Unlocked 3G iPhone to Launch in Italy?

[Romano]

If they want to sell any iPhone in Itlay, they have to sell it without contract.

I really don´t know ANY italian with a (two-year) contract.

I am really looking forward to it - its just 4 houres by car, and I can visit my family

 

[michelepri]

Visual voicemail allows for random access to voicemail messages from the phone.

With the system you have described, it sounds like once you have received this SMS you would have to ring another number to actually listen to the message.

yes but with that functionality in place it's very, very easy to implement visual voice mail.

 

[Romanesq]

It's all good!

This is just fine as it shows Apple is ready to retool to take on the European market and not delay the 3G requirement that many people have there.

And it can only mean good things for us here in the US.

This is going to be in the channel by the June conference no doubt IMHO.

 

[michelepri]

How were you ripped off ? Did Apple break into your bank account or steal your wallet ? Don't get the iPhone or jailbreak if you don't like the terms.

I ordered one and they sent me two, with two numbers and two contracts. After sending the second one back after one week (you have 14 days to do that) they waited another week and sent it back saying it's too late. Of course they know they are doing the wrong thing but they also know that with the current consumer laws in Germany, I will never be able to challenge such a large company. And all of this with two year contracts. Apple partners with bad companies, and ripe them off (Telecom and O2 are certainly not going to be happy to hear about what conditions TIM got from Apple). They go down the line and rip their customers off. All of this is very dirty.

 

[Mackan]

Can you imagine how many iphones apple will sell now. Unlocked there is no where the phone cant go, both with a carrier and with a country. Global domination begins.
Has done exactly what it's customers wanted, and reap the rewards of more sales.

You are assuming too much, too early. Personally, I believe it when I see it. My motto for most things...

Apple has put themselves into a bizarr situation, negotiating deals with only certain carriers in certain countries, and suddenly they want to sell unlocked ones in some other country, subsize them in another, etc... It is just a mess. It feels amateurish.

 

[mark151]

Repubblica a well respected publication? I don't want to spam, but here in Italy press (not just Repubblica) is so corrupted, now that Berlusconi has won elections even more. So that we all must fallow a comic to gain something as free people (for more info Here)

Regarding the iPhone in Italy...for sure it's gonna happen, just becouse since 1.1.2 there are traces of TIM inside the iPhone, even now in 1.1.4. And i'm sure it will be 3G, just becouse it's now clear that a 3G iPhone is under production, AT&T can confirm this, just go here and scrool down to Data Access.

But i've doubts about non-TIM exclusivity and a no-contract required. If it will be "No permanent exclusive distribution by a single operator" so why Apple would have talked with TIM? They could/can sell the iPhone through their apple centers. And about "No revenue sharing, instead a higher selling price" I really think it will happen as in France, but maybe with a prepaid plan.

 

[csimmons]

Apple fan? After being ripped off from German Telecom I turned from Apple fan to Apple hater overnight. I still use their operating system because I'm used to it, but I no longer talk nicely about them and I no longer buy anything from them if I don't have to. Glad that my next Apple computer will be a compatible box.

So let me get this right; Deutsche Telekom screwed you over, and now you're mad at Apple ?!?!


I guess stranger things have happened...

 

[peterdevries]

Apple fan? After being ripped off from German Telecom I turned from Apple fan to Apple hater overnight. I still use their operating system because I'm used to it, but I no longer talk nicely about them and I no longer buy anything from them if I don't have to. Glad that my next Apple computer will be a compatible box.

If you are from Germany than you should have known that you were going to get ripped off with Deutsche Telecom or T-Mobile. No-one forced you to buy an IPhone. This has nothing to do with Apple, but with your own choice of becoming a customer. You can be critical of the arrangement that Apple made with the telecom providers, but Apple just provided the hardware, and all retail and handling processes are carried out by T-Mobile. I expected this for Germany as soon as I heard that T-mobile was going to be the partner. With the reputation of T-Mobile, you must have known what you were getting into beforehand, so get over it.

 

[Rozzolo]

If they want to sell any iPhone in Itlay, they have to sell it without contract.

I really don´t know ANY italian with a (two-year) contract.

I am really looking forward to it - its just 4 houres by car, and I can visit my family

True. In Italy 90% of the customers have "pay as you go" contracts, one year contracts are just for business ( i.e. paid by the company ) contracts.

 

[biggd]

You are assuming too much, too early. Personally, I believe it when I see it. My motto for most things...

Apple has put themselves into a bizarr situation, negotiating deals with only certain carriers in certain countries, and suddenly they want to sell unlocked ones in some other country, subsize them in another, etc... It is just a mess. It feels amateurish.

Course it's amateurish. A non phone company made a phone.
Im sure in most countries there will be 1 carrier that will subsidize them. Like i'm sure AT&T will do in america. I wish i could see the argreement AT&T signed with Apple

 

[ebouwman]

It's not an entirely American thing, but I'm pretty sure it's considered proper English when dealing with typically silent 'H's, such as "an historical". The above example, though, not so much.

Historical doesn't have a silent H. This is english, not french

 

[grigio60]

There is another key point to be taken into account:

in Italy, people who have a regular contract with mobile companies are just a small minority. The wide majority, and "wide" means "over 80%", is using pre-paid, rechargeable accounts that can be dropped in any moment to be replaced by accounts with another operator. Additionally, many people have several SIMM cards, often linked to different operators. So, the iPhone business model used by Apple so far in the US and in other european countries simply makes no real sense in Italy: it could apply only to a small minority of the whole community of consumers. Instead, by overpricing the iPhone, Apple may still have its revenues from this extra-price, saving the costs for the direct selling of the products, since this would be distributed by the wide-spread network of TIM shops (there's just ONE official Apple Store in Italy, near Rome). Having the exclusive for the first months, and then possibly the exclusive to provide iPhone linked services, TIM would consolidate its dominant position and attract potential new subscribers, being their competitors in the position of "have-to-wait". It's a win-win situation, if you look at it from this perspective.

 

[samab]

In european countries, where this marketing practice is allowed and in use, an "unlocked" mobile phone costs more than a subscription + phone bundle. This is pretty common and customers accept it quite well.

In Switzerland, for example, I can buy a BlackBerry 8310 for about US$ 350 if bundled with a 24 months "Pro" subscription (50 US$/month).
The same device costs US$ 800 without bundled subscriptions, that is 130% (!!!) overprice!

The same practice (on the other side), lets carriers give (low/mid cost) mobile phones for free or very little cost (for example US$ 1.00), if bundled with a subscription.

In other countries, such as Italy, this is not permitted (by law).

So, to offer the iPhone as a standalone product is something mandatory in markets like Italy.
Maybe it is possible to bundle it with online services (push mail, visual voicemail...), but not with a carrier subscription!

I really hope that Switzerland will follow Italy's model and offer a free iPhone at a higher price, but also leaving the option of subscription based offers.

Cheers!!!
Aueua

Another mis-understanding of Italian laws.

Italy allows simlocking --- the only restriction is the carrier must declare the value of the subsidy. Unlock for free after 18 months or unlock for 1/2 of value of subsidy in 9 months.

http://www.telecomsitaly.com/2006/05/consumer_friendlier_simlock_me.html

We all know that the law is useless --- because Apple can declare $1000 in subsidies (or any insane price you can think of) --- and set the unlocking fee for $500.

 

[grigio60]

Repubblica a well respected publication? I don't want to spam, but here in Italy press (not just Repubblica) is so corrupted,

Repubblica is maybe one of the last papers left which is not under Berlusconi's control, and the main one oppositing to him. it's definitely more authoritative than a former actor who's shouting against banks and their power and stuff like that, but then he sells on line from his blog his DVDs, of course by credit card payment, as banks like most - so please, let's be serious

 

[BongoBanger]

Can you imagine how many iphones apple will sell now. Unlocked there is no where the phone cant go, both with a carrier and with a country. Global domination begins.
Has done exactly what it's customers wanted, and reap the rewards of more sales.

I think you need to step outside for some air. This is a good step if true but there's a lot of obstacles to overcome yet.

 

[giokant]

Hey hey.
I'm italian, but I don't live in Italy.
From the article on LaRepubblica (which is the best selling newspaper in Italy) I got the idea that:
- not having an exclusive operator doesn't mean that the iPhones will be unlocked.

- In the article they will just say that Telecom Italia will be the first one to have the iPhone in Italy with 6 months advantage from the others. Then, in december, right before Christmas, all the other operators will be able to sell it aswell. But I'm quite sure that each of them will sell a locked iphone to their network and with 1 or 2 years contracts.
I think is quite possible it's gonna be like that.

 

[ebouwman]

I ordered one and they sent me two, with two numbers and two contracts. After sending the second one back after one week (you have 14 days to do that) they waited another week and sent it back saying it's too late. Of course they know they are doing the wrong thing but they also know that with the current consumer laws in Germany, I will never be able to challenge such a large company. And all of this with two year contracts. Apple partners with bad companies, and ripe them off (Telecom and O2 are certainly not going to be happy to hear about what conditions TIM got from Apple). They go down the line and rip their customers off. All of this is very dirty.

I didn't know that you were locked to a contract with anyone. Shouldn't you be able to call t-mobile and disable the second phone for now.

Plus you should be able to talk to them and make a stink until they make some concession.

 

[shpanzer]

oh vecchi sto gia godendo come un maiale...asdasdadasdasdasd

 

[samab]

Hey hey.
I'm italian, but I don't live in Italy.
From the article on LaRepubblica (which is the best selling newspaper in Italy) I got the idea that:
- not having an exclusive operator doesn't mean that the iPhones will be unlocked.

- In the article they will just say that Telecom Italia will be the first one to have the iPhone in Italy with 6 months advantage from the others. Then, in december, right before Christmas, all the other operators will be able to sell it aswell. But I'm quite sure that each of them will sell a locked iphone to their network and with 1 or 2 years contracts.
I think is quite possible it's gonna be like that.

Thanks for pointing that out.

It's like the Australian iphone rumors --- the original rumor said it will be available to multiple carriers. Even if that's true --- it can just mean that it will be locked to multiple Australian carriers.

 

[alfogator]

The article on "il Sole 24 Ore" states that the 3G phone will launch simultaneously in Italy and Spain.

 

[72930]

Thanks for pointing that out.

It's like the Australian iphone rumors --- the original rumor said it will be available to multiple carriers. Even if that's true --- it can just mean that it will be locked to multiple Australian carriers.

This is how the 'unlocked' phones work in France.

 

[grigio60]

I'm quite sure that each of them will sell a locked iphone to their network and with 1 or 2 years contracts.

I'm Italian and I live in Italy. Apart people provided with business mobiles by their own companies, I guess I know at most three people who signed a contract with some operator for their private mobile phone. All the rest is using pre-paid subscription, without contracts. Really, the contract-based business model is something that can not realistically be applied here in Italy.

 

[samab]

This is how the 'unlocked' phones work in France.

Not exactly, but the French law and the Italian law have 1 thing in common --- apple can declare any price (or in Italy, any amount of subsidy) --- which defeats the all the consumer protection that the laws were supposed to do.

 

[jfanning]

For the last time (not likely but it adds the emphasis I'm after) the Irish don't get paid in US dollars nor do the Germans nor does anyone else in Europe. I've said it before and I'll certainly have to say it again. The $1300 to an American making $50k is the exact same as (I can't find the Euro button...) 1300 Euros to someone getting paid 50k Euros. It's not about exchange rates - it's about the value of the product to the consumer.

So that explains why apple has fallen on their faces when it comes to iPhone sales outside of the US, the phone has no value to the consumer at the extreme price they have set for it?

 

[christopher3071]

like i have said in numerous other post does not up their prices they only lower or stay the same. unless it has to do with a major hardware change like the 16gb in the iphone but a 3g chip does not cost much more than an edge; chip so stop talking about the price going up and start worrying about when it will happen

The article distinctly says that because they are not being sold exclusively in Italy, the price is going to be higher. Educate yourself and read the article. It's called google translate...I can't stand when people post about things that they don't even know what they're talking about.