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German phone company wins iPhone court ruling

cnn.com — The iPhone currently only works with T-mobile in Germany. Vodafone protested over T-Mobile's exclusivity lock on the handset

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 22, 2007

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  • jamesspelt, on 11/22/2007, -4/+26I'd never spend that much on a phone...
  • Avor, on 11/22/2007, -0/+17$1,477 US dollars? Holy *****.
  • SteveKing, on 11/22/2007, -0/+15The headline is completely wrong.
    Vodafone has not won the court ruling, because the court hasn't ruled yet. I'm very disappointed by CNN - I thought they would get their facts right before posting news. :(

    Anyway, what really happened:
    Vodafone went to the court to get a ruling, fully expecting that T-Mobile would object (what T-Mobile did). Without waiting for the courts ruling, T-Mobile did what was said: it now offers the iPhone for 999€ unlocked. But that's only until the court will rule about this. And even if they would lose the ruling, they already mentioned they would take the matter to a higher court.

    So, until we have a final ruling, we will have to wait a few months.
  • BarriedaleNick, on 11/22/2007, -1/+15"T-Mobile will start selling the phone for 999 euros" - who the ***** would buy any phone for that amount. Apple still wins as no one is going to buy one from Vodaphone. What a waste of court time.
  • inactive, on 11/22/2007, -3/+13This means nothing. Let's do so math. Apple is selling the iPhone for $400 dollars in the U.S. and get another $400 dollars during the subscription period. That's $800 dollars. The unlocked phones are selling for the Euro equivalent of $1,477.00 dollars. My guess is that Apple will still end up getting their $800, and T-Mobile will get the rest. So no problem. This doesn't change a thing.

    Now there are probably people thinking that you can just buy the cheaper iPhone with the contract and just unlock it, once you get home. But from all indications, T-Mobile is not allowing people to buy the subsidized iPhones without activating it inside the store. I don't have absolute proof of this, but the article on Arstechnica seems to indicate this.
  • jazh, on 11/22/2007, -1/+10Wait, Vodafone is a German phone company? I thought it was listed on the London Stock Exchange....
  • lookoutforchris, on 11/22/2007, -0/+7That's exactly what Apple and T-Mobile what to hear. Vodafone won the court case but based on the pricing it seems like a pretty hollow victory.
  • dawgma, on 11/22/2007, -0/+6What's that? Like $100 Canadian?
  • hiro, on 11/22/2007, -1/+7Yes it's T Mobile that is the German company making this headline completely inaccurate!
  • hamdevguru, on 11/22/2007, -0/+5Vodafone is British all the way.
  • CraigJ, on 11/22/2007, -0/+5I paid $599, and I would again if they were still that price. This thing is goddamn cool and works really well. Just because you can't afford one doesn't mean you have to vomit all over it. Like scooby said, maybe you should go see a therapist or something...
  • jazh, on 11/22/2007, -3/+7It is against competition laws, consumers are forced into a linear contract including package, network, phone, model. Consumer choice? None.
    Wait till the EU rule on Apple's itunes/ipod...
  • scoobycarolan, on 11/22/2007, -3/+6wow. you've got issues.
  • TiceHH, on 11/22/2007, -1/+4Right Vodafone is British. Vodafone Germany used to be D2 Mannesmann and was bought by Vodafone a few years ago. Mr. Esser pushed the price up and got paid by an Chinese investor (10 Millions as far as I know). Big scandal way then.
  • jazh, on 11/22/2007, -1/+4It is force, Apple is a hardware, software company, it has no right to demand consumers to pick network x, so it can get a higher slice of network profits, not profits of handsets sold.

    Put it this way, if Apple sold a mac, which EXCLUSIVELY uses AOL internet (of which apple will get a slice of AOL profits too), is that not abuse of its power?
  • CraigJ, on 11/22/2007, -0/+3ESL?
  • SouthsideIrish, on 11/22/2007, -1/+4Yeah, I got the N800 tablet and it is nice, but not user friendly. I will keep my iPhone.
  • wilf_brim, on 11/22/2007, -2/+4Don't bet on it. I didn't think that many people would pay $600 for a locked iPhone AND have to sign up to a 2 years, very overpriced contract. Never underestimate the willingness of the Apple faithful to bend over and take it.
  • phoomp, on 11/22/2007, -0/+2Willingness? I'd say "desire"
  • SouthsideIrish, on 11/22/2007, -0/+2They do do it. Ever go into Best Buy and see all of these cheap computers that come with a 3 year contract for a ISP? The word is contract. You sign one to get the computer and that requires you pay for the internet. Again you are not forced to do anything. You voluntarily signed the piece of paper.

    Same thing with the iphone. You sign the contract and are obligated to fulfill the terms. I can do whatever I want with my phone, because I did not sign the piece of paper. I can stop paying ATT tomorrow and they can't do a thing about it.
  • FierceGrape, on 11/22/2007, -1/+2Its cool man...its only because our dollar is worthless. Its probably like 50 euros.
  • inactive, on 11/22/2007, -1/+2Hope for what?
  • Spuy767, on 11/22/2007, -0/+1Sounds like only one person here understands economics.
  • imnojezus, on 11/22/2007, -0/+1Don't feed the trolls.
  • BarriedaleNick, on 11/22/2007, -2/+3he does have a point though - the iPhone is way over priced for the UK market. N95 for me - free at the point of sale!
  • Dankoozy, on 11/26/2007, -0/+1well at least you won't have to put up with a ***** network in order to use your iPhone.

    but we all know that actual unlocked phones, in high street stores are all way overpriced in order to convince people to buy the contract + the phone. for example a LG ku970 sells for £260 in the shops in london. but take a peek online and you can get them for well under 150. an iPhone is only worth what someone else will pay for it at the end of the day.
  • SouthsideIrish, on 11/22/2007, -0/+1Apple has no right to tell me how I use my iPhone, because I didn't sign a contract with them. My iPhone is mine and I can do with it, what I want. If I had signed a contract with them than I would have to pay them off. I am a Libertarian and the only monopolies are government imposed monopolies. M$ was never one and got screwed by the EU and the US government.
  • ktrough, on 11/29/2007, -0/+1Sorry. Apple will know the difference and could still brick your phone. UMEI and other unique identifiers exist for each network device. Apple undoubtedly has added a few of their own as well. Apple will know if you purchased the phone legitimately or not. If you change a UMEI, and get caught, you go to prison for a LONG time in most of the first world. They don't like cloned cellys.
  • inactive, on 11/22/2007, -0/+1You should've read the article.
  • Dankoozy, on 11/26/2007, -0/+1Vodafone FTW!
  • andrewpmk, on 11/25/2007, -0/+11. Buy locked iPhone
    2. Copy firmware from unlocked iPhone to locked iPhone, to fool it into thinking that it is a "legitimately" unlocked iPhone
    3. Enjoy :)
  • warriorscot, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1I just don't see the point in buying one, sure I like the iphone, but I like it more as a PDA than I do as a phone if it was just £400 with a pay as you go contract so I could not pay for the phone part I would hardly ever use that would be ideal because I would still keep my normal phone. They don't cost all that much to make so I don't see why apple is gouging the prices and forcing the contracts, if the touch had been just the iphone with no phone like everyone thought it would be I wouldn't complain but it all just stinks of apple gouging people for money(not a surprise I know).

    If they took out the phone and stuck in a hard drive I would have it in an instant, I would have preferred they just had it with a bluetooth sync so it could remote to your normal mobile rather than mess with contracts.
  • s0ldad0, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1iPhone with contract 400 Euro
    iPod touch 16GB 400 Euro
    iPhone no contract 1000 euro?
    So lets take out the phone component of the iPhone as it looks like it is worth 700 Euro and add 8GB for lets say 100 Euro. an we have a touch...
    Hmm something doesnt add up here....
  • pyrates, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1@ spu767

    Now you sound like a Apple Fan Boi to me. Can't stand any criticism of the company no matter how blatantly obvious it is. Here is the truth:

    Apple is forcing you to sign up with a 2 year contract after fully paying for the phone so that they can get part of the profits that the cell phone service provider gets. The phone is not being subsidized. Don't want to do that? Then you can pay for the profits that the cell phone service provider and Apple would have gotten if you had signed up for a 2 year contract. I'm glad you can buy an unlocked iPhone in Germany and France now. But the exclusive contracts that Apple has signed probably mentioned the provider has to pay Apple a certain amount each month, so with them charging this much for an unlocked iPhone, they're not violating the contract.

    But this is monopolistic practice. First off you don't need a certain cell phone service provider to use the iPhone. Any cell phone service provider that uses gsm will work with the iPhone. I'm using mine unlocked in Canada right now. And it works just fine. No problems. Sure I don't get visual voice mail, but that's the only thing that is missing. In other words, there is no technical reason why the iPhone can't be sold unlocked without Apple getting a cut of the cell phone service providers profits. It is monopolistic to tie in a product and a service together to lock out other competitors that provide that same service that the product could work under, but the product is just technically limited to work only with that one provider.
  • laserdisc, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1You mean this phone http://www.openmoko.com/ .

    Ass.
  • ZenMojo, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1You obviously don't understand the concept of monopoly. God help us if you're a Libertarian.
  • Stea1th, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1Great...so all this is doing now is jacking up the prices on ebay for unlocked Iphones. Think about it...Guy wants a IPhone, pays 600 + shipping
    out of the US or maybe even more depending where it levels out.
  • Spuy767, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1It is the right of a hardware manufacturer to choose how a person can use their hardware. If a service provider is such a turnoff, then you have the right not to purchase said piece of hardware. That is the power of the free market. Of course, the EU has done all it can to rout the free market, so a move like this is not unexpected.
  • ZrTy, on 11/22/2007, -3/+3Its freaking obvious nobody would buy the unlocked thing at that price... it ridiculous. I would shoot anybody who does.
    The more interesting thing is the fact that it could be unlocked via itunes and here is where the hackers should come in. ^^
    I have hope, but I got the feeling it might remain just hope. =/
  • warriorscot, on 11/22/2007, -1/+1They are but allot of us aren't businessmen, I am a student I just need something convenient to take care of my calendar, keep the odd note, check a few emails now and again and check quick things on-line nothing intensive, and something that can play a video on my daily commute is nice(and smaller than my laptop). I used to have a clie for that but its gotten on in years and sony stopped making them otherwise I would buy an updated version which is a shame as at the time they were exactly what most of the Iphone crowd really wanted and if they made them now I'm pretty sure they would wipe the floor with Iphone and the touch(the SJ style models not the giant flip ones).
  • inactive, on 11/22/2007, -2/+1I really don't understand why people are going nuts over this. It does nothing other phones can't do. Why would anyone pay so much money for a common product?

    I guess I would somewhat understand if it actually did something, anything better than another phone, but it simply doesn't.
  • gudnbluts, on 11/22/2007, -1/+0PDAs tend to be aimed at business users though, and the iPhone definitely isn't. No Exchange support, for instance. Messing around with text on it is awkward too, partly because you don't have the accuracy of a stylus, so it has this clumsy magnification thing.
  • BarbadoSlim, on 11/22/2007, -2/+1Ooooh, great now even more suckers can have access to this overpriced toy.
  • SirZRX, on 11/22/2007, -2/+1dont underestimate the stupid rich people
  • phoomp, on 11/22/2007, -2/+1Yes, but do the other phones come with a built-in market pre-conditioned to froth over anything with the company logo on it?
  • mousky, on 11/22/2007, -2/+1This wouldn't be the same Vodafone that did not think to highly of the iPhone when it was released? So now they want to carry what they initially called a crappy cell phone?
  • CaviMike, on 11/22/2007, -6/+4BlackBerry FTW.
  • ZrTy, on 11/22/2007, -4/+2There is two important things about this:

    1st - Anyone who gives that kind of money for that thing should be shoot.
    2nd - If the device is unlockable via itunes expect the hackers to come up with something
  • hamdevguru, on 11/22/2007, -4/+2Vodafone _are_ an innovative company and have invested in tons of new technology, including amazing 3G coverage with mobile internet and music downloads already. I live in a national park and even I have 3g coverage at home. I thought Vodafone wouldn't accept the iPhone deal because it was using old tech. Plus O2 is lame.
  • SouthsideIrish, on 11/22/2007, -5/+3Forced? Apple is pointing a gun at your head and making you buy the phone. Government is force, Apple is not forcing you to do a thing. They can charge you anything they want, and you don't have to pay it. The German government is doing the forcing.
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