, E-Mail and EDGE data

Oh dear. Is the 49 Euro plan not even using EDGE, or is that a typo? The limits on SMS are simply ridiculous, they might not be free for the provider but they're an easy place to add value, and 50/100/150 at those prices is simply retarded. Unless the French mobile market is years behind the UK, never mind Asia anyway. Let's not talk about the pitiful voice hours...

 

[Hattig]

€967 isn't waaaay cheaper than €999 though is it? and I don't know if those prices include sales taxes at the same rates either.

EDIT: Sorry my sums were off the french price is €1,087 for a 12month contract at €49, and I still don't account for taxes

VAT is always included in quoted prices in Europe.

 

[freediverdude]

A 600 euro voucher?? So this Debitel is saying "We'll give you 600 euros of free service (probably a year's worth), if you'll pay 600 euros to unlock your phone and switch to us"? I don't see how they could make much money- they're not selling the phone, and giving away service. Unless they restrict how much of the voucher you can use at a time or something.

 

[voodoofish]

how can you have an unlocked iPhone, and still have contracts that partially lock you to orange? Then it isn't really an unlocked iPhone.

It might help to think about it this way - you break your phone. do you have to stop paying the contract you took out when you bought the phone? no.

so in the same way, just because a phone you buy will let you put another sim card into it, it doesn't mean you can stop paying the contract you took out when you bought the phone - just as if the phone broke you would still have to keep the contract. the contract is 'separate', if you like, to the phone. you loose the phone, you don't loose the contract.

if you buy an unlocked phone without a contract (ie. on pay as you go, or you buy it separate from any network completely, or you buy it from a network but without a contract) then obvs you don't have to keep paying a contract.

when you buy an iphone you don't sign a contract, but when you activate it you do. so presumably, in order to activate the unlocked iphone in france you have to sign up to a contract with orange. this really isn't much different to when you go into a mobile phone shop, sign a contract and then walk out with a phone which is unlocked, but you are still bound by the contract you just signed.

 

[d.f]

i think it works like this....

how can you have an unlocked iPhone, and still have contracts that partially lock you to orange? Then it isn't really an unlocked iPhone.

i'm in the UK. i have an annual ORANGE contract with no monthly fee's, (it does have high call costs).... i haven't used it in 2 years. but i still have the contract. it benefits me in other ways. so, i suppose this is how it will work.

IF they do have a similar, no monthly fee / high standard costs tariff, then this will be the route to take for a unlocked, reasonably priced, on any network iPhone (sourced from France)

i personally don't think Apple care much about the idea of more unlocked phones than locked. initially it was a scary new market (phones) and revenue sharing (with exclusive carriers) was sensible. but they are by now VERY aware of the restrictions in being single carrier only, especially in more advance mobile markets like Europe and next Asia.

they're still making a profit on the handsets and will do by way of the revenue genrating applications that will come next year.

they will have to maintain publicly their support for their exclusive carrier, of course, but they'll know that if a local EU law forces them to offer these offical unlocked handsets, then so be it. they can work with that too.

just speculating, but here in the UK, o2 (which i am on, although unlocked) has hurt them HARD. i've had many co-workers come to my desk just to play with it repeatedly, but they cannot justify having to be tied to o2 with their specific iPhone tarrifs, when they're getting any other phone for FREE on any provider and on any of their suitable tarrifs.

the iPhone is simply too good to be tied down. all i'm missing is visual voicemail. i miss MMS more as i never had VV to begin with. So it's not a big selling point as far as i can see.

2 pennies over.

 

[voodoofish]

i'm in the UK. i have an annual ORANGE contract with no monthly fee's, (it does have high call costs).... i haven't used it in 2 years. but i still have the contract. it benefits me in other ways. so, i suppose this is how it will work.

IF they do have a similar, no monthly fee / high standard costs tariff, then this will be the route to take for a unlocked, reasonably priced, on any network iPhone (sourced from France)

You're on the OVP Virgin Tariff right? If they had a tariff like that, which i doubt they do, they won't let you sign up to it with the iphone - they'll make you sign up to an iphone tariff in order to activate the iphone, which, presumably, once you've done, if you paid the €100 extra, your iphone will be activated and unlocked, but you'll have signed the contract. (orange uk also don't let new customers sign up to any OVP tariffs any more btw)


thinking about it, i'm not sure that would pass the french regulation... i don't know the french regulation, but it would seem a bit silly for the law to say you need to sell the phone unlocked, but you can choose to only sell it with a contract - what would be the point in that law?

 

[arn]

hmm, for what its worth

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/27/oranges-unlocked-iphone-to-cost-well-below-1-000-euros/

France Telecom CEO Didier Lombard has apparently dropped a few less-than-specific details on the matter in a recent interview, saying that it'll cost "over 500 euros, but well below 1,000 euros."

 

[Unspeaked]

The real question here is how much does it cost to A) buy the French iPhone B) get it unlocked and C) terminate your contract.

If that's less than the German price, it's a deal. If not, there's no difference (or it could be worse!)...

 

[EagerDragon]

but how can an unlocked cellphone be bound by a contract?

The person is locked to the contract not the phone. As long as you pay your monthly fee, nobody cares what brand of phone you use on that service.

Depends on the language of the contract and the laws of the country. It is possible that there is a termination fee in one country and in another where the contract can not be canceled at all as long as the service provider provides "reasonable effort" to provide the service it contracted with.

If you can get it unlocked and then terminate the contract then you are home free, however cell service providers all suck, some worst than others at one time or another. Those unlocking the phone to go with another carrier, may or may not be better off.