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Swiss iPhone announcement raises eyebrows given rumors

Swisscom on Wednesday confirmed it will begin selling Apple's iPhone in Switzerland this year, possibly bolstering a recent report on the matter which also stated that the handset would arrive with video conferencing and other fresh features.

"The iPhone will be available later this year," the Swiss carrier wrote on a section of its website where customers can sign up to receive details at a later date. "We will inform you personally as soon as we have more news."

The announcement comes just one day after Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported that a deal between Apple and Swisscom had been finalized. However, the same report stated the agreement between the two parties was regarding a 3G iPhone that would offer two-way video chats, mobile TV, and GPS navigation.

Le Matin added that Swisscom plans call for the use of "attractive" incentives to lure new iPhone subscribers to its service, and that it will offer a high-end plan for pairing with mobile video and other live services.

Switzerland is the fifth new addition to Apple's European iPhone roster, joining the Greece, Portugal, Czech Republic and Italy, which saw their own iPhone deals made public a bit earlier this month.



21 Comments

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merdhead 17 Years · 587 comments

Front camera and video calls and GPS make sense, that's just keeping up with the Jones of high-end phones. TV makes no sense. There are no worldwide standards, little in the way of services, it will be power hungry and take up a lot of room. And there is no proof that users actually want mobile TV. Also why would Apple compete with its own iPod store with TV?

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joeyyy 17 Years · 35 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by merdhead

Front camera and video calls and GPS make sense, that's just keeping up with the Jones of high-end phones. TV makes no sense. There are no worldwide standards, little in the way of services, it will be power hungry and take up a lot of room. And there is no proof that users actually want mobile TV. Also why would Apple compete with its own iPod store with TV?

Possibly to throw a bone to the carriers who would then be able to offer their mobile TV services on the iPhone.

Also, Mobile TV has some added value compare to the current iTunes video offerings in that it has potential of providing a live video stream (eg. sports events, news). This is not competing with iTunes, its adding to it.

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bageljoey 18 Years · 1997 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by merdhead

Front camera and video calls and GPS make sense, that's just keeping up with the Jones of high-end phones. TV makes no sense. There are no worldwide standards, little in the way of services, it will be power hungry and take up a lot of room. And there is no proof that users actually want mobile TV. Also why would Apple compete with its own iPod store with TV?

You don't need worldwide standards--if the mobile service provider in your country has a way of sending the shows to your iPhone, that will work for individuals in that country.
It is not a feature I am particularly interested in--there may be many people who don't care for this feature--but it wouldn't take power or room to ignore it. If it helps sell the iPhone I am all for it...

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tedndi 20 Years · 1866 comments

.mac upgrade could enabls back to my mac/apple TV thus streaming "TV" especially if apple upgrades Apple TV to include a tuner and pvr functionality.