Paris: City of unlocked iPhones
UPDATE: France Telecom today set its prices for iPhones locked and unlocked. See France’s $956 iPhone.
Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone goes on sale in France Wednesday night for 399 euros ($593) with a 2-year contract, and although we don’t know yet how much France Telecom plans to charge for an iPhone without a contract, we do know that it will be less than 999 euros ($1,485 at today’s exchange rates).
That’s how much T-Mobile is charging in Germany for unlocked iPhones, having been forced by court order to offer the devices both with and without a contract (see here).
France Telecom’s Orange division is also required to sell the iPhone in both configurations, but in an interview today with Europe 1 radio, Orange chief Didier Lombard said he planned to sell unlocked iPhones at a price “significantly lower” than 999 euros. Lombard also said he expected to sell “a little under 100,000 iPhones” before the end of the year.
Unlocked iPhones have been available on the gray market in Europe ever since September, when the first free unlock programs became available. You can pick them up in some French supermarkets for 999 euros. Look for those prices to come down, starting now.
“It’s not clear, given the EU’s uniform pricing rules, how Orange can sell the same product in France for less than T-Mobile charges in Germany. The European Commission is still reviewing complaints that songs sold on iTunes are priced differently in different EU member states (see here).”
There is absolutely no reason why T-Mobile cannot sell the iPhone for 10,000 Euros and Orange for 10 euros if they want to. I know most Americans don’t believe this, but the EU is actually a market-driven collection of nations which celebrates and promotes free trade.
Seriously, the EU does not have “uniform pricing” rules of any kind. There is no “price list” for products dictated by the EU. It does have strong anti-monopoly and consumer protection rules though, but there’s a big difference between these and the centralised price controls you’re suggesting.
ex ped: I defer to your knowledge in this area, Tommo. Item reposted with that graph deleted. Thanks. –Philip Elmer-DeWitt
- Tech sector snaphot: Apple’s shifting fortunes
- Wal-Mart’s post-Christmas iPhone sale
- A conversation with my iPhone
- 15 reasons Macs trump Windows PCs
- BlackBerry Storm vs. Apple iPhone: 8 reasons pro and con
- iPhone: Has Google lost its voice? (UPDATE)
- IBM must put up $3 million in Papermaster case
- iPhone disconnects in India
- Video: Windows on an iPhone
- Analyst: Apple’s Q1 will beat Street by $1.2 billion
- All a blackberry storm is, is a touch... More
- Hmmm...let's see...who can afford an... More
- Walmart has great employment opportun... More
- iPhone user for over a year, and lovi... More
- he is right i went to a verizon store... More
- Interesting. Reminds me a little of t... More
- “i’ve had an iphone 3g since laun... More
- Think about it for a minute...Apple i... More
- you state that one of the iphones... More
- Dave in Rochester.... Does that me... More
Silicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
Either which way … iPhone selling like hotcakes … Apple Rules … that’s the Reality!!!!