Court orders T-Mobile Germany to sell iPhone without contract
The temporary injunction was handed down by a Hamburg court and requests a response from T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, within two weeks.
Deutsche Telekom has confirmed (translation) the ruling, which can be overturned as part of an appeals processes.
For its part, Vodafone — which at one time was in the running for its own exclusive contract to sell iPhone to parts of Europe — claims that it took the matter to court out of fears that other handset makers may follow Apple's example and begin tying their handsets to specific providers, further shredding the German wireless market.
Vodafone Germany chief executive Friedrich Joussen in a statement said his firm's goal is not to prevent sales of the device but rather allow for consumers to purchase iPhones without binding themselves to long-term agreements with any one carrier.
"We want it to be available to buyers without a mandatory calling plan," he said. "If I had wanted to halt sales, I could have, but I didn't."
A definitive ruling on the matter is expected within two weeks.
Update: Coverage of the matter by Dow Jones differs somewhat from the local German press by implying that the temporary injunction restricts any and all iPhone sales in Germany, rather than just those that would be sold with a contract. But due to the agreement between T-Mobile and Apple that iPhone only be sold with a service plan, it's likely that both scenarios would produce the same result temporarily — a halt to iPhone sales in Germany.
131 Comments
Two things:
Europe is a different place compared to the US in cell phone land.
I think Vodaphone is a bent over not selling the iPhone.
I have to admit though, I would love if my iPhone was with Verizon for coverage reasons.
vodafone didn't win...
vodafone sued for opening the iphone to all providers in germany... and t-mobile appealed... ultimately it will end in favor of t-mobile... or, if a mad judge is on vodafone side it will go up the chain to the supreme court... which would take like 3-4 years...
ultimately it will not man that apple/t-mobile have to open up to vodafone or any other provider...
So, what's the likely status of the iPhone during the appeals process? Will Apple be enjoined from selling the iPhone in the interim? Or can they go ahead until there is a definitive decision?
vodafone didn't win...
vodafone sued for opening the iphone to all providers in germany... and t-mobile appealed... ultimately it will end in favor of t-mobile... or, if a mad judge is on vodafone side it will go up the chain to the supreme court... which would take like 3-4 years...
ultimately it will not man that apple/t-mobile have to open up to vodafone or any other provider...
You might be right as long as you talk about German courts only - but this is utterly irrelevant. Apple is on the EUs blacklist already (locking out customers from other countries' iTunes stores within Europe, iTunes DRM not compatible with other players, etc.). There are myriads of seatwarmers that will want the publicity to address the iPhone issue, it is the number one product everybody is talking about - and it will take less than 6 months for the EU to rule, I am positive. Mandatory bundling of phones is already illegal in France, it is largely unpopular in Germany - these are the two biggest member states and politicians will want to score here. Apple should be clever and move at least a bit (e.g. sell an unlocked phone with a 200-300 EUR premium - it would still be in the price range of the N95 and people would have a choice) - before the EU commission makes them the second MS and digs into every single thing they are doing (bundling Safari and QuickTime with OS X, ruining IT consultants by being stable and maintenance free... etc.)
I am a big Apple fan - but their attempt to re-invent the phone market as a new player with one single phone was arrogant, un-called for, and it will fail if they do not move. And somehow they deserve it - taking choice away from customers is a bad thing.
I am a big Apple fan - but their attempt to re-invent the phone market as a new player with one single phone was arrogant, un-called for, and it will fail if they do not move. And somehow they deserve it - taking choice away from customers is a bad thing.
I agree dreyfus. Apple will not be able to get away with this ploy in Asia - the land of mobile phones......