
Seven Overlooked iPhone 3G Details - timr
http://seekingalpha.com/article/80773-seven-overlooked-iphone-3g-details
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pmjordan
_3\. Multiple carriers in some countries. As Apple pushes forward to deliver
the iPhone is 72 countries, it seems to have gotten overly enthusiastic in
countries like Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Australia, each of
which has gotten not one, but two carriers offering the iPhone. So much for
exclusive carrier deals._

I can't speak for the others, but I haven't seen a single iPhone in Austria
(in use, or in a shop; I know _of_ a single person who owns one) so far, so
maybe Apple isn't happy about T-Mobile's sales here.

Not having 3G in a country with over 60% 3G coverage (and ~99% GSM coverage)
probably hasn't helped so far, so maybe the new model will change things.

The Austrian mobile phone market is heavily oversaturated, with more phones
than inhabitants, so sales are presumably pretty hard to get. I haven't seen
T-Mobile promoting the iPhone at all, although they do feature it prominently
on their website. (<http://t-mobile.at/>)

The tariff of €39/month with a 2 year binding is very pricy, especially as
text messages (SMS) are €0.25 each. (I pay €0.04 for text messages with no
monthly fees) Of course, you're implicitly paying for the phone, but the whole
deal just doesn't stack up well against the competition. You can get unlocked
iPhones on ebay for €400-500, although I'm very wary of those - no idea if
they can still be updated to the latest firmware. Also, shared data/voice
plans are very expensive here, much more than getting separate data and voice
SIMs, which isn't particularly useful with the iPhone.

------
tom
Somehow in the hoopla (or was it that I was actually working while the world
stopped for Steve?), I missed the in-store activation requirement. One of the
best things about my phone was peeling it open at home, sitting with my mac,
and getting it all setup. Having to open the package and wait for someone to
do it for me, is a HUGE step backwards. I understand that this is how AT&T
makes sure they're getting their cut, but still am disappointed by this step
back. But, on the bright side, used iPhones _may_ hold a little value after
all. I can dream can't I?

BTW: Much of my surfing of HN is done on the iPhone. Brilliant device when you
need your fix and aren't at the keyboard (though I do make a good bit more
typos when commenting from it).

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ssharp
While I'm not discounting any value that adds, I'd rather pay $200 less and
have someone else open it.

~~~
tom
But you're not paying $200 less, you're just redistributing your payments over
time.

~~~
inklesspen
I don't know if it's the same way with AT&T, but when I wanted to get service
from T-Mobile with my own phone which I owned free and clear, they STILL made
me take a multi-year contract. So the only difference was that I didn't get a
free phone from them.

