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darkmatter · Sep 12, 2007, 01:50 PM

If Apple offers a different iPhone version than the current one I wouldn't be surprised if the current methods to unlock it do not function.

What do you think? Unlocking iPhone Europe, just a matter of 2 months or a small update with current methods?

Cold Warrior · Sep 12, 2007, 01:55 PM

why would apple spend time and money on a separate firmware & software branch for a european iphone? If they're releasing one in a month, they're likely using v1.02 or maybe an internal 1.03, and at some point all iphones would be updated to the same version, even if the euro iphone is released with 3G support. If a euro model has 3G, then Apple would probably make it available in the US as well.

So if the euro model doesn't use current unlocking methods, it's because it's using a software or firmware version that has broken the unlock method -- a version that all iphones would get at some point, not just the european iphones.

Nexus5 · Sep 12, 2007, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

why would apple spend time and money on a separate firmware & software branch for a european iphone?

Because of the language? And/or different implementations of the visual voicemail feature (if it is implemted in europe)?

nexus5.

Cold Warrior · Sep 12, 2007, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by Nexus5

Because of the language? And/or different implementations of the visual voicemail feature (if it is implemted in europe)?

nexus5.

That is at most a few configuration files -- simple preferences to allow a user to choose their interface language. The visual voicemail feature's code would be the same; the GSM providers would have to implement it.

analogika · Sep 12, 2007, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by Nexus5

Because of the language?

I'd be VERY surprised if OS X on the iPhone didn't offer the same kind of completely modular language support as the desktop version. After all, that's one of the great architectural benefits of OS X...

darkmatter · Sep 13, 2007, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior

why would apple spend time and money on a separate firmware & software branch for a european iphone?

Don't know if my post was clear enough but I just wanted to get some opinions on the iPhone's (un)locked future strategy in Europe. Which way do you think carriers (and Apple) managed to offer iPhone to the european market?

I suppose there may be different options resulting from the combination of elements like locked, unlocked, US iPhone, EU iPhone, contract, no contract; it seems Apple likes no complex things

Consider what would big european mobile Telcos would think if after months (or even years) of negotiations to introduce a exclusive product and manage exclusive selling agreements suddenly, just before introduction of the product, the product itself is prone to lack the lock that brings luck, this is, making it exclusive and a source of clients.

What about iPhone's european distribution chain?

darkmatter · Sep 13, 2007, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

I'd be VERY surprised if OS X on the iPhone didn't offer the same kind of completely modular language support as the desktop version. After all, that's one of the great architectural benefits of OS X...

If it is true, I'm very surprised that the current iPhone doesn't support other languages yet (an other Apple's interesting design philosophy). Just can't imagine writing a SMS to german clients with a word like "Fussballweltmeisterschaftsqualifikationsspiel "

Best Regards

analogika · Sep 13, 2007, 08:27 AM

Why the hell should it?

It's only available in the United States!

analogika · Sep 13, 2007, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by darkmatter

Don't know if my post was clear enough but I just wanted to get some opinions on the iPhone's (un)locked future strategy in Europe. Which way do you think carriers (and Apple) managed to offer iPhone to the european market?

I suppose there may be different options resulting from the combination of elements like locked, unlocked, US iPhone, EU iPhone, contract, no contract; it seems Apple likes no complex things

Consider what would big european mobile Telcos would think if after months (or even years) of negotiations to introduce a exclusive product and manage exclusive selling agreements suddenly, just before introduction of the product, the product itself is prone to lack the lock that brings luck, this is, making it exclusive and a source of clients.

What about iPhone's european distribution chain?

Put simply: We have no way of knowing until they announce it (obviously).

AFAIK, it is completely impossible for phone manufacturers to make multi-year exclusive agreements for a single phone model due to European cartel laws.

At the very least, even an exclusively-bound and SIM-locked phone sold in France will be completely unlockable after six months on the contract, since French law REQUIRES that all SIM-locked phones be supplied with unlock codes by the provider for FREE after a minimal six-month waiting period, if the customer wishes.

I assume that we'll see something like an exclusive bundle with T-Mobile that includes iTunes activation, visual voicemail, data flat-rate, and free access to all T-Mobile WLAN Hotspots in Germany, though I have no idea what Apple would have to offer in return for T-Mobile building this infrastructure, seeing as they can't offer multi-year exclusive contracts.

It's completely open at this stage.

amazing · Sep 13, 2007, 01:39 PM

Apple has scheduled a September 18 news conference in England--"Mum is no longer the word." Gotta be about European iPhone intro, don't you think? As always, the devil's in the details, namely pricing and data plans...

Absolutely awesome how much consumer protection Europeans have! Just think, Apple's gonna have to put out an Apple unlock protocol! Gotta love that! Wonder how long it'll be before it's circulating online?

And modular language plug-ins! If you're bilingual over here in the US, wouldn't it be nice to have that "other-non-American" language be the iPhone interface? Just as a spit in the eye if your iPhone gets lost or stolen?

TiDual · Sep 13, 2007, 03:14 PM

Yeah ... data plan pricing will be the key. Especially since, in Germany, you can now get a Blackberry Pearl with unlimited data (mail + surf) plans from 10 Euro a month (http://freenetmobile.freenet.de/). These are pretty tempting, since I suspect the Apple deal will be closer to 50 Euro a month (probably with free minutes + SMS, which don't mean much to me).

If the Apple/T-mobil data plans are too high, I'll just get an iPod touch, and the Blackberry. Or, hey, could get the iPhone, unlock it, and drop in the Blackberry's sim card! Even that would be cheaper!

analogika · 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by TiDual

Yeah ... data plan pricing will be the key. Especially since, in Germany, you can now get a Blackberry Pearl with unlimited data (mail + surf) plans from 10 Euro a month (http://freenetmobile.freenet.de/). These are pretty tempting, since I suspect the Apple deal will be closer to 50 Euro a month (probably with free minutes + SMS, which don't mean much to me).

If the Apple/T-mobil data plans are too high, I'll just get an iPod touch, and the Blackberry. Or, hey, could get the iPhone, unlock it, and drop in the Blackberry's sim card! Even that would be cheaper!

A friend who works with a mobile phone provider once told me that there's ALWAYS a catch with the supposedly "cheaper" plans.

And whaddaya know:
http://office.freenet.de/dienste/ema...ils/index.html

That BlackBerry plan is great. Mobile internet and e-mail flatrate ONLY via the BlackBerry network. Go online via any other service (say, from a laptop), and you get 9 cents per 10 KILObytes.

Also, phone charges are outrageous. 39 cents per minute (60/10), around the clock, into any network including landline. Calls within the Freenet service network half that.

The BlackBerry is €199. Plus €25 activation fee.

Go ahead.

darkmatter · Sep 13, 2007, 06:44 PM

Spoke this afternoon with an sales employee of an Apple reseller here in Switzerland
and told me that the iPhone will be available in Germany starting second week of November, in Switzerland in January 2008

An other important key on the game will be how/where the iPhone is distributed, Apple needs shops to show and sell the device

Best Regards

TiDual · Sep 14, 2007, 01:56 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

That BlackBerry plan is great. Mobile internet and e-mail flatrate ONLY via the BlackBerry network. Go online via any other service (say, from a laptop), and you get 9 cents per 10 KILObytes.

Also, phone charges are outrageous. 39 cents per minute (60/10), around the clock, into any network including landline. Calls within the Freenet service network half that.

The BlackBerry is €199. Plus €25 activation fee.

Go ahead.

Relax there :-) ... many people have many different needs out there, regarding how much they need a phone for voice, or just for data when they're out of WiFi range. I only phone from my mobile (or receive) when there's an emergency, only my secretary and my wife have the number! That's why I noted the free SMS + minutes didn't mean much to me.

As for the blackberry deal (sorry, this won't be too interesting for people outside Germany), I also noticed that it's only useful on the Blackberry network, but was assuming their coverage of Germany would be reasonably good (I haven't checked).

The more sensible plan is Pearl for 50€, plus 25€ setup, then 20€/month (10 of which go towards voice + roaming charges). That's a 2 year total cost of 555 Euro (including all data, and 10 Euro/month towards additional charges).

Suppose the iPhone will be 399 Euro + 40/month (very optimistic!) + no setup charge. That's 1360 Euro/two years. My point was that, for those of us who don't use voice a *lot*, but do need to be able to get mail *constantly*, a Touch (or perhaps even an unlocked iPhone) + Blackberry isn't a totally silly solution (total cost is 955 Euro, versus 1360 Euro). Of course, I'm not wild about having two devices to carry.

You may well be right that the Freenet/Blackberry service is bad, and one ends up paying for data in the end (by having to use other providers). I don't have any experience with it.

analogika · Sep 14, 2007, 03:57 AM

Originally Posted by darkmatter

An other important key on the game will be how/where the iPhone is distributed, Apple needs shops to show and sell the device

Gravis stores have had fully functional (except with international roaming turned off) demo units for customers to play with for *weeks*. (Not all thirty stores, but Hamburg, Berlin, München, and a couple of others.)

analogika · Sep 14, 2007, 03:59 AM

Originally Posted by TiDual

You may well be right that the Freenet/Blackberry service is bad, and one ends up paying for data in the end (by having to use other providers). I don't have any experience with it.

The 40 cents at 60/10 seconds are bound to smack hard over time.

macintologist · Sep 16, 2007, 04:30 PM

I successfully unlocked my iPhone using this method.

IPhone unlock OS X Part 1 - ModMyiPhone - Wiki

It is now working in Cyprus on the Cytamobile-Vodaphone network. Calls work great. No voicemail but if you read on the MMi site there's a way around that. I don't use voicemail here anyway. No EDGE and I'm not interested in activating GPRS or anything.

I just wanted to report that the unlock worked beautifully.

Source · Sep 16, 2007, 05:58 PM

T-Mobile in the UK offer unlimited web browsing and emails with their web 'n' walk system, so hopefully they'll have that deal with the iPhone.

Hopefully they'll also offer the iPhone soon and won't announce it and force us to wait a month or two for it to actually be released or I might just get a Touch too.