Someone thinks Apple has suicidal tendencies and is going to announce a 3G iPhone on Monday for the UK market. We are not buying it for many reasons. First, a move like that will kill their own US launch, alienating their customers. But there are many other factors on top of that.

The reporter is describing the most convoluted deal ever, with Vodafone and T-Mobile as carriers and Carphone Warehouse selling it. Why would two carriers share the Jesus Phone, let alone adding a third party?

Then, we know for a fact that negotiations are still underway with Telefonica/O2. Is Apple going to announce a partial deal? Would Vodafone get a deal in UK and leave the lucrative Spanish market out of the equation? Or would they try to sell it exclusively themselves for the whole of Europe? Would Telefonica/O2 want to give away UK to Vodafone?

The iPhone also requires some important changes in the carriers' backend. Would two carriers make the changes to share it? Or, like AT&T, would they want long-term exclusive deals?

And finally, nothing moves in Europe in the summer. The announcement probably will be in September, perhaps at AppleExpo or even later, in Barcelona at the 3GSM. Or we may be absolutely wrong and Apple will indeed announce a 3G iPhone on monday. And lasers. And holographic projector. And personal teleport rays too.

Europe to get 3G iPhone from Vodafone, T-Mobile and Carphone Warehouse [Pocket-Lint]

7:16 AM on Fri Jun 29 2007
By Jesus Diaz
8,310 views
14 comments

Comments

Lack at 07:47 AM on 06/29/07
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Doesn't Vodafone have a spanish branch as well? And what makes spanish market so lucrative to ditch the worlds largest mobile carrier?

What changes at the backend are necessery?
Lack at 07:50 AM on 06/29/07
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One more thing!
Remember, iPhone was announced in January to be available in June. Apple could make a similar hype announcement for the Europe lounch and have its customers wait half a year for retail availibilty.
Jesus Diaz at 08:00 AM on 06/29/07
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Yes, Vodafone has a spanish branch. The same as Telefonica has a UK branch (O2). Apple is still talking to Telefonica/O2 and, I am sure, Vodafone.

Sorry, but no announcement on monday for the simple fact that Apple won't risk alienating their US customers, negotiations are still under way and they won't be launching a europe PR offensive in the summer. Simple as that.

The carrier needs to change the backend for both visual voice mail and activation, as well as other things we are not aware of yet.
onlooker at 08:02 AM on 06/29/07
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Not going to happen.
Steve has made it very clear the reasons for using edge over 3G. Battery life for one.... size for another.
bruckwine at 08:13 AM on 06/29/07
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@onlooker:

And you believed him? If this phone never puts in 3G (or 4G) it will always be limited and upset Jobs plan of world domination :D. This will be 3g in Europe..as said earlier I think they will make an announcement but ti won't be available until 2008 by which time they'll probably release v2.0 in the US.
robotstephe at 08:34 AM on 06/29/07
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Hey - completely unrelated to the post itself, but just wanted to tell Mr. Diaz that the graphics you do for the Giz are AWESOME. Keep up the great work - the bubbles always make me laugh.
kryptik at 08:39 AM on 06/29/07
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I agree that it would be odd to make a Europe announcement just after the US launch. But realistically, I don't think the iPhone's got a hope in hell in Europe unless Mr Jobs squeezes MMS and 3G into there. If nothing else, MMS is a great moneyspinner for the networks - my network charges me 0.30 GBP per message, [0.60 USD]
In the UK, if you're on an expensive contract, you would expect all networks to give you a free 3G phone.

As for the size & battery, have you seen the specs on the W880?. No big touchscreen, but it's incredibly thin, has a removable battery and memory card slot [all of which take up space]. Battery life's not too bad.
I want to know whether the JesusPhone camera beats the autofocus 2megapixel unit on my k750i (http://beoko.com/blog)
DamienG at 08:53 AM on 06/29/07
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There will be a UTMS/3G model not just for Europe where it is popular but also for Japan where GSM simply doesn't exist and the current iphone just wouldn't work period.

Mobile competition in Europe is fierce and coverage varies greatly between operator and region. I would be a little surprised if they limit to one operator per country but a deal with a single operator for the whole of Europe would be insane.

Given the different languages, culture, economics and legalities involved I doubt a single operator would even be feasible. Whilst an operator may appear to operate in a variety of countries it has often been the result of acquisition and they tend to operate relatively independently with different equipment plans phones and conditions.

If Apple couldn't achieve a European wide music store themselves that had to deal with just some of these issues the chance of them managing it mith an operator are slim.

[)amien
Drezio at 09:48 AM on 06/29/07
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3G is almost everywhere around here in Europe, and nearly all operators provide it. Coverage is also a lot more generalised than in the states, so 3G is almost a must for Europe.

On the other hand, i doubt there's any operator that operates (or their subsidiaries) in all Europe, but if you join Vodafone and Telefonica you certainly get most of it covered, so it makes sense if Apple negotiates on a per country service dividing the coverage between 2-3 major operators (Vodafone and Telefonica being very likely).
drewheyman at 10:04 AM on 06/29/07
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Roaming agreements between Cingular & O2 are pretty strong, so they'd be my bet for the 3G iphone as well. i'd also say it'll be announced in October most likely, not July.
carriontron at 10:12 AM on 06/29/07
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can someone please comment on the major diff. with 3G? I understand that it is faster...but how much more? are we talking external 28.8 to 56k?
Pender at 10:19 AM on 06/29/07
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I can't even figure out what a teleport ray would DO, but I want one. Come on, Apple...
vinchbr at 01:15 PM on 06/29/07
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ev-do rev a.: avg of 400-700 kbps
umts Rel-99 (wcdma): 200 - 300 (kbit/s)
umts rel-5 (hsdpa): 400-700 kbps
gsm (CDMA2000 1X): avg 153,6
Twinnie at 12:34 PM on 07/01/07
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From the EverythingiPhone forum:

"I went to the Apple Store today to buy a new case and I had a Genius show me how to pull out the SIM, and when he did it says 3G on the Apple only SIM card!!!!! I mentioned this to the Genius (A 10 year veteran of Apple btw) and he smirked and stated yeah I can't really discuss that right now."