“Vodafone Group said on Thursday it was concerned the current iPhone mobile phone — Apple’s latest ‘killer’ gadget — does not operate on fast 3G networks,” Reuters reports.
This “amid speculation that Apple is close to handing a deal to Vodafone’s rivals to bring iPhones to Europe,” Reuters reports.
“‘It’s clearly a good, software-driven device, but we’re concerned about wideband area coverage so that 3G (third-generation) or HSDPA (upgraded 3G) connectivity with the iPhone is something that we look forward to,’ CEO Arun Sarin said,” Reuters reports. “‘Every product, every alterative, every choice here has a price and we just have to be conscious of what it is that we’re doing for our customers and our shareholders.'”
“Analysts expected Vodafone to be in prime position to secure an exclusive, pan-European deal to sell iPhones, which have flown off the shelves in the United States, but warned that Apple was a tough negotiator and liked to dictate terms,” Reuters reports.
Apple iPhones “combine Apple’s hugely popular iPod digital music player, a video player and Web browser into a sleek, touch-screen device,” Reuters reports. “Sarin said virtually every mobile company was having a conversation with Apple, but that he could not comment further.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dion” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Note: In early July, Richard Wray reported for The Guardian that Vodafone had balked at Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ iPhone revenue demands and had lost the iPhone exclusive contract to O2 in the UK. This after Credit Suisse in late June called Vodafone the frontrunner in Europe. Reports on iPhone carriers outside the U.S. are all over the map (literally). We’ll wait to see what Apple and their partner(s), whoever they may be, announce. That said, carriers would do themselves a service to see what is happening in the U.S. – we and many others dumped Verizon and other U.S carriers for iPhone and AT&T on day one. Many millions more (yes, millions) will follow. To the innovators go the spoils. Those listening to Steve Jobs’ terms need to remind themselves that some revenue is better than none. Right, Verizon?
Yep, when I saw that headline I knew Vodafone was officially out of the running. They took this right out of Verizon’s playbook.
Hell, Vodafone owns like 45% of Verizon Wireless.
Looks like not every one is willing to be Job’s little whore.
Better than the nun who got none
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MDN word: return………for more
Sarin is going to get a harsh lesson, me knowing as I was a Nokia veteran for years. The days of these guys dictating how and when about a mobile device are coming to a big end with Apple.
Apple is no Nokia. They are now going to write the next chapter in how to create a disruptive phone and leverage it into a disruptive business model, all on the back of its iTunes heritage.
Am going to love to see Sairin and Vodafone eat shit like Verizon is positively doing now.
My kids are not going to get an iPhone. They will receive a brand new zune-phone coming this December 26th. It will have a 4 mile cord for faster conections. We innovate pal.
“we just have to be conscious of what it is that we’re doing for our customers and our shareholders”
Yes, and your customers will repay you by leaving in droves for whichever competitor of yours will be carrying the iPhone.
In the first Steve’s iPhone announcement I’d swear he said, by the end of the year the iPhone for European and Asian launches would be G3. And then hinted that in the U.S. the G3 Version would replace the original model.
I need to go back and watch the 2007 MacWorld Keynote.
I can’t believe these companies are pissed that they have to pay Apple a fee when the iPhone is not subsidized.
Simple economics they’ve got two years to pay Apple the subsidy instead of doing the discount off the top and selling the phone as a “loss leader”
Am I missing something or what?
Yes, Steve said 3G is coming, but he didn’t say specifically for the US or Asian markets, in his MW keynote.
I don’t see the head of Vodafone mentioning anything about the LG Prada’s use of a Edge network in Europe, do you?
Why Apple can dictate terms…
All the world’s telcos are in the same boat – their major asset is their network, their second major asset is their retail presence. But technology marches on, and telephone networks are facing a growing threat from WiFi. It is no coincidence that iPhone has WiFi built in.
Step this forward a few years until public WiFi is more or less ubiquitous. A WiFi equipped handset can then make IP calls, and retrieve data at high speed. In this environment, Apple holds all the cards, and the telcos potentially lose all their differentiation, becoming low-level service providers.
In this environment, Apple holds the keys: the product and the retail network to sell the product. Effectively the telco will become merely an ISP – and the cost of connection will be driven down sharply.
So sell your telco shares – it is only a matter of time before their huge investment in their proprietary cellphone networks becomes irrelevant…
Apple is taking much the same approach in the music industry. It is only a matter of time before Apple begins to bypass the record labels. They will probably start with indies – offering an iTunes presence and a much higher percentage of revenues. After that, it is only a matter of time…
Fact is EDGE sucks badly, especially compared to 3G (1.2Mbps) or 3.5G (3.6 or 7.2Mbps) that Vodafone offer in Europe. There’s plenty of mobile phones that take advantage of these increased data rates, it’s just a shame the iPhone is designed for the backward US phone market.
I really want an iPhone, and I’ll get a sucky EDGE one (although it might even be GPRS in Europe as not much EDGE implementation when so much 3G about), but I won’t be happy about it … I want a 3.5G iPhone!
EDGE is slow, GSM is being used as fallback technology as 3G is where all telco’s / carriers are going outside the US. MDN says “… see what is happening in the U.S. – we and many others dumped Verizon and other U.S carriers for iPhone and AT&T on day one …” This may be the case for the US, but it is not representative for markets outside the US where the strategy is not GSM EDGE, it is 3G with HSDPA.
Next you’ll say that WiFi is the solution, and Apple has already included this in the handset. Wrong again, as WiFi will only work in WiFi hot spots. With 3G and HSDPA, if I have a 3G connection (and in Australia, 3G on Telstra’s NextG Network covers nearly all of the population, including some remote areas) I have full data speed …. no need for a “hot spot”.
C’mon Apple …. you may have the best device, but it is not the best connectivity for a Phone. Bring out an iPhone that supports Quad Band GSM and Tri-Band UMTS (with HSDPA) and then you will have the best phone in the world, and can work anywhere.
All this banter about 3G and EDGE…
Have any of you people actually looked at a 3G coverage map for the US? If you live in one of the three largest cities, then you’re fine. But almost everywhere else there is virtually no 3G coverage.
This, combined with extended battery life, more than explains the reasoning to go with EDGE.
MW: “who” as in, Who in their right mind would go with 3G right now in the US market?
here’s your current 3G coverage:
http://www.gsmworld.com/cgi-bin/ni_map.pl?cc=us&net=b3
It’s the dark pink spots on the map. You may have to squint.
@SydneyStephen
There is one angle that many people have not considered. If 3G becomes available, then why can’t the iPhone provide Internet access to the computer? Say bye-bye to your DSL/cable modem. Then AT&T becomes the wireless ISP of choice.
When I told the Vodaman that I wouldn’t contemplate changing plans until I see the iPhone plans, he said, “Well…that’s why we do these surveys.”
Bye-bye, Voda.
Thanks for the link to the 3G map. Yes, I squinted to see the 3G areas. Now it’s very clear to me why Apple didn’t go with 3G right away.
If you buy an iPhone from T-Mobile in Germany when it comes out. Would that mean you could use T-Mobile in the US as your carrier? If so, maybe you could use 3G – that is if you’re in the tiny dark pink spots on the map!
Perhaps Apple has proposed to AT&T that they roll out a public WiFi network instead of 3G. Why not? Apple are an early adopter of the new fast WiFi standard 802.11n which provides up to 100Mbps or perhaps even up to 315Mbps – and at least one report i googled said up to 600Mbps. 3G runs to 2Mbps. At least 50 times slower.
So. Could AT&T and Apple roll out an 802.11N network across the USA? Is that feasible given the range limitations? Because if it is, then telephony will move to IP and every iPhone will be serving up web pages at 100Mbps, wherever you are.