A surprise appearance by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs in London this week is leading to speculation that Apple may be on the verge of inking a deal with at least one European iPhone carrier.
ifo added that the Regent Street Concierge bar will be closed next Monday, July 16th, providing Jobs & Co. the perfect opportunity to announce a UK iPhone deal at the store.
Following an extremely successful iPhone launch in the United States, prospective European carriers are reportedly torn between the additional revenue the Apple handset would generate and the strict set of concessions Apple is demanding in return.
In particular, a report issued by Current Analysis last month singled out Orange as a likely shoo-in for the iPhone contract in Europe given it's significant EDGE coverage in the region. The report, however, went on to cite unnamed sources from several European carriers who said that they had spoken to Apple and found the company "unbelievably arrogant,â making demands that âsimply cannot be justified, no matter how hot the product is."
For its part in the ongoing speculation, American Technology Research has cited its own sources in saying Vodafone — with a vast subscriber base in excess of 200 million — stands the greatest chance of landing a full-blown European iPhone contract. A recent peak into the resource files of Apple's latest iTunes update appears to confirm that consensus, having revealed pre-placed "default carrier" images for both Vodafone and T-Mobile.
Last week, the Rheinische Post confidently stated that Deutsche Telekom's mobile phone unit T-Mobile had clinched a deal to bring the Apple handset specifically to Germany. At the same time, a report by the Times Online claimed that O2 had secured the exclusive rights to offer iPhone in the UK.
O2, however, quickly denied the Times' report, leaving Vodafone as a potential candidate to provide iPhone to parts of Europe.
43 Comments
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Here, you have some of the least customer responsive companies on the planet not getting their way--- and not liking it. I would have to assume that Apple was trying hard to get a decent deal for the consumers-- one that would attract them to the carrier as well as an inducement to buy the iPhone. The reporting of it hints, too, that Apple most likely was "arrogant" in an, 'as expected' sense, rather than simply standing its ground for a good deal.
It wasn't that long ago that the phone services in the UK and Europe were abysmal. Service was spotty, the attitudes of the telcos made "arrogance" seem like a virtue and the costs were extreme by comparison to US pricing. Indeed, SMS became popular in the EU precisely because talking-- what phones were all about, after all-- was too costly. Hence, the lesser usage and perceived need of this service in the US. That has since changed somewhat as it has become a stealth tool of communication, especially in classrooms and boardrooms!!! LOL.
Let's hope a good deal is struck in the EU that is customer friendly. This phone is awesome and though it cannot change the linens and do the laundry, it is the most capable phone I have seen. It is so close to being that stunning PDA we have been wanting from Apple, that lends its own frustration since you just want it to do ALL those things. I want ePocrates on my iPhone!!! Hopefully soon?
3G or your head Jobs, you decide?
Having now used it for 10 days, and getting sense of the sheer sweat and tears and genius that must have gone into the product design, I can see why Apple does not want to muck up the user experience in the least - i.e., can't leave it to a carrier and its decisions to what to allow, what to cripple, etc.
I was someone who had earlier thought that Apple was generally being pretty arrogant about this, but that was before I became a user. I now completely understand.
It's really simple --actual use basically changes everything you may have believed about the iPhone. There's no other way to say it.
3G or your head Jobs, you decide?
Also, IMHO, 3G is not likely to be as much of an issue as I had originally thought. For everything but the internet, it's basically unnecessary. Even for the internet, 2.5G is a bit slow, but not bad overall. (Needless to say, it is really fast with wifi).
If the choice was between [3G + fast internet] versus [2.5+ slower internet + reasonably fast all else + slower battery drain + thinner form factor], I may have gone with the latter also.
3G or your head Jobs, you decide?
Unfortunately, I think it increasingly likely that Apple will try to release 'iPhone 1' (2.5G) for the European (late '07) launch, and 'iPhone 2' (3G) will wait until 2008 and the Asian launch (simply because the iPhone has a snowball's chance in hell in Japan and Korea, both massively 3G nations, without it).
Then, also in '08, Apple circles back to the US and Europe and releases iPhone 2 there as well. Leaving many early adopters in both markets rather irritated. \
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