Apple Announces iPhone in Germany

[MacinDoc]

not going to happen any time soon in canada
Jobs has too far to go with negotiations, because Canada has no unlimited data plans, and the data is so expensive that I pay less roaming in canada for data then canadians do on their home networks, no nationwide free long distance, calling the suburbs from vancouver is considered long distance.... even voicemail and caller ID costs extra. Rogers being the sole GSM provider doesnt have much incentive to change all of this (Fido is owned by Rogers), and therefore canadians get screwed as usual

Sad but true.

 

[swagi]

I am usually not a moaner (prove: got a SR MBP with the lower-third-yellow-cast issue and I am not moaning at all ) but I think Apple is trying to push out the EGPRS leftovers and Europeans are meant to help in getting rid of them.

Yes, € 399,- is not to bad – I can live with a approx. USD 50,- surcharge, but:

a) over here in Germany HSDPA is ubiquitous (I **** you not)
b) free or complimentary Wifi is (almost) unheard of (apparently mainly due to legal/responsibility issues) – true for coffee shops and the like as well as exploiting open connections

I am a recent switcher to the Mac-side and one of the things I truly admire(d) about Apple is that they include a feature only if performs/delivers 100%. EGPRS does not give me a decent internet surfing experience, it just doesn’t.

As others pointed out: We have no confirmation whether the German T-mobile hotspots will be available for no charge for iPhone users but even if they are: I have three Startbucks in 5min walking distance and T-mobile Wifi is broken on all three of them – last time I checked (and it was working) they charged ridiculously high amounts (order of magnitude: USD 15,- for 30min) so nobody is using it, nobody cares.

Maybe it’s my limited experience with Apple but it is sad to see that they too are just a we-get-it-right-on-the-second-or-third-try company.

My contract runs out in November and all the iPhone craziness made me seriously consider a mobile internet device. As much as I loathe the crappy user experience but I think I’ll have to learn to live with either the Samsung SGH i600 or the Nokia E61i… Damn!

Completely agree with you. But don't be bitter. Having the internet in your pocket is quite overrated, if you ask me. But it perfectly fits into the current Web 'n Walk-ads, which T-mobile runs. Gimme a break, a woman just goes on the internet to spend money on shoes (surfing eBays) and preordering a concert ticket.

There seems to be little use for internet in your pocket other than wasting your time and money. And yes, I used my Nokia E65 to do some stock trading while away from home. But, well, I used it say less than 10 times to go online, even on WiFis. I first was considering a Data Flatrate for 25
€ on the O2-network. Then I found out that I would barely use it. Except when you have loads of money to burn...

 

[kugino]

there is an overwhelming number of negative votes in the UK announcement thread, but more positive votes in this Germany announcement thread...so what gives?

 

[Aaargh!]

there is an overwhelming number of negative votes in the UK announcement thread, but more positive votes in this Germany announcement thread...so what gives?

I think the negative votes in the UK announcement were because of the disappointment that there was no 3G in the EU version, that is no longer news.

 

[kugino]

I think the negative votes in the UK announcement were because of the disappointment that there was no 3G in the EU version, that is no longer news.

so once the disappointment of non-3G phones dissipated, we don't need to harp on it in future announcements? i guess so.

the macalope has an interesting post about people grumbling about the lack of 3G...i know it's been said over and over and discussed ad naseum...but with the current game of tradeoffs between data speed and device longevity (batter longevity, that is), i think i'd prefer to have my iphone last longer. but that's just me...

 

[RafMac]

Sad but true.

I have heard from sources that Canada will have iPhone in November, but it's still in negotiating stages and can be pushed back to January the latest. Apparently, Apple is trying to get ready for XMas season sales, so be patient out there. It's coming. Rogers is not the only GSM carrier now, there are new players on the horizon and its working for apple now.

 

[zwobot]

Pictures

I posted some pictures from the event here…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marzipanguy/

 

[4God]

Dang, I wish iPhone was picked up on T-Mobile here in the states!

 

[pmd]

not going to happen any time soon in canada
Jobs has too far to go with negotiations, because Canada has no unlimited data plans, and the data is so expensive that I pay less roaming in canada for data then canadians do on their home networks

O2 UK didn't provide unlimited data either, but they've added it as part of the iPhone launch, so Rogers could do the same (in theory). All O2 customers will be able to get the unlimited plans, not just iPhone users.

I was on an O2 contract before I moved to Australia 6 months ago...oh well. At least I live by the beach now

 

[twoodcc]

good news for those in Germany.

 

[goosnarrggh]

I have heard from sources that Canada will have iPhone in November, but it's still in negotiating stages and can be pushed back to January the latest. Apparently, Apple is trying to get ready for XMas season sales, so be patient out there. It's coming. Rogers is not the only GSM carrier now, there are new players on the horizon and its working for apple now.

Rogers/Fido is the only player that is currently in a position to offer a coast-to-coast GSM network. That cannot change in a matter of 1 month. 4 months, maybe. Rogers took the better part of a decade to totally establish its network nation-wide, and it's still not as strong as the incumbent (Bell) system, on the East coast at least.

But either way, there would be a huge up-front price tag to get nation-wide infrastructure up and running from scratch, so I find that possibility a little hard to swallow.

 

[ddubbo]

people already spend around 2000NIS for SIMPLE phones, not even smartphones.

Israel loves gadgets, I'm sure it'll be a huge success. Besides, who said the iPhone won't be subsidized as well? It appears that apple is willing to take the approach of different marketing to different markets.

The last market in the world Apple takes care of is Israel. When, if any, iPhone will get over here it won't be subsidized, the same way as it does at Europe now.
It will cost about 3000NIS + plan as if it subsidized. So when people will get a choice to get Nokia N95 for free or iPhone for 3000NIS, very few will pick up second one.2000 units will be a max capacity for market.
I do not know people who put more than 500 NIS by hard cash for simple cellphone.

 

[Dembo]

@swagi:

Completely agree with you. But don't be bitter. Having the internet in your pocket is quite overrated, if you ask me. But it perfectly fits into the current Web 'n Walk-ads, which T-mobile runs. Gimme a break, a woman just goes on the internet to spend money on shoes (surfing eBays) and preordering a concert ticket

Well, I am spoiled - the company I work for provides me with a UMTS/HSDPA flat rate and corresponding PCMCIA card (trying to exchange this into PC Express card right now to get it to work together with my MBP): Very nice! Drawback is travelling every week and not having access to a BlackBerry.

Almost all of my PIM data is online since I was getting to annoyed by my elderly T3 and I would love to have access to this without flipping out my laptop. Overall it's about those "small pockets of time" that could be easily filed up with "productive" RSS reading and such...

Maybe the E61i or Samsung's SGH i600 will do the trick - looking into those alternatives right now.

 

[TheSilencer]

I found this in Munich at a Saturn consumer electronics market.
The prices are the old ones, not updated. However, this is a advertisement from "Debitel", they resell T-Mobile contracts and others, sometimes with better prices. Nothing really impressive, more a funny sidenote.

No, no Photoshop used!

 

[lofight]

I found this in Munich at a Saturn consumer electronics market.
The prices are the old ones, not updated. However, this is a advertisement from "Debitel", they resell T-Mobile contracts and others, sometimes with better prices. Nothing really impressive, more a funny sidenote.

No, no Photoshop used!

lol, but i still is english the iphone apps.

 

[TheSilencer]

Well, seems that this is some weeks old, not sure how long this is in there. Maybe they have forgotten it.