iPhone

Orange France slashes iPhone price

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:47:56 -0500

In a move that has confused the market, Orange France has dramatically cut the price for the 8GB iPhone to just €99, and the 16GB model for an eye-catching €129. The handsets were previously priced at €149 and €199 respectively.

The company has given no indication as to why it has adopted these new prices, with speculation centred on Orange looking to boost its pre-Christmas sales figures, or that the company has higher than expected inventory. O2 and T-Mobile did offer steep discounts on 2G iPhones leading up to the launch of the 3G.

Industry chatter also indicates O2 is working on a strategy to enable it to negotiate iPhone pricing with potential subscribers, a subject currently strictly forbidden in their contract with Apple. However, all of this conjecture around iPhone end-user pricing has to be judged on the estimated US$500 operators pay to Apple for each iPhone.

Balance these prices in comparison to the €640 price for the 8GB iPhone that has just been launched in Bulgaria by the mobile operator Global--which is ultimately owned by Deutsche Telekom. To make matters worse, 3G and Wi-Fi coverage in Bulgaria remains very patchy.

For more on this story go to:
Ars Technica

Related articles:
Tough going for iPhone in Europe
T-Mobile and Orange results boosted by data surge
Orange France lets slip iPhone shipment numbers

O2 revamps content portal based upon iPhone experience

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:53:08 -0400

In response to subscriber demand for higher quality portal access, O2 has radically redeveloped its homepage and strongly reflects the influence the iPhone has had on the company and its approach to online access.

The new homepage, which was soft-launched some days ago and presently only works with a selection of Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia handsets prior to a wider roll out, has an inbuilt toolbar that is said to greatly improve the customer experience. Subscribers will now be able to personalise their homepage by choosing from a range of services and content from partners such as EA, MySpace, Yell.com, BBC, Google, Yahoo and Facebook.

Users of compatible devices like the newer N-series and Walkman handsets are already being redirected to the new O2 homepage automatically, with other users continuing to be able to access the old Active portal until handset support is widened.

This shift towards providing its customers with a mobile Internet experience much closer to that of the fixed-line may indicate the demise of its Active brand as the company transitions to offering a web-like service.

Alistair Johnston, marketing director of O2 UK, said: "We've learned a lot from our iPhone customers. Customers expect the mobile Internet to be more like the Internet experience at home or the office and that is our objective."

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Entertainment

Related articles:
Vodafone plans very sticky mobile portal. Vodafone story
Diet Coke to launch mobile portal. Coke story

Companies missing opportunities as mobile Internet traffic increases

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:41:03 -0400

The launch of the iPhone and the take-up of unlimited mobile data tariffs has seen a marked increase in mobile Internet use. However, a recent industry survey conducted by Omniture found 71 per cent of businesses saying they were not measuring mobile traffic to their sites.

Furthermore, 50 per cent of businesses said they did not know how many unique users landing on their sites originated from a mobile device. This represented a missed opportunity to optimise and more effectively monetise this traffic, said Omniture. Article

Rumour mill: O2 and Apple hatch MacBook plan

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:58:55 -0400

Looking to build on its existing iPhone relationship with Apple, O2 is said to be in discussions with the company to bring the manufacturers popular MacBook laptops to its customers. Talks centre around bundling the laptops with fixed and mobile broadband subscriptions with the devices being subsidised under the scheme, but not free.

If the deal gets the go-ahead, then O2 could steal a march on other mobile operators that have signed Windows-based laptop deals, given the popularity of the MacBook range and its ability to switch people that are long-term users of Wintel laptops or desktop PCs.

Apple has historically controlled distribution of its hardware, only making the devices available through certain channels. If a deal were to go ahead, O2 would be the only mobile retailer selling Apple laptops.

Separately, O2 claims it has resolved the problem of iPhone customers not being able to get back on the O2 UK network after taking the phone overseas. The problem occurred after customers requested the roaming facility before taking the phone abroad.

For more on this story:
- go to Mac World and Mobile Today

Related articles:
New laptop bundles announced by Orange. Laptop story
Vodafone signs with Lenovo for 3G laptop deal. Vodafone story

iPhone a great success in Germany, claims Deutsche Telekom head

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:25:34 -0400

René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, gave full praise to the success of the iPhone in Europe reporting more than 150,000 3G iPhones were sold in Germany since its July launch. He also confirmed that, as with the original iPhone, subscribers were taking out much larger tariff bundles and proving to be higher spending customers. Of significance, according to Obermann, these 3G iPhone users were consuming on average 25 to 30 times more data than other smartphone users. "So the UI and applications make a huge difference."

While Obermann admitted the 3G iPhone had been equally successful in the US he claimed T-Mobile USA had a strong portfolio to rival the iPhone, including devices from HTC, RIM, and Samsung. This line up could well be bolstered with the addition of the Google Android device with its announcement planned for this week.

The company's efforts in promoting its One Euro laptop device had proved successful, said Obermann. "The business model makes a lot of sense luring in good customers who take up higher tariffs. Plus, the subsidy is not that bad. But we will see how it grows in Europe before bringing it to the US."

For more on this story:
- go to MoCo News

Related articles:
iPhone boosts data 30x for T-Mobile Germany. iPhone story
Vodafone Germany makes trouble for iPhone. Vodafone story

O2 pushes 3G iPhone sales to retain exclusivity

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:36:18 -0400

Using large chunks of its customer acquisition budget, along with sustained TV, billboards and print advertising, has enabled O2 UK to achieve weekly 3G iPhone sales of around 30,000.

Albeit down from the 50,000 per week following the launch in July, O2 is reported to be pushing sales of the 3G iPhone hard in order to retain its exclusivity for Apple phones. Already the company is said to have gained between four and six per cent of the UK handset market with this device -- an uptake that must make rival suppliers go many shades of green with envy.

O2 has recently launched a prepay version of the 3G iPhone and hopes this will further boost numbers in the lead up to Christmas. However, worsening economies in the UK might threaten the success of this marketing plan.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Today

Related articles:
BT and O2 extend iPhone WiFi deal. BT/O2 story
The uptake of mobile data and the 3G iPhone. Editorial

Rumour Mill: Sept 23rd for T-Mobile Android launch

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:20:22 -0400

T-mobile is expected to announce an Android-based device later this month to coincide with a Google Developers Day planned for 23^rd September in Germany. Insiders claim the launch has been dragged forward by around 30 days to blunt Apple's 3G iPhone success in the lead up to the Christmas sales period.

Well-founded speculation points to the HTC Dream being the likely handset to support the Android operating system, although this rush to market would seem to be the reason behind Google dropping support for Bluetooth and Gtalk, an instant messaging service. Regardless, the smartphone is currently slated to support a wide variety of connectivity technologies, including GSM/EDGE, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS and WiFi.

For more on this story:
- go to ITPro Portal and Register Hardware

Related articles:
Google names Android Developer Challenge winners. Google story
T-Mobile US will launch an Android phone when it debuts 3G. T-Mobile US story

Nokia plays iPhone catch-up, and looks for future investments

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:41:44 -0400

The launch of remote synchronisation and file management by Nokia is an attempt by the company to offer similar applications to Apple's iPhone. This step-by-step approach to upgrading Nokia's Ovi service -- albeit still far behind Apple's MobileMe offering, is being promoted by the company as a safer route forward than Apple's bug-ridden big-bang approach.

Nokia's VP of product and portfolio management, Jussi Nevanlinna, said, "Our stepwise approach to rolling out and integrating these and other elements of Ovi lets us learn and adjust according to the feedback we receive from people."

The company has also made clear it wants to broaden its working relationship with the social media site Facebook, while admitting it was also talking to many large social networking firms to enable and improve access to their sites from Nokia phones.

While Nokia has not declared subscriber numbers for its Internet services, the revenues generated in Q2/08 were nearly €120 million, up 42 per cent from the previous quarter. Given this growth, the company is strongly rumoured to be looking for further acquisitions to speed up the deployment of new services and improve the overall features and capability of its mobile Internet offering.

For more on this story:
- go to The Register

Related articles:
App Store frustrations bedevil iPhone developers. MobileMe story
Nokia to Demonstrate Latest Elements of Ovi. Nokia Ovi story

O2 turns down Nokia's flagship N96

Paul Rasmussen — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:41:01 -0400

Perhaps the most anticipated cellphone launch of the year has failed to attract O2's attention. The company has decided the Nokia N96 will not be sold from its retail outlets, even though Nokia has dragged forward the release date of the N96 by one month in an attempt to disrupt the success of the 3G iPhone.

The reason, apparently, is that O2 has already allocated the bulk of its subsidy budget for this year to the 3G iPhone. The company is said to want to reduce the spiralling costs associated with subsidising handsets, especially high-end devices like the N96 which has a retail price of around €500.

O2 is also concerned on two other fronts -- will the highly-complex N96 be bug free given Nokia's rush to market? Early N95's were plagued with software and component issues that are a nightmare for operators. And, perhaps more importantly, O2 is under growing pressure to achieve its iPhone targets for this year, or risk losing it exclusivity contract with Apple.

Separately, although conspiracy advocates will have otherwise, O2 has also announced it will scrap the role of head of brand innovation.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Today

Related articles:
Nokia launches three N-Series smartphones. handset launch story
Nokia sweet-talks operators over revenue share concerns. Nokia story

Russian operators sign iPhone agreements, despite illegal imports

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:52:47 -0400

Megafon has become the second Russian mobile operator to sign a distribution agreement for Apple's 3G iPhone handset. Vimpelcom, the No. 2 operator in Russia, signed up to the iPhone last month, but only after 'persuading' Apple to drop its onerous 10 percent revenue share business model.

However, Russia is already one of the iPhone's biggest markets because of illegal imports. A telecoms analyst at UniCredit Aton estimated there already are more than 500,000 iPhones in the country with monthly "grey" imports running in excess of 20,000.

The device has become something of a cult item among the political elite with handsets changing hands for above US$1,000 -- a US$600 premium over the suggested retail price.

MTS, the country's largest operator, is also rumoured to be negotiating a deal for the iPhone, meaning yet another of Apple's "mandatory" contract clauses of carrier exclusivity has pretty much gone out the window.

For more on this story:
- go to Moscow Times and MocoNews

Related articles:
MTS to purchase largest Russian cell phone retailer. MTS story
Russia's MegaFon mulls €3B Iranian venture. Megafon story