Euro iPhone News

Take a look at this line outside the new Orange store in Paris. Video

Seems rather busy….

After reading the Vodafone legal challenge, T-Mobile have  responded by announcing that they will continue to sell the iPhone with contract as before, but will also sell an unlocked version for 999 Euros.

The courts will decide if Vodafone is correct but until then please carry on as before.

The French launch is next week and it is expected that Orange will also launch an unlocked unit for the same 999 Euro price.

This will represent an interesting support issue for Apple as iTunes will have to determine if the iPhone is legally unlocked or a hacked version when new versions of the iPhone’s OS are released.

Time will tell.

Updated – Guardian claim that the temporary injunction does not prevent T-Mobile from selling the iPhone, it gives Vidafone a chance to argue its case in court that may be in a couple of weeks time.

Orange will start French sales on Nov 29th and under French law will offer an unlocked version as well as a phone + contract option. Prices have yet to announced.

In a bizarre twist it seems as if Vodafone applied for and has now been granted a restraining order against T-Mobile to prohibit them from selling the iPhone in Germany. CNN claim that Vodaphone is questioning T-Mobile’s sales practice of locking the device to the T-Mobile network.

The ruling was issued on Monday by a court in Hamburg and the outcome is not at all clear. Some report a total sales ban as recorded in Dow Jones while other media outlets say that the phone can still be sold. So what we have seems to be some level of confusion. Bloomberg have a report that includes a quote from a T-Mobile spokseman.

“We will review the ruling and decide within the next 48 hours how to react,” said Alexander von Schmettow, a T-Mobile spokesman. Locking a mobile phone device to one provider is rare but not new, he said.

Stay tuned for news as and when we receive it.

The Telegraph reports that between 20,000 and 40,000 units were sold over the w/e. Peter Erskine, MD of O2 said “tens of thousands had been sold but not as many as the 70,000 reported in one paper”. He refused to be more precise. Telegraph sources put the figure at between 20,000 and40,000, that compares with T-Mobile’s sales of 10K in the first 24 hours.

Let’s call the UK sales 30,000 and another 20,000 from Germany then we have a 50,000 launch weekend.

Time calls iPhone the Invention of 2007.  “Yes, there’s been a lot of hype written about the iPhone, and a lot of guff too. So much so that it seems weird to add more, after Danny Fanboy and Bobby McBlogger have had their day. But when that day is over, Apple’s iPhone is still the best thing invented this year. Why? Five reasons:” Read More.

So what do we have from the fine British Press.

FT - Fans descend on UK iPhone launch

Guardian – It’s stunning, powerful and elegant…

BBC  Apple iPhone debuts in UK stores

Scotland on Sunday – Thousands answer call of the iPhone

The Register – Tumbleweeds outnumber punters

The Sunday Mirror has a non news report. If you must read it then find it here.

The Sun, that bastion of full and fair reporting claim 100,000 units sold. Pinch of salt with this story.

Arts Technica – Claim from a source that O2 activated 8,000 phones on Friday. “The company had just over 8,000 iPhone activations at the close of business on Friday, a person deep within the belly of O2 has told Ars, which is several times higher than the company had originally projected for opening day. It had expected more like 3,000 activations, we are told, so the early activation numbers came as a pleasant surprise and runs contrary to many reports this weekend that the launch was a flop in Europe. ”

So what do we know? Well it seems that T-Mobile sold 10,000 units on days one. The o2 numbers are much harder to understand. Some reports show long lines at the Apple stores and other reports show no lines and little interest at O2 and Carphone shops. The Sun and Mirror have zero knowledge and should be dismissed as no more that a guess. The Art Techica story is the only one with some evidence to support claims. So for now we are going to call the launch better that O2 expected and estimate 12,500 units sold on day one from stores and a bunch more on-line from Apple and O2 web sites.

One point that many of the papers are missing is that the  iPhone is not just a phone. It is a mobile Mac computer with a video iPod and happens to have a phone as well. Comparisons with a standard phone are just plain silly. It’s like the old Oranges and Apples comparison. The phone is £100 more than an iPod touch. That is the real cost for anyone looking to purchase a music / video player. And as everybody in the UK has a mobile phone the added cost of O2 is more like a change of plan rather that a new cost. Of course a bunch of users may have a pay as you go plan rather than monthly bill but many people will have a contract with a carrier and are paying many pounds every month, so swithing is not a huge deal.

Stand by for sales numbers as the leaks / reports are published.

T-Mobile claims to have sold 10,000 iPhones on Friday, the first day of sales in Germany. This includes units purchased from the Web as well as stores. CEO Rene Obermann said in a TV interview that demand may outstrip supply. All as reported by CNN.

This morning’s papers have news and reviews of the iPhone.

The Times even has a short video showing people outside the London Apple store.

Get you own at 6:02 today.

Apple say Orange who?

Despite claims by Didier Lombard Orange CEO that he has secured iPhone rights for France Apple say Non.

CNN report that Apple says it has no iPhone launch date for France. They go on to say that the UK and Germany will launch Nov 9^th there is no date for the unlucky French.