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O2 has activated just 26,500 iPhones |
mikeb
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 98
From: Sweden
PM |
What a surprise, who could possibly have expected this  .
One reason I will not be getting an iPhone, is if the phone is not subsidized (as many claim and probably true if you look at the price of an iPod touch Vs an iPhone), then why is it locked + only available on 18 month contract?
For me it is simple:
1) Buy a phone SIM free/unlocked. This means I pay full price (no subsidy), but have full freedom to choose operator, plans, change SIMs, change networks etc.
2) Buy a SIM locked phone. This means I am tied to a specific operator + plan. However I get a subsidy so that the cost of the phone is low or even zero. Which is OK for me, after all the operator has in effect paid for the phone.
But the iPhone model is completely new. No subsidy, so I pay full price for the phone. However the iPhone is SIM locked, so I am tied to a a specific operator + plan, with no freedom to change networks.
How can they seriously expect me to buy into that ? If I pay full price for the iPhone, are they saying I still do not own it and I am not allowed to use it as I want to?
It seems I am not alone in this and the rest of the population is equally unimpressed with this "wonderful deal" .
/Mike B. | |
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Jools
Joined: May 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
PM |
The iPhone IS subsidised, but not by the operator as has been the case up until now - but by the manufacturer i.e. Apple.
Apple takes a percentage of the monthly contract fee, which pays the subsidy. Which is why they're so keen to keep the phones locked and you on the contract for 18 months.
O2 don't lock the phones, nor have the ability to unlock them - Apple do. As can now be seen in Germany, it is Apple who controls the SIM lock via iTunes. They have the ability to unlock the phone from Steve's office in Cupertino.
So, it's correct that there is no normal network subsidy - but there is a manufacturer subsidy.
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Miss UK
Joined: Jan 11, 2003
Posts: > 500
PM |
go figure this though if the Nokia N95-2 was £269.99 aswell as the iPhone which one would sell like a way more 
iPhone is just so last year over here the price is too much,
I bet the P990i is better and even that costs less
An "Apple" a day keeps the Doctor at Bay! |
jcwhite_uk
Joined: Feb 18, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Dorset, UK Phone:Xperia Z1
PM, WWW
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26,500 phones is not actually too bad for 2 weeks of sales. I doubt there are many other phones that have sold as many in the same time. The real figures are from now on, now that the hype has died down and the people that had to get one have bought it.
Checkout my photos at My Website"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together." | |
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Posted: 2007-11-27 19:34
