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Re: Under pressure, T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Germany

Posted by Michiel on November 24, 2007, 11:58 am, in reply to "Re: Under pressure, T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Germany "
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Data Plans, Roving and to a great extent Telephone plans suck throughout Europe. The services are too expensive for folks to use without a thought.
I thought the iPhone plans very reasonable compared to market options even if pitched above where I would like to see them. The inclusion of access to many Wi-Fi spots an added benefit.

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However, we have it even worse here. At least the European telcos have 3G networks up and running, and at least offer data access on prepaid plans. T-Mobile doesn't here, and AT&T does only at exorbitant rates. There are also more outlets for buying never-locked phones over there, and a greater acceptance of unlocking. Here, most consumers don't even know they can buy a phone from anyone other than a carrier. Apple used that to their advantage in drafting the contract with AT&T, when if they were as consumer-friendly as their apologists claim, they would have released the phone unlocked, introducing the mass of Americans to the concept of the unlocked phone. Instead, people continue to think of the phone and carrier as a combined product, when in reality they aren't.
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flybynight
Enthusiast

Reged: 07/21/06
Posts: 254
Loc: South St. Paul, MN Re: Under pressure, T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Germany [Re: MW Forums]
#553003 - 11/21/07 06:12 PM Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply

I think it is funny how everyone hates it when a company has a plan to make money and it works.
Oh no! They are making money - they must be EVIL!
It's called capitalism and it works. It gives people like you and jobs to feed and shelter our families. It rewards individuals and companies who do good work and weeds out those who don't. That's the beauty of the free market.
But, some seem to think we'd all be better with socialism, which has only proven that it cannot work. I'm not saying capitalism is perfect, but it's so much better, in practice, than the alternatives!
Now, go eat some turkey!
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KPO'M
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Reged: 11/29/01
Posts: 1331
Re: Under pressure, T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Ger [Re: flybynight]
#553006 - 11/21/07 06:24 PM Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply

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I think it is funny how everyone hates it when a company has a plan to make money and it works.
Oh no! They are making money - they must be EVIL!
It's called capitalism and it works. It gives people like you and jobs to feed and shelter our families. It rewards individuals and companies who do good work and weeds out those who don't

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Actually, I don't have a problem legally with what Apple is doing, since I am a capitalist. However, I do have a problem with apologists who see some sort of halo over Apple. Many hard-core Apple fans are more socially liberal (perhaps even socialist), and don't put up with these business practices when anyone other than Apple practices them.
If this were Microsoft doing the same tactics, most of the Apple apologists would be out there complaining about all of Microsoft's "anti-competitive" tactics and how it just demonstrates how evil they are. When Apple does it, its the American Way. Think about it. If Microsoft introduced a wildly popular phone for $399, sold it for €399 in Europe under an unprecedented arrangement whereby it received 10% of ongoing revenue, and then had the audacity to sell it for €999 unlocked to satisfy a court injunction, would anyone here really be defending the company saying it's "just capitalism"? The last time I checked, they were sanctioned by the EU for attempting to bundle Internet Explorer and Media Player with Windows. How is this any different? Is is that Apple currently has a very small market share? If so, at what percentage of the market (and what market - smartphones or all phones?) do they need to have before it isn't OK? Is it OK because Apple products are "good" and "work"? If so, at what level of quality does it become not OK for Apple to support their pricing model?
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KPO'M
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Reged: 11/29/01
Posts: 1331
Re: Under pressure, T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Ger [Re: KPO'M]
#553023 - 11/21/07 08:00 PM Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply

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Let's see what happens in France next week.

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Apparently Orange is going to charge the same for the unlocked iPhone.
iPhone
I'm not sure what the law is in France vs. Germany. If the law is this weak, this "concession" is about as useful as the EU forcing Microsoft to sell a copy of Windows without Media Player for the same price as the version with it.
In other news, I wonder how this slipped under the radar? Apparently the 3G iPhone will be ready in May 2008, at least according to Telefonica of Spain. The timing sounds about right for another "just one more thing" speech at the January Macworld Expo. Of course 3G is obvious (as is eliminating that silly recessed headphone jack). What isn't is what else Apple has up its sleeve (GPS, video streaming, tactile feedback, flip to silent?) and how they will price this (i.e. will existing iPhone users be able to trade up without extending their AT&T contracts even further?).
3G iPhone
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MacCheetah3
Forum Master

Reged: 04/02/01
Posts: 9105
Loc: MN, USA or also known as Hell ... Re: Under pressure, T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Ger [Re: KPO'M]
#553073 - 11/22/07 03:19 AM Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply

Hi
While I can agree that would happen, I'm not one. M$ makes some OK and -- dare I say it -- good products. Some absolutely horrendous ones too but there are some Apple products that I feel could really use some attention.
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MacCheetah3
Apple MacBook (Black) 2.16GHz C2D, 2GB, 160GB (5.4K), DL-SD + 80GB iPod (Black, 5.5G)
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Under pressure, T-Mobile unlocks iPhone in Germany

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