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So, why was the iPhone a disaster in the UK?

techtora.com — 3 very true points covering why Apple made a mess of things in the UK.

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  • JustGrant, on 04/19/2008, -4/+11But it's selling better in the UK than any other European country?
  • wonderchemist, on 04/20/2008, -5/+3"In a seemingly desperate attempt to clear out stocks."

    Yup, we all know how beleaguered Apple, Inc. is that they are desperate to clear stock.
  • MurphyMac, on 04/20/2008, -0/+24I'd say people in the UK know a lot more about mobile phones than people in the USA, and they're just being 3G patient. People in the USA have had the iPhone temptation longer than the UK. By the time the UK was "officially" offered the iPhone - the 3G launch seemed more like an imminent reality. They just need to wait it out a little longer, and they know that. Plus the UK is used to 3G.
    • streak, on 04/20/2008, -8/+3"I'd say people in the UK know a lot more about mobile phones than people in the USA"
      You're right about everything but that.

      Many, many factors could have contributed to the lower-than-expected demand. Lateness to the party with lack of 3G have got to be on the list, as well as the hefty price reduction just a few weeks after introduction in the U.S.

      As for blogger's Number 3 ("They haven't done anything about it"): in the business world, a deal is a deal. If a service provider contracted for a certain quantity of merchandise, then that's the deal. No iffs ands or butts, unless specified in the contract. And why should Apple tell the world what terms they're negotiating for the 3G iPhone--or what they negotiated for the original iPhone for that matter?
    • streak, on 04/20/2008, -6/+5Let's look at O2's tariffs on the Nokia N95 8GB and compare with the iPhone.
      On an 18 month contract at 35 pounds/month for 600 minutes, the N95 is FREE. But the contract includes NO Internet. Unlimited web browsing costs an additional 7.50/month. Over 18 months, that's 135 pounds. No mention of e-mail support, but let's (rightfully/wrongfully?) assume it's included. You want unlimited Wi-Fi? That will be another 135 pounds. Total: 270 pounds above the price of the basic tariff.

      O2's minimum 18 month contract for iPhone costs 35 pounds/month and includes 600 minutes and unlimited web+email+wifi. The 8 GB iPhone itself is 169 pounds. (Before the price reduction, the iPhone cost 269 pounds).

      Difference: iPhone is less expensive by 101 pounds.
    • vinnyvenus, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3There are lot of positives of about cell phone industry in UK but there are a lot of negatives too. For example, if I call someone from my land line to someone's cellphone I have pay 15p (approx 30 cents) per min. Think about it, how many Americans will be pissed off if they had to pay 30 cents a min to call somebody on their cellphone using there land line. I know this because right now I am on a temporary assignment in London.
      Also price wise,I can get much cheaper rate in the US especially for voice than I can get here. There no unlimited that I know of of but I can get $99 unlimited voice plan in the US.
  • streak, on 04/20/2008, -8/+3Apparently the blogger can't fathom paying something for unlimited Internet, because the cost of Internet is the only reason the iPhone might seem pricey. For anyone not familiar with the costs of cellular data plans--especially unlimited data plans--they can be very expensive. Without the cost of unlimited Internet, the iPhone would be cheaper than all other smart phones, even "subsidized" ones. With unlimited Internet, the iPhone is actually less expensive than all other smart phones. In the U.S., the overall cost of iPhone is less than that of all other smart phones supported by AT&T and Verizon. The iPhone unlimited data plan is $20/month plus taxes, versus $40/month plus taxes for all other smart phones (on both AT&T and Verizon). Over a 2 year contract period, the iPhone savings are enough to pay for a 16 GB iPhone or for an 8 GB iPhone and the Verizon early termination fee. If O2's tariffs with data plans for their other smart phones are compared with iPhone, the iPhone wins overall on price.
    But if you're an average consumer, the cost of a data plan will seem too much.
  • estvir, on 04/20/2008, -1/+27The article in a nutshell: "American consumers are suckers."

    Another thing upon many that is different; there isn't a mindless Apple cult in Europe or at least nowhere near as large as the US.

    Another mobile phone related thing, why the hell do you pay to RECEIVE calls in the US?? It just doesn't make any sense.. :s
    • streak, on 04/20/2008, -14/+1In the U.S. we ostensibly pay to receive cellular calls because: (1) it costs the service provider the same to send and to receive; and (2) it relieves the caller of having to know if the number being called is mobile and will incur an exorbitant fee. The U.S. convention actually makes more sense.
      Face it: Brits are Luddites and--like a deer caught in headlights--they don't know when to buy.

      • Azimuth1, on 04/20/2008, -1/+21Hold on, what? You have to pay to *receive* calls in the US? That's normality to you guys?

        Jesus ***** Christ...
        • streak, on 04/20/2008, -9/+1Judas ***** Jesus, do you get out much? It's weird to charge someone to call your cell phone, when it costs a small fortune to do so and the caller mightn't know it until they see their bill, but it sure raises a lot of money for favorite charities like O2 and Vodafone. In the U.S., we invented this newfangled technology named "CallerID" that lets us selectively answer calls. Ever heard of it? And in-coming calls all cost the same, whether they're from within the country or international. We also have DoNotCall registries to minimize spam calls, which are generally an annoyance even if you don't have to pay for them.
        • xaeon, on 04/20/2008, -0/+12@streak
          No matter how you try to justify it, charging someone to receive a call is just madness. It's not very difficult for someone to realise that when they call a number beginning with 07 it's going to be a mobile. They're calling you, so it's their responsibility to pay for that. We have caller ID as well, but that's because we want to know who's calling before we answer, not because we wanna work out whether we have enough money to answer the call.

          There's absolutely no way the US convention makes more sense.
      • stotty, on 04/20/2008, -0/+5@streak
        "charities like O2 and Vodafone.", pardon???!
    • dukeeeey, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2the iphone has a tonne of competition in the UK
      plus it's super expensive so go figure
  • dkontrec, on 04/20/2008, -2/+8iPhone is relatively expensive in the UK (compared to US - even with shipping). So, people are ordering it from US, and are unlocking it, so they don't have to pay high fees to the operator that go along with the contract.
    The only reason why iPhone is so popular in US, and not in Europe, is it's price. The whole world uses american iPhones :).
    • streak, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1The 8 GB iPhone costs $399. That's ~200 pounds. O2's current price is 169 pounds. O2's cheapest iPhone tariff at 35 pounds/month includes unlimited Internet (web+email) and unlimited Wi-Fi. The only way to get off cheaper in the UK by buying a U.S. phone is by eliminating the data plan. You then lose the mobile Internet and visual voicemail. And considering the UK's reputation for having poor Wi-Fi coverage, you're losing out on a lot. (See my post above for an outline of how the iPhone is actually 101 pounds cheaper than the N95 on O2's network, contrary to the blogger's statement that the iPhone is more expensive).
      • streak, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1It's just a few percent, but I neglected to mention sales tax on the $399 price, whereas O2's 169 price for the iPhone includes the huge VAT. Now, how does a "U.S." iPhone come out cheaper in the UK?
        By the way, AT&T's cheapest iPhone plan is $59.99 + taxes per month. Those taxes are significant and raise the price to about $70/month, which is comparable to O2's 35 pounds/month.
    • Ryan0617, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1We have to pay higher taxes in the UK, much like most of Europe.
  • rickcarson, on 04/20/2008, -9/+2Are we supposed to take this as serious analysis? This guy doesn't even have the attention span of a goldfish, otherwise he'd realise that his point #2 is utter bollocks.

    Apple made their iPhone deal with _Cingular_ _NOT_ AT&T. Cingular then went and got bought out by AT&T, which could be why the relationship between AT&T and Apple is a bit rocky at times. Apple had the opportunity to choose AT&T and they chose someone else instead... and then ended up getting stuck with AT&T anyway.

    This is not entirely unlike expecting to marry Cinderella and ending up with one of the ugly sisters instead.

    Moreover, if the various monthly plans for the iPhone are "teh sux", how is this Apple's fault? Having lived in the UK and shopped around for a cellphone I can state from personal experience that these companies are all just as bad as the others. Opening it up to competition gives you more choice it is true, but when the choice is between "bad, evil and wrong"... what have you really gained?

    • streak, on 04/20/2008, -3/+1It's serious analysis from an ignoramus. Take it for what it's worth.
  • greydonkey, on 04/20/2008, -9/+3It's not been a disaster at all. The guy who wrote the article is an idiot who doesn't understand anything about the mobile phone industry.
  • xenzo, on 04/20/2008, -2/+6@rickcarson

    You are saying Apple didn't know about the merger? Didn't know it would make AT&T the biggest network? Fool.
  • cave, on 04/20/2008, -6/+5Maybe by the time the iPhone finally came out in europe, all of Europe's Apple fans had already bought an american iPhone?
  • Dumbledorito, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Daleks?
  • loulan, on 04/20/2008, -1/+3Well, I'm not sure about the UK in particular, but I think that the fact that 3G coverage is better in western Europe than in the US (probably due to the higher population density) played an important role in this.
  • digitalpencil, on 04/20/2008, -1/+5simple.. it's too expensive. I'd love an iPhone but i'm not about to pay £270 for one on top of an 18-month contract at £35 when you only get 600mns and 500 txts. Screw that, we're used to getting pretty sweet phones for free with 12 month contracts with loads of texts and mins. My D90 was free and the 12 mnth contract costs me £25/month and i get something like 1200 txts and 600 mins.
    iPhone's are cool but most people have got iPods and camera phones anyway so there's really no point at prices like these.
  • TheAcidQueen, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3While those are very true, the main reason is that most of the people who wanted an iPhone in the UK simply bought an American model and unlocked it. By the time it was released, the only people buying it were people who didn't know much about it and people who were scared of unlocking it.

    Simple.
  • plasticated, on 04/20/2008, -1/+4I bought a US model and hacked it (like most people). To be honest, as much as I like my iPhone I think many people look at it against other models and see it just doesn't match up with the competition. That lovely Apple brand aside, the features just don't cut it. No video. No MMS. Can't forward numbers. No 3G. No cut and paste etc etc. Add to that the rather crazy pricing and over zealous contract and you have the reason why takeup has been slow.
    • mrloco, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2i have never seen anyone use video call when they were sober tbh.
  • Picer, on 04/20/2008, -1/+2It can not touch other phones for features, no GPS, 3G, MMS (that lack of MMS =stoneage) however it has the best usability, but what point is usability if there are hardly any features, also @streak how can you call us luddites for being more consumer aware and not swallowing the horse-***** fed to you by companies in the US.

    The iPhone failed because:
    -Way to expensive
    -Lack of features
    -Not competitive due to above.
  • McReynolds, on 04/20/2008, -2/+2American culture does not equal European culture. Europeans look much beyond the glitter of products and they hate paying premiums. For the iphone to captivate them the way it did to us Americans, everything from the product to the service would have to be just about right.
  • staffell, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Two letters:

    3G
  • borez, on 04/20/2008, -0/+31. It's on O2: a completely ***** network compared to T-mobile and Orange ( Bad choice Apple )

    2. I'm not gonna pay for a phone..that's a totally alien concept in the UK

    3. No 3G

    I can get a 3G Nokia N73 or N95 on T-mobile for free and pay £7 a month for an anytime, any amount of data, high speed internet connection on a 6 month contract.

    Or pay way over the top for an iphone on a bollocks network, a slow internet connection and a stupid 18 month contract

    Bit of a no brainer really

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