“A German court has granted telecoms group Vodafone a preliminary injunction against Deutsche Telekom’s mobile unit T-Mobile over its sales terms for Apple’ iPhone,” Nicola Leske reports for Reuters.
“According to the injunction, filed at a regional court in Hamburg, the goal is to stop the sale of the iPhone if it is sold only in connection with a 24 month T-Mobile contract and/or is blocked in such a way that it can only be used in a T-Mobile network,” Leske reports.
“A T-Mobile spokesman said on Tuesday the company had received the injunction but would continue to sell the music-playing and Web-browsing device, which went on sale Nov 9 in Germany,” Leske reports.
“The head of Vodafone Germany told German daily Frankfurter Rundschau the goal was not to keep T-Mobile from selling the popular iPhone,” Leske reports. “Instead the company wanted the court to examine whether the terms T-Mobile had set were acceptable. Customers can buy the handset for 399 euros (286 pounds) but are obliged to agree to a 24-month contract with T-Mobile.”
Leske reports, “Vodafone lost out to T-Mobile and Telefonica’s O2 and France Telecom to sell the iPhone in Europe but has begun selling a similar multimedia handset from Samsung Electronics.”
MacDailyNews Take: These also-rans with their “similar” iPhones; “similar” only insofar as they make phone calls and purport to play music. “Similar” as a wagon is to a race car.
Full article here.
Hilde Arends reports for Dow Jones Newswires, “T-Mobile… said Tuesday that its marketing model for the iPhone is correct.”
“Vodafone objects to the fact that the iPhone can be used only on Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile networks,” Arends reports. “T-Mobile Deutschland said in its statement Tuesday that sales of the iPhone are continuing and that it reserves the right to claim damages from Vodafone.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike in Helsinki” for the heads up.]
If it gets the iPhone unlocked good for Vodafone.