This article appeared on the webiste of Le Figaro, a major, well-respected and right-leaning daily newspaper in France, a few days ago:
http://www.lefigaro.fr/actubourse/20071026.FIG000000069_l_iphone_deja_en_france_sans_orange.html
The title says "iPhone already in France...without Orange [the official carrier]"
In sum, the article describes a business called "phoneandphone.com" that is openly selling unblocked iPhones for 379 Euros with purchase of a Bouygues Telecom contract. Run by three men and their mother, the article reports, the company spent 200,000 Euros on a publicity campaign that includes 150 public advertisements on the streets of Paris. One of the men is quoted as saying, "there is nothing illegal about this offer."
The article goes on to say that Orange, who's contract with Apple is exclusive and who is to launch the French iPhone on the 29th of November, reserves the right to do what it needs to do guarantee its exclusivity...
...but it's been 5 days since the article went up and phoneandphone.com is still peddling unblocked iPhones.
The author reports that Apple made no comment to his/her inquiry on the subject, and finishes with the observation that "such clandestine sales of the iPhone paradoxally contribute to its success," which seems to imply that it is ultimately in Apple's best interest to allow this sort of thing to go on.
I don't really have an opinion on the legality or morality of hacked iPhones, and I know there have been other operations like this, but due to its audacity and scale--not to mention the interesting implication of the last sentence--I thought it was worth sharing with the anglophone Mac community...
...and what of the very fact that this article is even published by a major paper with national circulation? Given the speed at which French legal proceedings normally operate (think land turtles on Galapagos), isn't it just another piece of (free) advertising?
http://www.lefigaro.fr/actubourse/20071026.FIG000000069_l_iphone_deja_en_france_sans_orange.html
The title says "iPhone already in France...without Orange [the official carrier]"
In sum, the article describes a business called "phoneandphone.com" that is openly selling unblocked iPhones for 379 Euros with purchase of a Bouygues Telecom contract. Run by three men and their mother, the article reports, the company spent 200,000 Euros on a publicity campaign that includes 150 public advertisements on the streets of Paris. One of the men is quoted as saying, "there is nothing illegal about this offer."
The article goes on to say that Orange, who's contract with Apple is exclusive and who is to launch the French iPhone on the 29th of November, reserves the right to do what it needs to do guarantee its exclusivity...
...but it's been 5 days since the article went up and phoneandphone.com is still peddling unblocked iPhones.
The author reports that Apple made no comment to his/her inquiry on the subject, and finishes with the observation that "such clandestine sales of the iPhone paradoxally contribute to its success," which seems to imply that it is ultimately in Apple's best interest to allow this sort of thing to go on.
I don't really have an opinion on the legality or morality of hacked iPhones, and I know there have been other operations like this, but due to its audacity and scale--not to mention the interesting implication of the last sentence--I thought it was worth sharing with the anglophone Mac community...
...and what of the very fact that this article is even published by a major paper with national circulation? Given the speed at which French legal proceedings normally operate (think land turtles on Galapagos), isn't it just another piece of (free) advertising?
. Just buy them in USD--currently worth about .65 EUR--and get rich fast. What is the status of the iPhone in Belgium? Will there be an official carrier, or will it be all hacked phones? I never thought of the effects of all this on smaller countries.