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Fans Cheer as Apple's iPhone Finally Hits Europe

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the fall-is-apple-season dept.

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.

6 of 381 comments (clear)

  1. Re:France's iPhone by timeOday · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

  2. No 3G by Mung+Victim · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

  3. Re:France's iPhone by Yahweh+Doesn't+Exist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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?

  4. Obligitory by zerocool^ · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Maddox' take on it:

    http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone

    An objective comparison:

    --------- | iPhone | Nokia E70
    Resolution: | 320x480 | 352x416
    Storage: | 4 or 8 gigs (fixed). | Unlimited. The E70 can use hot-swappable 2 GB mini SD cards, so you can have as much storage as you want.
    Can customize ringtones with your own mp3s: | NO | YES
    Can record video: | NO | YES
    Screen turns into a smudgy piece of shit after a few minutes of use: | YES | NO
    Can send MMS messages: | NO | YES
    You have to send your phone to Apple when the battery dies and risk getting your phone lost, stolen, or damaged in transit: Yes. No.
    Plays MP3s: | YES | YES
    Holds your phone hostage to Apple for new software updates because Apple won't allow everyone to develop applications for it: | YES | NO
    Voice dialing: | NO | YES
    Can record voice: | NO | YES
    Instant messaging: No. Yes.
    Can't do fundamental tasks like copy & paste text: Yes. No. Double negative, bitches!
    --
    sig?
  5. Re:no more whining by tsa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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!

  6. Re:Not that great a phone, not that great a contra by BlueParrot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What is happening is that you are paying for the phone by taking out a loan, and then that loan gets repaid over 18 or 12 months in the form of fees that are higher than they are at other companies where you do not get a phone. This may be a good deal, and it should be evaluated the same as any other kind of loan. It is certainly not free!


    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.