“Apple CEO Steve Jobs is making the rounds of European capitals announcing plans for a Nov. 9 overseas launch of the iPhone. As of this writing, he’s announced deals in Britain with O2, a division of Spain’s Telefonica, and in Germany with T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom (DT). Rumors are rife that his next stop is France. Or maybe Spain,” Arik Hesseldahl reports for BusinessWeek.
“Wherever he lands next, Jobs is on a critical mission. The iPhone’s European tour has big implications not just for Apple’s new music-playing cell phone, but could also set the tone for Macintosh computer sales in markets where Apple has minimal share,” Hesseldahl reports.
“A key question for those who still care about Apple’s computer business is whether the iPhone, like the iPod before it, can help goose Mac sales abroad.Talk of an iPod Halo Effect—that interest in the iPod would lure buyers to the Mac as well—was initially dismissed but turned out to be real. Could an iPhone effect materialize in Europe and, in time, in Asia?” Hesseldahl asks.
Full article here.
