“Apple’s iPhone is ‘pretty useless’ and sales in Germany have not dented new customer numbers for E-Plus, the German mobile unit of KPN, said Ad Scheepbouwer, chief executive of the Dutch telecoms company,” Michael Steen reports for The Financial TImes.
MacDailyNews Take: We own Apple iPhones. They’re about the most useful devices we own. Of course, we’re not facing the prospect of trying to compete against them like Mr. Scheepbouwer.
Steen continues, “However, speaking after KPN reported fourth-quarter results in line with expectations and an upbeat outlook, Mr Scheepbouwer also said KPN would be interested in selling the iPhone in the Netherlands, where it has yet to be launched.
“‘I had one and I thought it was a pretty useless phone, to be quite honest,’ he told the Financial Times. ‘The battery ran out in no time. I didn’t like the touch screen,'” Steen reports. “‘We’d be more than happy to sell it,’ he added. ‘We have half the market in the Netherlands and we hope we will be the party of choice.'”
MacDailyNews Take: iPhone’s battery does not “run out in no time.” Everyone we meet is enthralled with the iPhone’s multi-touch screen. Scheepbouwer’s statements simply do not match reality. Now, what kind of businessman thinks a product is “pretty useless,” but has no problem trying to sell it to his customers? Answer: A sleazy salesman who has no respect for his customers. If you think iPhone is “pretty useless” why would you want to sell it, Mr. Scheepbouwer? We can only conclude that you either do not believe that iPhone is “pretty useless” and are therefore lying to The Financial Times or you have no respect for your customers and will try to sell them “useless” products? Which is it, genius? Oh, and don’t hold your breath for a deal with Apple. On second thought, do.
Steen continues, “KPN’s E-Plus unit in Germany competes against Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile, which has exclusive rights to market the phone there. But Mr Scheepbouwer said the 70,000 iPhones sold since November in Germany was ‘not a particularly impressive number’ compared with the 700,000 net new customers E-Plus gained in the fourth quarter, its fastest growth since 2000.”
Full article here.
This Scheepbouwer character sure has a funny way of laying the groundwork for a deal with Steve Jobs – or anybody, for that matter. “Your product sucks. Where do I sign so I can sell it?” That’s an, uh, interesting strategy. For some reason, we’re doubtful it’ll work.
gosh, 700,000 new subscribers…where did he pull those number from?
To the “Hype only hold out so long…”:
I would advise against holding your breath. I’m not sure how well you know Apple, but one thing is pretty much certain: Apple’s products (and that includes the iPhone) will never be sold for free, no matter what kind of contract the carrier ropes you into. Apple will simply not allow carriers to offer Apple products at no cost to the consumer. Their biggest asset is the brand name value. This value will be dramatically devalued if the products are not sold at premium, regardless of what kind of profit Apple might be ultimately making on them.
As for the hype, it only existed until 6PM (EST) on 30 June 2007. After that, it is no longer hype, since the product is already out and anyone can see it and try it. As we now all know, the iPhone is talked-about so much because it has the highest customer satisfaction ratings by far, well ahead of anyone else.
At the rate we’re going, I don’t see iPhone selling for less than $400 (actually, $399 for those who love picking nit) for the next at least a year or two.
What do you expect from an old baldig git who looks like this…
http://images.google.fr/images?hl=fr&q=Ad+Scheepbouwer&gbv=2
Of course, I meant “balding”…
Some people just refuse any feeling of amazement in their existence…
if i am in a wifi zone, the iphone is killer
on the EGDE, its a mediocre email/internet tool at best. most times very frustrating.
still the best phone i have ever used however
And he’s a Fat Cat…
Did Steen mean that he bought one, didn’t like it and wants to sell it? Did he say how much he wants for it? I might buy it if it’s the new one.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
MDN word – because… Because the iPhone is way cool and I want his.
Did Steen mean that he bought one, didn’t like it and wants to sell it? Did he say how much he wants for it? I might buy it if it’s the new one.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
MDN word – because… Because the iPhone is way cool and I want his.
Did Steen mean that he bought one, didn’t like it and wants to sell it? Did he say how much he wants for it? I might buy it if it’s the new one.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
MDN word – because… Because the iPhone is way cool and I want his.
Did Steen mean that he bought one, didn’t like it and wants to sell it? Did he say how much he wants for it? I might buy it if it’s the new one.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
MDN word – because… Because the iPhone is way cool and I want his.
Did Steen mean that he bought one, didn’t like it and wants to sell it? Did he say how much he wants for it? I might buy it if it’s the new one.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
MDN word – because… Because the iPhone is way cool and I want his.
Of course, MDN and the rest are all experts on the European telephone market…
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About 90,000,000 people live in Germany and only 70,000 iPhones sold??? (Oh, and there are more handheld phones in Germany than people living there in case you were wondering about the German telephone market.)
That iPhone sales rate in Germany is the equivalent of Apple selling only 210,000 iPhones in the U.S. market of 270,000,000.
One would rate that as not too good.
——-
Why does every MORON on the planet have to comment about the iPhone?
I wish they would all STFU.
That includes you ‘test2’
He’s right.
Thank you, Ad Scheepbouwer, for having the courage to tell the truth. I-Phones are for pretentious MAC sheep who like to burn money and show off their flash-in-the-pan toys. All style (if you like sissy school of design, founded by Apple) and no substance. What can you do with one button? Might as well get a Firefly.
Useful phones include any phone which runs the Windows Mobile OS. IE for Windows Mobile rocks and you can play WMA format files!
Your potential. Our passion.™
I think I’ll use that approach the next time I’m in the market for a new job…
“Your company is terrible. Your product sucks, and your people are ignorant. Are you hiring?”
lol
Nothing cuter than a trash-talkin’, iPhone-slammin’, balding Dutchman.
It is remarkable that Mr. Sheep wants to sell a device in Holland and starts by telling his customers that it’s a useless product. May be something got lost in translation, otherwise this is one dense fellow.
So sick of hearing American fanboys acting like they know anything about the international phone market. There are loads of phones out there with far more advanced features than the iPhone, you guys just haven’t seen them.
Does the iPhone have video calling? Fingerprint locking? GPS? E-money services? 5+MP camera? 3G?
Yes, the iPhone does some nice things but in many ways it’s still a long way behind phones that have been in use for years outside the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mobile_phone_culture
Yeah, this guy probably thinks Joran van der Sloot is innocient as well.
It is amazing how people can judge things before trying them. People say “oh, you can’t text message very well on the iPhone” or “it doesn’t have 3G”. Stupid. The iPhone is simply the best phone I’ve had. Best device I’ve had. It is amazing how often I use it. Checking mail, texting, looking things up on the net while on the go.
Boycott Holland!!!
Just my $0.02
“Does the iPhone have video calling? Fingerprint locking? GPS? E-money services? 5+MP camera? 3G?”
Do I need any of those features?
No, I don’t. Get it?
@mindpower – you join the long list of pundits and techies who just don’t get it. If piling on “features” and dropping the price made a device better, we’d all be stepping on MacBooks as we scrambled to buy old IBM ThinkPads because they have floppy drives AND a CD tray, plus a rubber mouse toggle.
mindpower: “Geez, the MacBook doesn’t even have a serial port. Feh. What a piece of crap.”
For some reason the word “douchebag” came to mind as I read this article.
KPN is an ex Dutch state controled firm, that used to be called the PTT. KPN sold masses of HTC phones to the Dutch Parlement members recently. They are working under about five different company names to hide their monopoly. The EU forbids monopoly. So they once sold the colored iMacs without software i.net support.. Apple should not go with them.