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Orange Announces iPhone for France
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I do and that's why I am disappointed. It is like the US would have different providers per state. I live in the Netherlands and it is quiet common to be in one of our neighboring countries like Germany or Belgium. Especially then mobile internet becomes interesting but until now that is not affordable (very high roaming rates depending on data volume). The success of the iPhone depends on available and affordable mobile internet. One solution for all of Europe would have been great.
I will stay with my 3G capable phone (yes, I actually use it) and 3G flatfee (unfortunately only in the Netherlands) and hope for some change.
iPhone in UK, VAT already added: £269, approx $540. UK has a 19% VAT, so pre-VAT price in dollars is approximately $455. Still more than the POST-TAX U.S. prices. I guess UK is more expensive.
I believe the VAT in the UK is 17.5%.
Sorry, I'm not in the UK, and it appears that I had reversed the Germany and UK VATs... (Germany is 19%, UK is 17.5%...) That equalizes the two country's "pre-VAT" prices a little.
Europe Should Have One Operator...
If Apple really are gunning for things like single price points across europe in the itunes store, then I don't understand why they couldnt find just one carrier for their phone.
I can't imagine that the companies they have settled with wouldnt want a pan-european model, as the sole provider of Apple's latest 'thing'... It really is tantamount to Apple having separate carriers in different states in the US - it makes absolutely no sense. Unless, they will announce that the phone will soon be available to all networks? Most phones in Europe tend to get an exclusive release with a single carrier before becoming more widely available. I can't imagine that Apple botched negotiations so much that they didnt speak to the top echelon of each company, instead of regional management... Or that they wouldnt prefer a single carrier across europe - I for one would have been happier if they didnt announce a European release until they absolutely had the deals sorted out.
Right now in the UK the o2 tariff is horrendously priced in a fairly mature market, that wont see any real value in the outlay - apart from actually owning the phone. I guess the real test will be how many phones are actually activated to o2. There is a big market in phone-unlocking in the UK, just about every indie phone shop offers it - I can see people forgoing things like visual voice mail - just so they don't have to get ripped off by o2...
If Apple really are gunning for things like single price points across europe in the itunes store, then I don't understand why they couldnt find just one carrier for their phone.
I can't imagine that the companies they have settled with wouldnt want a pan-european model, as the sole provider of Apple's latest 'thing'... It really is tantamount to Apple having separate carriers in different states in the US - it makes absolutely no sense. Unless, they will announce that the phone will soon be available to all networks? Most phones in Europe tend to get an exclusive release with a single carrier before becoming more widely available. I can't imagine that Apple botched negotiations so much that they didnt speak to the top echelon of each company, instead of regional management... Or that they wouldnt prefer a single carrier across europe - I for one would have been happier if they didnt announce a European release until they absolutely had the deals sorted out.
Right now in the UK the o2 tariff is horrendously priced in a fairly mature market, that wont see any real value in the outlay - apart from actually owning the phone. I guess the real test will be how many phones are actually activated to o2. There is a big market in phone-unlocking in the UK, just about every indie phone shop offers it - I can see people forgoing things like visual voice mail - just so they don't have to get ripped off by o2...
That's a good point. I hadn't thought of this from the point of view of some of the smaller countries over here. Even in the larger nations there are millions of people who live and work on different sides of a national boundary...it's hard to imagine someone who lives in Strasbourg, for example, paying for an iPhone when they have to pay roaming fees at work, or maybe 5 kilometers from their apartment. Worse yet for the thousands of French citizens who live in France and work in Suisse...
iphone for france? where's that?
Wow, you got banned for a mild anti-French joke
?? That's harsh...and it's further evidence of the Francophone Conspiracy.