According to what I read, 10,000 were sold by the afternoon of the 1st day in Germany. The Cologne store had a special opening at Midnight... no mention of other stores, so they prolly opened at regular hours.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
European iPhone Launches (Germany + UK)
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
According to what I read, 10,000 were sold by the afternoon of the 1st day in Germany. The Cologne store had a special opening at Midnight... no mention of other stores, so they prolly opened at regular hours.
just walked passed a carphone warehouse in the middle of a big city (bristol) that was open late for the iPhone... only seemed to be sales staff inside (although i guess the early adopters would've gone to an 02 shop or taveled to an apple shop somewhere?)
umm...?
umm...?
First person in Stockton to buy an iPhone from O2! Posting from it currently 
Activation was a breeze, had service on my existing O2 number within 5 minutes!
I love it!
Activation was a breeze, had service on my existing O2 number within 5 minutes!I love it!
I suppose having a bunch of Germans waiting in line for a gadget beats having them planning world domination.
So - the big question:
Would it've been smarter to have queued at 1802hrs tonight in the UK- forking out £269 quid plus 18 x £35 (minimum) monthly talk tariff
Or .. smarter to wait til tomorrow morning to do ... exactly the same thing?.
Hmmm .. lets think.
I reckon the sane option would be: to do neither.
No. Actually, the smartest option is to put the combined total of what it will cost to run this overpriced, overhyped, overpriced novelty-gadget (IE:£900) towards a brand new MacBook. And impress the same gullible mates with that instead. Not only will the resale value get you a good £600 back if you flog it in 18 months hence and you can smirk furiously right now when you realise the second hand value of a 1st Generation iPhone come mid 2009 will be about £150 if that.
So lets do the maths here:
iPhone + Astronomical O2 Contract = £900 with a total loss of £750 at least.
MacBook for the same money and a loss of £300 or less ...
Bit of a no brainer as our Transatlantic cousins might say, Mildred.
Still - logic and common sense never comes into it when the heart take over from the head decisionwise.
However, may I suggest to other potential UK buyers to buy a packet of Airwaves gum and chew on a coupla sticks to help clear your head before purchasing what will be last years `must have product of 2007' come January 2008.
Mmmmm Macbook. Funny, you always said it was too much of a luxury to afford. Now - all this time - maybe it wasnt . Ah'll sithee at the (ahem) ironically-named `Genius' counter then shall I?.
Dude, it's not the point. It's a very very capable device and its software is remarkably elegant. I don't want a MacBook, I have a MBP and an iMac. This phone isn't priced at your Macbook using public, it's a premium phone aimed at the top end of the market. Just like most macs. Agreed, it's expensive in the scheme of things, go buy a Nokia if it's too much.
So - the big question:
Would it've been smarter to have queued at 1802hrs tonight in the UK- forking out £269 quid plus 18 x £35 (minimum) monthly talk tariff
Or .. smarter to wait til tomorrow morning to do ... exactly the same thing?.
Hmmm .. lets think.
I reckon the sane option would be: to do neither.
No. Actually, the smartest option is to put the combined total of what it will cost to run this overpriced, overhyped, overpriced novelty-gadget (IE:£900) towards a brand new MacBook. And impress the same gullible mates with that instead. Not only will the resale value get you a good £600 back if you flog it in 18 months hence and you can smirk furiously right now when you realise the second hand value of a 1st Generation iPhone come mid 2009 will be about £150 if that.
So lets do the maths here:
iPhone + Astronomical O2 Contract = £900 with a total loss of £750 at least.
MacBook for the same money and a loss of £300 or less ...
Bit of a no brainer as our Transatlantic cousins might say, Mildred.
Still - logic and common sense never comes into it when the heart take over from the head decisionwise.
However, may I suggest to other potential UK buyers to buy a packet of Airwaves gum and chew on a coupla sticks to help clear your head before purchasing what will be last years `must have product of 2007' come January 2008.
Mmmmm Macbook. Funny, you always said it was too much of a luxury to afford. Now - all this time - maybe it wasnt . Ah'll sithee at the (ahem) ironically-named `Genius' counter then shall I?
Lol why all the venom?! You do also appear to be comparing a laptop to a phone - not a strictly accurate comparison but there you go.
Luckily for me I'm happy with my new iPhone - despite me being ripped off, paying far too much, being tied to one carrier, only getting an 'old' 2g phone with only a 2megapixel camera, and having to wait till 6 in the evening to buy it!
10k sold ..... bad start
So Germany has about 1/3 of the US population. Apple sold 200k on the first 2 1/2 days in the US. That would translate to 67k units in Germany until close of business Sunday. With only 10k sold it is very doubtfull they will reach that number.
So Germany has about 1/3 of the US population. Apple sold 200k on the first 2 1/2 days in the US. That would translate to 67k units in Germany until close of business Sunday. With only 10k sold it is very doubtfull they will reach that number.
The apple shop in regent street had what i thought was a small queue as I went past on my bike, the railings were full in front of the shop but no more. Then I turned the corner and there were more queues - they were only allowed to do it on non used shopfronts! there must have been a couple of hundred waiting - at least.
silly buggers
silly buggers
So - the big question:
Would it've been smarter to have queued at 1802hrs tonight in the UK- forking out £269 quid plus 18 x £35 (minimum) monthly talk tariff
Or .. smarter to wait til tomorrow morning to do ... exactly the same thing?.
Hmmm .. lets think.
I reckon the sane option would be: to do neither.
No. Actually, the smartest option is to put the combined total of what it will cost to run this overpriced, overhyped, overpriced novelty-gadget (IE:£900) towards a brand new MacBook. And impress the same gullible mates with that instead. Not only will the resale value get you a good £600 back if you flog it in 18 months hence and you can smirk furiously right now when you realise the second hand value of a 1st Generation iPhone come mid 2009 will be about £150 if that.
So lets do the maths here:
iPhone + Astronomical O2 Contract = £900 with a total loss of £750 at least.
MacBook for the same money and a loss of £300 or less ...
Bit of a no brainer as our Transatlantic cousins might say, Mildred.
Still - logic and common sense never comes into it when the heart take over from the head decisionwise.
However, may I suggest to other potential UK buyers to buy a packet of Airwaves gum and chew on a coupla sticks to help clear your head before purchasing what will be last years `must have product of 2007' come January 2008.
Mmmmm Macbook. Funny, you always said it was too much of a luxury to afford. Now - all this time - maybe it wasnt . Ah'll sithee at the (ahem) ironically-named `Genius' counter then shall I?
Of course if you actually want to, you know, make phone calls on it then the Macbook isn't quite the ideal option. And carrying a Macbook in your trouser pocket might be a bit tricky unless you're MC Hammer. Oh, and using a Macbook while crammed like sardines in a tube carriage might also get you a few resentful looks (and more than likely a few not-so-subtle elbows to the ribs if my fellow London commuters live up to their usual high standards). Plus it's considerably harder to slip a Macbook away unobtrusively if you have to walk through darkened city streees....
Seriously, this is the most baffling post I've read for some time. The two devices are completely different, address entirely different markets and work on entirely different pricing models. The tariff is about right considering there's free unlimited data AND wifi access thrown in (albeit via the cloud network but still, better than nothing). The only real criticism is that the phone itself costs £269 but that's up to the individual user to decide whether or not they want to pay it. Considering that Apple is pitching for a small niche in the market by their own admission I'd say they've got it about right.
Oh, and as for "novelty gadget"... whether you want to admit it or not the one thing the iPhone is most definately NOT is a novelty. This is a smartphone which can be used by the general public, which has an interface that's actually fast (unlike, oh, say Nokia smartphones), easy to use (there go the Windows Smartphones, and I've owned several including the first Orange SPV so that's based on experience) and looks fantastic. This is a device that will do for phone interfaces what the RAZR did for case design a few years ago and for that, if nothing else, anyone who uses a mobile should at least give a nod of thanks to Apple. If this is what it takes to get Nokia, Sony, Motorola, Samsung and the rest focused on producing a better interface then it's been worth every last word of hype that's been written in the last twelve months.
Says the bloke who was first in the line for the Technicolour Dreamcoats(!)
Its not venom .. more frothing .. at the mouth ... in disbelief that style really does rule over substance.
I have similar thoughts with the iPod Touch. I think the iPhone is better value than the Touch - IF there was no Albatross-Neck-Accoutrement aka - The Devil's O2 Contract. The IPod Touch is just that .. a Touch-screen MP3 Player and a WiFi only Net toy. BUt the Phone at least.. has a .. phone for practicallythe same price. I just get angry at Rip-Off Britain living up to its name by allowing ONE monopoly to get access to the iPhone AND forget all about the concept of subisidising. The whole POINT of a top end tarrif (which £35 is nowadays) - is to subsidise the cost price of a high end smartphone. But the iPhone is already a whopppingly high price despite that.
So why the need for such high tarriffs and long contracts?. Its greed.And reliance on folks' need for exclusivity.I just hate cynical attitudes by large corporations. Its because Im getting older too apparently!.
[/QUOTE]Luckily for me I'm happy with my new iPhone - despite me being ripped off, paying far too much, being tied to one carrier, only getting an 'old' 2g phone with only a 2megapixel camera, and having to wait till 6 in the evening to buy it![/QUOTE]
I admire your knowing acceptance of your `frivolous' purchase.About a year ago I bought a TMobile MDA II PDA Phone meself for £150.. its great .. well .. was great .. mmmm .. not bad .. oh alright then .. its free now .. but 18month contract?. Never again. ITs too long to be tied in and too long to wait to upgrade.
We'd make a great team by the way.
You the eternal optimist .. me.. the complete opposite.
You work for Jobs .. I'll be PR Man for Gates!.
A fitting comparison! MC Hammer "Cant touch this" .. Touch this?. Touch screen?. OH forget it then, readers....
Yeah I have to agree that I didnt perhaps make the best analogy there - notebook PCs dont make phone calls .. and dont have touch screens and ... dont have 18month contracts
BUT being indomitably Scottish-bred - I have to see value in things. And Id rather spend the £900 on something with better resale value and practical use in a few months time.Just ignore me .. I'll sit in the corner then. Stay quiet but make the odd muttering and "Told you so" should any wobble in the forum members' voices be detected! Ha, ha!
Enjoy your iPhones, guys! I bought mine on the first release day here in the US, have been very happy with it ever since.
I bought mine on the first release day here in the US, have been very happy with it ever since.
Got One
7:20pm jumped into my motor.
7:22pm at O2 shop Tooting, London, UK (for anyone who doens't know where that is). 7:25pm guy greets (3mins to find parking) me at the door with iPhone leaflet, I say you got any, he says yes, I say I want one now. Out the store at 7:30pm with my phone. No queue. Awesome.
7:20pm jumped into my motor.
7:22pm at O2 shop Tooting, London, UK (for anyone who doens't know where that is). 7:25pm guy greets (3mins to find parking) me at the door with iPhone leaflet, I say you got any, he says yes, I say I want one now. Out the store at 7:30pm with my phone. No queue. Awesome.
Then Bigger Walls
Or We can wait for Super Gore to Save us all! *Swoons*
Dude, Man-Bear-Pig is not to be taken lightly.
I guess no one learned from the U.S. launch that you can wait a week after the release and just walk in and buy an iPhone without any hassles of waiting on a line for hours and hours. Europeans aren't so smart.
The line at the Aspen Grove in Denver, CO was about 150 deep.
Took ~30 minutes to move the entire line.
Meaning, ~30-45 minutes after launch, anyone could walk right in and get their iPhone.
I guess no one learned from the U.S. launch that you can wait a week after the release and just walk in and buy an iPhone without any hassles of waiting on a line for hours and hours. Europeans aren't so smart.
Maybe they want it today, hard to have it today if you buy it a week from now.
So take it they came with 1.1.2 preinstalled?
I've been very depressed all day because my mum decided that lending 2 grand to my sister for a car was more important then buying me an iPhone for my birthday tomorrow
I've been very depressed all day because my mum decided that lending 2 grand to my sister for a car was more important then buying me an iPhone for my birthday tomorrow
Carphone warehouse insurance policy on iPhone: 40 quid per quarter (3 months) and can only replace your iPhone twice only.......... if you don't take insurance you have to buy a new iPhone and you cannot port your number AND your 18 months starts again........ (this is if you loose it, it gets stolen or iPhone breaks).........iPhone defective limit is only last 21 days... after that you're on your own....... ummm and if you buy an iPhone take it home and it fails the credit check you have 7 days to bring it back for a full refund.......
Hmm, I bought mine at the O2 shop today. They offered me insurance for £7.50 per month, could be cancelled at any time. I asked what would happen if I broke/lost my iPhone if I didn't have insurance - they said I could buy another one and carry on with the same contract. They didn't say I'd lose my number or have to start a new 18 month contract - they said I could continue with my existing contract.