Katie Marsal
Apple and wireless partner Orange will launch iPhone in France later today, offering customers three distinct pricing options for the handset, including a fully unlocked and carrier independent version for 749 euros ($1105).
The final iPhone launch of the year will kick-off at 6:30 p.m. local time, at which time Orange will be holding late-night openings at 12 of its stores, including locations in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nancy, Nice, Nantes, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse.
In Paris, Orange will also use the launch of the Apple handset to inaugurate its brand new store at 125, avenue des Champs-Elysées — France's most prestigious and broadest shopping strip.
As the exclusive carrier for iPhone in France, Orange says it has developed a range of four "Orange for iPhone" plans designed to let customers make the most of the touch-screen handset that combines three devices into one — a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and a Internet browser.
The entry level plan starts at 49 euros per month and includes 2 hours of normal talk time, 2 hours of late evening and weekend minutes, and 50 SMS text messages. The most expensive plan is priced at 119 euros and includes 8 hours of normal talk time, 8 hours of nights and weekends, and 1000 SMS messages.
All plans include unlimited access to email and the internet, as well as visual voicemail, which allows users to see a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to previous messages.
Pricing for the iPhone handset itself will start at 399 euros ($589) for a version tied to the Orange network with a two-year service contract and an "Orange for iPhone" plan, or 549 euros ($810) for a model without one of the iPhone plans, but still tied to the network.
A third and final version will sell for 649 euros ($958) and not require an Orange plan or contract, though the carrier along with Apple is also charging a 100 euro ($147.5) fee, which brings the cost of a fully unlocked and carrier independent iPhone up to 749 euros (or approximately $1105).
Update: After the first six months, French law requires that unlocking be provided free to consumers. Therefore, after six months, the cost of a fully unlocked iPhone will effectively be 649 euros. Customers who purchase a locked iPhone from Orange in the first six months should also be able to walk into any Orange shop after the six month period and have their phone unlocked for free.
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47 Comments
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Are you sure about that? I think 649 euros is the final price for a completely unlocked iphone.
Seems like a slightly odd and confusing set of plans.
Interesting that it is available with a plan and without and then non network specific, at a reasonable price compared to Germany.
The entry level plan starts at 49 euros per month and includes 2 hours of normal talk time, 2 hours of late evening and weekend minutes, and 50 SMS text messages. The most expensive plan is priced at 119 euros and includes 8 hours of normal talk time, 8 hours of nights and weekends, and 1000 SMS messages.
Um, that's 2 hours of normal/evening talk time per day, right? I'm used to seeing these numbers per month.
Um, that's 2 hours of normal/evening talk time per day, right? I'm used to seeing these numbers per month.
Nope that is per month additional minutes are 0.37 Euro ATAN. Quite stingy on the hotspots as well (10h unless you go for the 119er) and "fair-use" is capped at 500 MB, which isnt that much. A bit of wireless shopping on ITS and your data allowance is gone especially when you d/l an Itunes Plus Album....
The original posting is erroneous in the sense though that for 649 Euro you have to bring your own Orange SIM (ie existing contract you wish NOT to renew or pre-paid)
For 749 you get the beauty completely free/unlocked.
I believe we have the pricing correct, however the Orange press release is worded extremely poorly -- likely to hide the high cost of the fully unlocked phone. I'm going to continue to look into this, though I've just been told the Associated Press is also reading it and reporting it as 749 euros. FWIW, here is the original text from the Orange press release:
"With this range of dedicated offers, Orange is meeting iPhone customer expectations in terms of voice, sms & wifi, with prices ranging from EUR49 to EUR119 euros per month, and the iPhone available for EUR399.
Orange is also offering iPhone at EUR549 to customers who do not wish to benefit from one of the four "Orange for iPhone" plans and at EUR649, without a plan. The cost of unlocking the handset*is 100 euros during*the six months following the acquisition of the iPhone, regardless of the package chosen."
The whole thing is very confusing...
K