Deutsche Telekom Sold 70,000 iPhones in 11 Weeks

[Sceneshifter]

In the US, it's common to pay for incoming calls

Wicked, is this really true? If so, how HUGE are the phonebills then? I can make it on 5 euro a month if I really really try (usually way more of course), simply by just answering calls and giving missed calls!

Also, in Belgium here, you can get awesome subscriptions for as little as 25Euro (but then it's also wicked god, loads of free minutes etc...). So as nice as the iPhone is, I will never buy one locked, unlocked is a different story and I'm hoping it will see the daylight eventually (perhaps their old stock once the 2nd generation is released?)

 

[zuma]

not price but strategy & tech is the problem

i don't believe the price t-mobile/apple offer in germany is the issue. most people i know pay about €80-€100 per month and get less talk/sms/data then they would with t-mobile iphone plans.

the problem is that t-mobile in germany is considered totally un-cool. vodafone is the choice of for people that use macs. most mac (read: potential first iphone) users have contracts with vodafone.

apart from that, the real strategic mistake is, to sell through only one provider in the first place. i know, it's all about kick-backs, but if there is nothing to kick back...

and of course tech is the problem: the 2g, a 2mp cam, no mms, no sd cards etc pp

 

[peterbaby]

Why I hope the iPhone 1st gen will fail...

Hey guys, here is an attempt for a quick case study on why I will never buy an iPhone. Although not pretenting to be the average consumer, many of my friends that are not apple fans share the same views.

Here is the story about France, where I've been for 7 years, a tale about a country where I have never seen an iPhone in the streets...

Considering that:

• We've had 3G for more than 6 years now
• All networks are now being upgraded to HSPDA (and operators largely advertising this, including Orange who is selling the iPhone)
• EDGE never really was considered as an option, except for rural areas where 3G will be deployed later
• MMS sending, although not extremely popular, is a requirement for the "hype young" population targetted by the iPhone
• Data rates are now becoming much cheaper (unlimited in some offers, with the exception of course, of roaming)
• Subsidised telephones that cost 1eur with a contract have allowed us for years to download/browse at UMTS speeds, to watch mobile TV, to make video calls...

I really don't understand what's the point in getting a phone that's 5 years late here.

Ok, there is the interface...and to solve this issue, I got an iPod touch, (which now allows me to check my emails).
And here is the catch, DSL offers in France cost +/- 29,90 eur/month (24Mbps, free phone to more than 70 countries, VOD, DSL television with some HD channels, and a free "box" that is a modem/wifi access point/router/TV box/phone adapter). In other terms, in large cities, wifi is everywhere, added to this cafés, McDonalds, Starbucks and public places where wifi is free.
I do use my iPod touch just as I would use an iPhone...it works nearly everywhere, sure not in the subway, but does a lot for no monthly cost.

My point is, and I am a recently 100% mac fan, why the hell would I buy a product that is 5 years outdated?
I have nothing against buying computer products that are "Designed by Apple, California"... the products are at the same level, worldwide. But when it comes to mobile, we are really talking about huge differences in the markets (and if we in Europe are more advanced than in the US, we are far behind Japan or Korea).

I've seen lots of my non-geek friends showing up at Orange (the ones that don't care about the price)...and all of them went home without an iPhone, why?
Sir no, you cannot watch TV on this
Sir no, you don't have MMS on this phone
Sir no, if your friends sends you a high res e-mail, it will take hours to download
Sir no, if you want to listen to the radio/web radio, get a nokia
There is no hype in showing you can buy a product that does nothing...even for non techies.

Fans and hype people can accept one compromise, either price, or functionalities. The iPhone offers us to pay more to get less...the equation is easy to solve for me...

 

[samab]

Wicked, is this really true? If so, how HUGE are the phonebills then? I can make it on 5 euro a month if I really really try (usually way more of course), simply by just answering calls and giving missed calls!

Also, in Belgium here, you can get awesome subscriptions for as little as 25Euro (but then it's also wicked god, loads of free minutes etc...). So as nice as the iPhone is, I will never buy one locked, unlocked is a different story and I'm hoping it will see the daylight eventually (perhaps their old stock once the 2nd generation is released?)

Most people are on contract in the US with unlimited mobile-to-mobile and unlimited nights and weekends. One carrier has rollever of daytime minutes.

Cost is not an issue in the US --- at least not enough to change people's habits like using texting your friends because it's cheaper.

 

[BaldiMac]

I've seen lots of my non-geek friends showing up at Orange (the ones that don't care about the price)...and all of them went home without an iPhone, why?
Sir no, you cannot watch TV on this
Sir no, you don't have MMS on this phone
Sir no, if your friends sends you a high res e-mail, it will take hours to download
Sir no, if you want to listen to the radio/web radio, get a nokia
There is no hype in showing you can buy a product that does nothing...even for non techies.

Fans and hype people can accept one compromise, either price, or functionalities. The iPhone offers us to pay more to get less...the equation is easy to solve for me...

You don't seem to explain these points very well.

1. You can watch TV shows on an iPhone. Anything encoded in a quicktime supported format will play.
2. No MMS, but even you admitted it's not very popular. And you can use email instead. It's a compromise. Obviously, Apple is not targeting the MMS crowd with this realease.
3. Hi-res email taking hours? Even EDGE can do about 1 MB per minute as long as you have a decent connection. And it's downloaded in the background. And if your going to go through all the trouble of downloading a hi-res pic to a phone, wouldn't you rather see in on an iPhone screen than any other phone?
4. Web radio is supported. Quicktime streaming.

It is about compromise. The iPhone does some things better. Other phones do other things better. Whether or not the functionality is worth the price is up to each person, just like anything else.

 

[peterbaby]

I do agree, it's all about compromise...I would say (in my opinion, and in view of the deceiving sales) that there are too many however.

1. You can watch TV shows on an iPhone. Anything encoded in a quicktime supported format will play.
2. No MMS, but even you admitted it's not very popular. And you can use email instead. It's a compromise. Obviously, Apple is not targeting the MMS crowd with this realease.
3. Hi-res email taking hours? Even EDGE can do about 1 MB per minute as long as you have a decent connection. And it's downloaded in the background. And if your going to go through all the trouble of downloading a hi-res pic to a phone, wouldn't you rather see in on an iPhone screen than any other phone?
4. Web radio is supported. Quicktime streaming.

Let me add a few remarks:

1. 
   Quicktime is ok, do you have access to more than 50 live TV channels that we have access to with any low end 3G phone? No
2. True, although I think part of the crowd would have appreciated.
3. Sure is not that bad...but compare that with HSPDA? And for the screen, you are totally correct , it's much better on an iPhone. But advertisment in Europe has been based on technical features for years...thus, even most non technical users are scared by lower specs, even if, again, a 50kb picture is better on an iphone than a 2Mb one on a Samsung.
4. Didn't know that, 1 point for the iPhone

 

[ruutiveijari]

HSPDA

It's HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access.)

 

[zepharus]

Apple has tons of room to cut the price on the iphone to spur sales. Everyone, and I mean everyone, I know wants one, but they are all waiting for one reason or another:

- In contract with a different provider
- Waiting on version 2 and 3g
- Waiting for a cheaper price

What this tells me is that iphone sales will be huge in the long run. As the price goes down and the feature set goes up, more and more people will make the jump.

I think you are 110% correct. I would love an iPhone, but im in contract, and quite happy with verizon (actually love my LG eNv).

When I see a 3G network and a version 2 phone that supports it ill jump.... just not that compelling until...