Report: 3rd-party resellers to carry iPhone 3G in Germany
German buyers of Apple's next-generation iPhone will have their choice of multiple resellers instead of being locked into visiting T-Mobile's stores, according to a German newspaper.
This reported expansion also wouldn't be exclusive, the same report says, though it may depend heavily on breaking an earlier deal with a rival. Media Markt and its sister electronics chain Saturn are interested but can't yet sign a deal as their owner MediaSaturnHolding currently has an exclusive deal to sell phones from Debitel, one of T-Mobile's primary opponents in Germany.
Notably, Debitel was briefly an iPhone carrier itself, offering the official unlocked models with a heavy rebate until a legal ruling allowed T-Mobile to drop the unlocked model in favor of its carrier-specific edition.
The multi-party nature of the proposed reseller deals would signify a further loosening of Apple's sales policy. While the US-based company has already agreed to sell through multiple carriers in some countries and is still rumored to be selling iPhone 3G units through third-party resellers in Australia, the German deal is the first to see more than one third-party store reportedly get approval to carry the handset.
It would also belatedly fulfill Gravis' predictions for itself; in mid-2007, the retailer was already declaring that it would carry the iPhone by the end of 2007 despite the absence of any official word from Apple or T-Mobile. The November launch of the original iPhone in Germany saw its sales limited to official T-Mobile shops and without any Gravis deal in sight.
Apple and T-Mobile alike have so far remained silent on the latest claims.
15 Comments
Does that mean that they will offer different deals that the pathetic ones that T-Mobile are offering right now? Unlikely, so who really cares?
I haven't seen a news story on this so far, so I thought I'd mention that Germany has by far the worse iPhone deal released world wide so far. 49 euros (38 pounds or $76US) for 100 minutes, 40 texts and "unlimited" data which after 300mb slows down to 64kbit/s down and 16kbit/up, all on a 24 month contract!
Feel free to challenge that..
yes, the tarifs are awful - awful beyond grasp
that's why i'm running my unlocked iPhone 2G on o2 here in germany...
still rumored to be selling iPhone 3G units through third-party resellers in Australia
What..... so we won't have only one shop in Australia that sells iPhones?!?
That's lucky for most of the population
yes, the tarifs are awful - awful beyond grasp
that's why i'm running my unlocked iPhone 2G on o2 here in germany...
They problem is, the tariffs in general at appalling in Germany. Even if I bought an unlocked one, I don't believe I could do better than the standard t-mobile iphone tariffs. If you know of a way for 50 euros a month I can get truly unlimited or say 5G data, with more than 100 minutes and 40 texts, let me know.
The market here is just completely overpriced and with no competition on the iPhone, they are not going to come down soon.
I haven't seen a news story on this so far, so I thought I'd mention that Germany has by far the worse iPhone deal released world wide so far.
how do you figure? i'm not happy having to switch to T-Mobile myself, mind you, but the EUR29 tariff sounds fair - and certainly below what i hear people discussing as minimum cost in the US. Mind you the $30 plan in the US includes *only* data, from what i understand and is needed on top of an actual vice plan. On the last episode if MacBreak Weekly, it was said to expect US$80 to US$90 a month on the AT&T iPhone 3G deal.
the T-Mobile deal sounds very good, in comparison to that, imho,