Filed under: Apple Corporate, Rumors, Apple, iPhone
Still no iPhone provider in Europe
While Steve was quick to announce Cingular (or is it AT&T now? Who knows...) as the American carrier for the forthcoming iPhone, they're yet to line up a carrier in Europe. Market Watch is reporting today that Apple is actively courting providers, and may select Vodafone as their sole European iPhone carrier by the end of the year.Meanwhile, Google is supposedly considering Telefonica SA to carry a rumored "GPhone" in Europe.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Adam Cobb said 1:16PM on 3-27-2007
It's interesting that Apple is choosing to treat Europe as a single market rather than signing deals on a country by country basis if this is the case then the choice will probably be Vodafone (owners of SFR) or Telefonica (Owners of O2) with T-Mobile and outside contender.
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Francis said 1:17PM on 3-27-2007
If the iPhone is on the Vodafone network - I shall be avoiding it, I just home Apple like the colour red!
I'm guessing O2 will run the GPhone in the UK as O2 is a Telefonica brand, cool =).
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Jr. said 1:16PM on 3-27-2007
First of all: Vodafone sucks. Really. Used to have it, but switched.
Second: Vodafone does not exist in Sweden (they sold their Swedish subsidary to Norwegian Telenor), where I live, and several other countries. So would an exclusive deal with Vodafone exclude Sweden from getting the iPhone? Certainly hope not.
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pevi said 1:20PM on 3-27-2007
I think Orange!
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Nicolò said 1:25PM on 3-27-2007
I hope that vodafobe will not be the carrier for all the europe i'm italian and i haven't a good opinion of this carrier. I hope that Tim will be the italian carrier for the rest of europe i don't care.
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sarah said 2:45PM on 3-27-2007
Has there been any word in a Canadian carrier of the iPhone? Canadians like fancy electronics too!
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Rachel said 3:46PM on 3-27-2007
I don't understand why they feel they have to lash themselves to a network at all. Just... Just *SELL* the damn thing! There's no chance in hell I'm going to use a phone that doesn't let me put my own PAYG SIM in. (I don't use it as a *phone* enough to justify *any* existing tariff.)
So far there's little but style to tempt me away from my Nokia E70; rather, the absence of an ssh client (or the possibility to install one) and the network lock-in are positive disincentives. Which is a shame because it does *look* lovely...
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petri said 1:52PM on 3-27-2007
Trying to address Europe as a single market for a mobile phone is just ridiculous. There's no single carrier that would provide continent-wide service and even if they'd choose one of the bigger ones, e.g. Voda UK is very different from Voda Italy.
The voice mail feature in the iPhone is not THAT special that they should limit the availability through a specific carrier.
iPhone is very likely to fail in Europe if they don't adapt a unlocked concept.
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Goobimama said 2:49PM on 3-27-2007
I wonder what will happen in Asia...
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Jacques Lema said 4:20PM on 3-27-2007
Vodafone? As some other users pointed out, this will be the end of the iPhone for all techies out there. And anyone not wanting to wear a little ringtone-shop instead of their phone.
Everyone I know just hates Vodafone. The way they put those crappy links to their wap shop EVERYWHERE in your phone really makes end-users mad. Not to mention "enhanced" SonyEricsson phones where they replace a very useful button on the top right with their crap button (making activating bluetooth and silence a real pain).
Vodafone means finding yourself on a wap site trying to sell you a game while you were looking for your contacts. Didn't understand what? Well it's normal, it's just vodafone.
Even Swisscom, their partner here, has finally settled on keeping a selection of "non-vodafone" phones, because so many people just hate them. I too have seen people switching to avoid vodafone.
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BrokenReel said 8:27PM on 3-27-2007
@sarah
The Canadian carrier is undoubtedly going to be Rogers as they're the only large GSM carrier in the country with the exception of Fido for urban centers, who they own. I don't see Rogers putting it on Fido instead of their flagship brand though. Just hope that we have a better data plan in Canada before the iPhone comes out, otherwise you will be paying an arm and a lerg per month in fees.
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Thomas said 4:09PM on 3-27-2007
In Belgium there is a Vodafone partner, but phones have to be network-unlocked here. SIM-lock is forbidden and phones cannot even be sold with subscription plans. So I guess if Apple wants to sell the phone in Belgium, it will be available on all networks...
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brendan Sheehan jnr said 4:30PM on 3-27-2007
It will have to Vodaphone or O2, they are the only possible choices if they went with one provider. The fact that Vodafone is bigger may lean Apple towards them, but you can never tell with Apple. I read a story like this a while back where the CEO of Vodafone was hinting at things, and for the countries that Vodafone is not in they could lease it which was also in the article. In particular the article mentioned Sweden and a Telenor lease.
T-Moble are more about the UK, and don't exist in Ireland for example, same goes for Orange.
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Daniel said 4:39PM on 3-27-2007
I, for one, like Vodafone, and - though I don't care which network gets it in European countries (the iPhone will be awesome no matter what network it's on) - I hope Vodafone gets the iPhone in New Zealand and Australia. (Though Vodafone is the only network in NZ that could carry the iPhone, so it would definitely have to be Vodafone over here.)
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mr. anyonmous said 1:53AM on 3-28-2007
*cough* I know in ireland that vodafone is supposed to be taking it... I shall say no more
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Daan said 3:10AM on 3-28-2007
Vodafone NL has confirmed to me twice that they will be have the iPhone in an unlocked state.
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A said 3:24AM on 3-28-2007
Uh, I just switched from Vodafone to TIM... anyway one thing that I can't stand of Vodafone is their customisation of branded phones, differently from the other carriers that just add some 'branded' themes and ad-hoc configurations, Vodafone usually removes some of the phone features, typically the capability of using mp3 as ringtones (guess what, they sell ringtones...) and some of the connectivity (i.e. turn off the infrared interface).
I think that the 'smart move' of Apple will be selling the phone WITHOUT being bound to any service carrier.
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kristof Van Brussel said 3:59AM on 3-28-2007
A locked iPhone is a crime!
Imagine that Apple's Safari would only work with one internet provider!! That's would be rediculous right?
Freedom of network! …and OK if some functions - like the voicemail feature - are limited (disabled) with some providers…
I want my iPhone…
and I want it fast :-)
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Marco said 4:55AM on 3-28-2007
There is NO way the iPhone will be unlocked AND fully functional. The visual voicemail is NOT a device feature, but is also implemented in the OpCos' backend. Without an OpCo (and so locking the device to them) the visual voicemail won't be functional.
And there are probably other things as well, which have not been released to the public yet.
Of course it doesn't say the device will be hard-locked to a provider, but to use the full functionality, you may have limited options in OpCo choice.
Vodafone is the OpCo who's working on the high end market a lot, pushing 3G agressively. They're also not shy to use emerging technologies, so I can see them as a very viable candidate.
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Henrik said 9:43AM on 3-28-2007
It might still work out for Swedish users. From a 2005 press release:
"Telenor and Vodafone have agreed the terms of a Partner Network Agreement in Sweden, allowing Telenor, Vodafone Sweden and Vodafone customers to benefit from Vodafone's global brand, products and services in Sweden."
Source: http://press.telenor.com/PR/200510/1018938_5.html
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