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Fans Cheer as Apple's iPhone Finally Hits Europe
An anonymous reader sent in this article which opens, "Apple fans lined up through Yesterday night in Germany and Britain to be among the first in Europe to buy an iPhone, the must-have gadget that is set to shake up the mobile industry." Over 10,000 phones were sold in Germany by Friday afternoon. In France, however, the iPhone doesn't arrive until the end of month.
Have they changed the price to reflect the plummeting US dollar? In Canada, the (recently updated) Macbooks are still priced as they were when the Canadian dollar was a fraction of the American. I don't mind Apple making a profit on superior hardware, but a $350 markup just because one is forced to order within a certain locale rings too reminiscent of DVD region codes and all things loathsome.
All fine and dandy, but when does the iPhone goodness come to Canada? Impatient Canadian minds want to know.
So how much do you think it will cost? I think Americans are paying full price + large markup on the hardware, plus an extra-high monthly payment (even though the hardware is not subsidized), plus they are locked into it for years, plus they are paying with the weak US dollar.
It looks like a great product, but the lack of 3G is a show-stopper for me. Hopefully this will be included in the next generation.
do people really think the one-off price (ignoring the contract) of the iPhone is high? it's about £270 for the UK, which is about what I paid for my 5G when that came out. but the iPhone features vs. 5G features (even given the time elapsed) seems a great deal.
people always bitch about Apple hardware being expensive (possibly true if you think product design and building are services that should be provided for free and companies shouldn't make any profit).
what do you think the one-off price SHOULD be for the iPhone?
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone
An objective comparison:
sig?
I was walking around London's West End last night - up til about 4PM there were only about 50-70 people in the Apple Store Queue, almost outnumbered by staff,stewards and press. A few other phone shops had barriers and door staff from around 5PM but no sign of anyone interested in queuing. By 7PM many of the phone shops were not exactly crowded, with half the staff outside leafletting and trying to persuade people in to have a look. Considering there are currently >600 unlocked ones on Ebay UK, it isn't exactly surprising the 'official' launch was a bit of a flop, as anyone really interested would already have an imported one.
Like that matters here in Germany. People here say: 399? no thanx that is my 1/4 of my salary, I'll happily wait. The touch screen is good, but good browser? I use opera mini, itunes? wtf should i do with itunes? No ringtones? Germans are very fond of their own ringtones :) No 3g? oh come on. And the list goes on an on. This is not madness. THIS IS EUROPE ! ;)
I take my children to see Madonna(..), but I never for once ever thought I was in the same business.Chris Rea.
well-known iTMS/iTunes coupling
False: There is no coupling between iPhone and iTMS. The option is there but you are in no way obligated to use it. And with respect to iTunes: iPhone Drive
I wasn't talking about the iPhone.
the fact that Airtunes only works with iTunes
False: Airfoil
That's extra software you have to pay for, and it's not made by Apple.
and is only configurable using an annoying program you get with it (no HTML interface)
Debatable: I personally have no problems with Airport Utility for the very few times I need to reconfigure my router.
To each his own, but I find it annoying to have to start a separate program for configuring the Airport thingy. Luckily you're right, It's not often needed.
and that you need Apple's BootCamp to have multiple OS'es on your Intel Mac
False: Parallels, VMWare
That's not the same.
However, I will not buy an iPhone unless I can put third party software on it
Done: AppTapp
Not supported by Apple, not out of the box.
and get one without a SIMlock and without a subscription.
Done: iPhone Dev Wiki (you need AnySim)
Tell me where to get an iPhone without a SIM lock and without a subscription.
-- Cheers!
You managed the first sentence, now read the rest of the post to understand what he was actually complaining about. Basically:
Regular phone: You pay up fornt OR you get a locked contract.
iPhone: You pay up front AND you get a locked contract.
Now, if the up-front price of the iPhone was lower than other phones, then you could argue that they just use a different payment plan. However, the iPhone is more expensive AND binds you to a less favourable contract. I.e, its already horrific price tag is even worse than it appears.