Conjecture on what France might tell us about Apple and the iPhone

[paulo999]

thanks for that. i hadn't seen that interview. lombard seems to think there will be a resolution. we shall see!

Hmm. Interesting.

One possibility is that there will be a an unlocked iPhone at 'full price' (as well a 'normal' price one tied to Orange FR).

If the 'full price' one is priced high enough, then it will be relatively low threat to AT&T, O2 (UK) & T-Mobile (DE).

Only stopper on that, of course, is if Apple have already agreed with those providers that there won't be an unlocked phone. Still, that could be negotiable even now.

 

[nicoboss]

Well, here we go, still more information from Macbidouille:
http://forum.macbidouille.com/index.php?showtopic=237541&st=0&#entry2381043

For those who can't read french, it seems to be getting fairly complicated - but it looks like Orange will prepay a huge quantity of iphone from Apple - Apple has accepted the fact that after six month the phones will be unlocked (means that it can be used with another operator, it seems to be a legal timeframe) - Orange has agreed to have apple backup a little on the amount of revenue-share they want (will be way below the 30%) - based on the fact that, of course, orange looses exclusivity after six months.
Also, part of the disagreement is that Orange wanted to "personalize" the iphone, something they seem to have agreed to forget about.

Pricepoint should be around 300 euros.

So ... here you go. Is it possible that apple is preparing a special french version of the OS (they have to translate it anyway) that locks it for usage only with french carriers ... otherwize how would they be able to stop people from buying french handset to use with, say, T-Mobile in the US ?

Or are they already prepared to change their economic model worldwide????

All these information from macbidouille....

 

[Devil's Refugee]

If that's the case, then I hope to see an influx of available unlocked iPhones to buy on eBay from France 6 months from launch. The alternative is to do the same for all european countries. At the end of the day you'll still be tied to a carrier for the original tariff (or pay a hefty fee to leave it early)

 

[sananda]

Is it possible that apple is preparing a special french version of the OS (they have to translate it anyway) that locks it for usage only with french carriers ...

wouldn't still fall foul of the consumer law still it's still locked albeit to several carriers?

 

[nicoboss]

well i mean a lock to a country, vs. to a carrier - the problem the law was trying to fix is consumer a buse by carriers in strength position. Locking to a carrier is not possible - locking to a country would still be possible, though... (in y view..)

 

[sananda]

well i mean a lock to a country, vs. to a carrier - the problem the law was trying to fix is consumer a buse by carriers in strength position. Locking to a carrier is not possible - locking to a country would still be possible, though... (in y view..)

yes, i take your point.

 

[Madame Defarge]

well i mean a lock to a country, vs. to a carrier - the problem the law was trying to fix is consumer a buse by carriers in strength position. Locking to a carrier is not possible - locking to a country would still be possible, though... (in y view..)

Just curious, how is it possible to "lock to a country"?

The problem for Apple is, that everyone who is forced into a locked contract in the States, the UK, and Germany, is going to be hopping mad, especially if they would prefer an unlocked phone for themselves. I don't see how this can play out well for them.

 

[boz0]

Just curious, how is it possible to "lock to a country"?

As long as carriers in different countries use the same technology (ie, GSM, EDGE, ...), there shouldn't be any way to do this ... unless they tie it down to ALL carriers in a country, a side effect of which would be to prevent roaming, which in turn would probably violate some laws and would most certainly turn many users from the iPhone.

 

[boz0]

One possibility is that there will be a an unlocked iPhone at 'full price' (as well a 'normal' price one tied to Orange FR).

If the 'full price' one is priced high enough, then it will be relatively low threat to AT&T, O2 (UK) & T-Mobile (DE).

That sounds like the most reasonable solution for Apple. They'd respect French law, but an expensive enough stand-alone iPhone (say, 1,000€ - VAT included, which would probably be something like US$1,200) should prevent the expansion of a "gray market".

 

[Mackan]

That sounds like the most reasonable solution for Apple. They'd respect French law, but an expensive enough stand-alone iPhone (say, 1,000€ - VAT included, which would probably be something like US$1,200) should prevent the expansion of a "gray market".

That would just feed more hate against Apple...

 

[arnop]

France is a very specific market and it's not unusual to find phones without subscriptions plans at 1200€ or 1500€ (about 2100$) as Porsche or Nokia recently did. Sometimes, Nokia even releases their new phones without any partnerships with Orange or SFR (Vodafone in France) !

(http://www4.fnac.com/Shelf/article....ID=0D24DAE6E-356E-E3AA-7323-CD1555046B4A&Fr=2)

So I guess that not to broke any laws, Apple & Orange will sell the iPhone in France with a plan @ about 400€ and without a subscription @ about 800 or 1000€. It's expensive but I've heard so many people in Paris waiting for one that it won't be an issue for them (including me !)