O2 To Launch The iPhone In Ireland

Apple’s UK cellular partner O2 confirmed the launch of the iPhone in Ireland for March 14, 2008. As in the UK, the iPhone will be available through O2 retail stores and through Carphone Warehouse.Pricing is similar to other European countries, the 8GB iPhone will cost €399 and the 16GB iPhone will sell for €499; a variety of monthly plans are also available.

The rate plans will begin at €45/month for 175 minutes, 100 SMSs, and 1GB of data up through €100/month for 700 minutes, 250 SMSs, and 1GB of data. Interestingly, there appears to be no mention of Visual Voicemail this time around.

"The iPhone is changing the way people use their mobiles forever, and we're thrilled to offer it to O2 customers in Ireland. Our strategy in Ireland continues to be to bring our customers the very best innovations and experiences in mobile communications." - O2 Ireland CEO, Danuta Gray said.

In its fiscal first quarter Apple sold over 2.3 million iPhones, bringing the total number of units sold to 4 million since its launch in June 2007.

"For 2007 O2 has delivered a strong set of results adding 3.04 million mobile customers during the year and over 1 million in the fourth quarter alone, taking the total mobile customer base to 38.26 million, 8.6% higher than last year. Non-SMS data revenue is growing fast with €680 million recorded in 2007; growth of 26% year on year, and this trend will accelerate in 2008" - Matthew Key, Chairman and Chief Executive of Telefónica Europe commented.

That's not all the 1.1.4 firmware revealed in advance, though. T-Mobile Austria was also found in the iPhone's list of supported carriers. The latest finding makes even more sense when combined with comments by T-Mobile's CEO that the company would be offering the iPhone in Austria sometime in the first half of 2008.

P.S. Since O2 has already announced its plans, perhaps it won't be much longer before T-Mobile does the same.

References:
http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/o2_to_sell_apple_iphone
_exclusively_in_ireland_starting_march_14/
http://www.macworld.com/article/132291/2008/02/ireland.html

Deutsche Telekom Signed Up 70,000 iPhone Customers

It appears that Germans are just as interested in Apple Incorporated’s iPhone as American customers. German telecoms operator Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) said that it had signed up 70,000 iPhone customers in the 11 weeks since November 9, 2007.

Deutsche Telekom's mobile telephony arm T-Mobile is the exclusive seller of U.S. Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone.

"The iPhone is by far the most sold multimedia device in T-Mobile's portfolio," the head of T-Mobile Germany, Philipp Humm, said in an interview published on T-Mobile's Intranet, or in-house Internet web site.

French operator France Telecom (FTE.PA) had sold more than 70,000 iPhones since they arrived on November 28.

Apple Inc said on January 15 it had sold 4 million iPhones since the launch at the end of June.

T-Mobile Offers iPhone Without Contract

T-Mobile remains the exclusive provider of Apple iPhones. Following a legal decision, the Bonn-based mobile operator is currently required with immediate effect to offer the iPhone without an obligatory T-Mobile contract as well. The legal conditions are attributable to an injunction submitted by competitor Vodafone D2, who was behind T-Mobile in the race to sell the Apple iPhone in Germany. T-Mobile will meet this requirement until the legal aspects have been clarified.

T-Mobile will start selling the phone for 999 euros ($1,477) immediately as well as continuing to offer it for the discounted 399 euros ($590) in combination with a two-year contract, the company said in a press release.

The legal conditions also require that all devices sold from November 19, 2007 be unlocked free of charge at the customer's request. This is attributable to the fact that the injunction submitted by Vodafone D2 was received on November 19. While unlocking the SIM allows calls to be made in other networks using the iPhone, numerous functions remain exclusively available to T-Mobile customers with a Complete rate plan.

The biggest advantages for T-Mobile customers continue to be the EDGE network, which will offer almost 100 % coverage in the entire T-Mobile network by the end of the year, and access to over 8,000 HotSpots for rapid data traffic via WLAN, covered by the Complete contract. As before, the Apple iPhone is available to purchase for EUR 399 in connection with a Complete M, L or XL contract.

By the same token, the innovative visual voicemail box only functions in the German T-Mobile network. This allows the customer to call up voice messages as well as select and directly access those to be listened to, without having to listen to the previous messages. Just like e-mails, visual voicemail allows the customer to access messages according to personal preferences.

This service is not only the more attractive option in technical terms. Costs are also remarkably low: With the Complete rate plans, exclusively developed for the iPhone, customers save up to 40 percent or EUR 54 per month compared with the individual rate components required for comparative use of another mobile device at T-Mobile. Each Complete rate plan includes a flat rate for free-of-charge data traffic via EDGE or WLAN using the iPhone, and free visual voicemail access within Germany. The smallest rate plan, Complete M, includes 100 minutes and 40 free SMS messages per month.

T-Mobile International is one of the world’s leading companies in mobile communications. As one of Deutsche Telekom’s three strategic business units, T-Mobile concentrates on the most dynamic markets in Europe and the United States. By the end of 2006, more than 106 million customers are served in the twelve T-Mobile markets. T-Mobile is a partner of FreeMove, an alliance formed by four of Europe’s leading mobile companies - Orange, TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile), TeliaSonera, and T-Mobile - to help their customers communicate as easily while travelling abroad as they do at home.

Originally featured on Blogvasion.com

iPhone's European Debut - Day 1

Apple has made a fantastic European debut. UK's O2 is reporting 8,000 activations and Germany's T-Mobile is doing even better with 10,000 activations on the very first date. Not the same as on June 29th, however, European figures are still very good for the Cupertino company. For example, O2 was planning 3,000 activations on the first day.

You can read more detailed reports on ars technica both about O2 and about T-Mobile sales.

iPhone's Double Hit: UK + Germany

Apple will have a double launch on the 9th of November, 2007. It has become known that iPhone will be launched in Germany on the same day as it will be launched in the UK. Apple (as expected) has teamed with T-Mobile.

Germans will have to pay about $553 for owning the device. The price includes sales tax and a two-year service. iPhone can be purchased through Deutsche Telekom stores, and through the T-Mobile online store.

Most likely the next target will be France. Orange is widely expected to be Apple's chosen in France.

Who Wins iPhone EU Rights?

According to Financial Times Deutschland, Deutche Telekom (T-Mobile), France Telecom (France's Orange), and Britain's 02 (Telefonica) had snapped up commercial exclusivity of the iPhone in their respective countries. But who will win the rights?

Yesterday journalists received invitations from Apple with a mysterious "Mum is no longer the word." line. Does this mean that Apple will reveal its European iPhone partner soon? There is an intense speculation both by telephone companies and the media that the conference will reveal the secret.