France’s $956 iPhone
Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone goes on sale in France late tonight at select Orange boutiques at prices that look very different from those charged in the U.S. ($399), the U.K. (289 pounds) or Germany (399 euros locked, 999 euros unlocked).
France Telecom, which owns Orange, knew even before it signed its exclusive deal with Apple that it was going to be required to offer customers the option of buying the iPhone with or without a contract. Agence France Press (link, in French) reports that Orange has structured its prices accordingly.
- 749 euros ($1,109) unlocked iPhone, no contract
- 649 euros ($956) locked iPhone, no contract
- 549 euros ($809) unlocked iPhone, with Orange contract
- 399 euros ($588) locked iPhone, with Orange contract
- 100 euros ($147) to unlock a locked iPhone
After six months, Orange will unlock an iPhone for free.
T-Mobile, which had already signed its exclusive deal with Apple when it learned that it would be required to offer German customers the contract-free option, is charging a 600 euro premium for unlocked iPhones. Yesterday a competitor, Debitel, offered a 600 euro rebate to people who bought unlocked iPhones from T-Mobile but agreed to sign a contract with Debitel instead (see The $890 iPhone Rebate).
Official sales of the iPhone in France begin tomorrow, Nov. 29.
win win situation for Apple.. switching to debitel will slash the price to 149 euro not bad for a rebate
So why buy an unlocked phone w/contract for 549 euros when you can buy a locked one w/contract and unlock it for a total of 499?
it’s good to see some markets prying loose the service contract mafia. High hardware costs are not a severe as locked in high service costs depending on customer specific use. I suspect usage is not what the pundits think. The choice in plans could be very good for iPhone sales- either way Apple is in a good position to “test” the market receptivity. We need to see the numbers in Jan 08.
Hopefully, unlocking the iPhone in Europe will help Steve Jobs see the light.
The future for Apple lies in unlocking its product line so consumers have more choices. Otherwise, Apple will be vulnerable as competitors quickly catch up re: technology and style, and overcomes them with multiple choices for consumers.
Great article … looks like a winner for Apple …Products so good people will pay anything to have them and the still sell more than they can make. Apple rules the WORLD!!
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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.
549 euros ($809) unlocked iPhone, with Orange contract
399 euros ($588) locked iPhone, with Orange contract
100 euros ($147) to unlock a locked iPhone
399+100>549???
Why they do this?