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iPhone announced for Australia, New Zealand & 8 Others

engadget.com — Vodafone's just got a tiny, minor, insignificant announcement to make this morning: it's signed with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten markets, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy (so much for Telecom Italia), India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Expect the phone later this year -- that's all we know for no

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  • zanejhetam, on 05/06/2008, -12/+4Yes! Apple finally did it!
    • mistergoodburge, on 05/06/2008, -5/+2nice witty comment
    • prophetpimp, on 05/06/2008, -7/+1They didn't need to do it. they could have sold the iPhone for 600 to 800 $ in most of these places and it would still have sold well. Carrier lock in suck monkey ballz.
  • adrianc1982, on 05/06/2008, -14/+71,132,446,000 only in india!!!! thats a little over 16% of the world population1!!!
    • ZeroNeo, on 05/06/2008, -9/+7Yeah, i'm pretty sure most of them will be willing to spend 600$ on a gadget.
      • srikanthp, on 05/06/2008, -2/+11Heh heh, lots of Indians already own the iPhone. Even if it is a brick and does not support their carrier. It is a status symbol. Imported from the US of A. Well, why not? After all, if you can have an American salary, why can you NOT afford the iPhone?
        • deadmantalkin, on 05/06/2008, -1/+6So true. Also, Vodafone's price is rumored to be about Rs. 28000 (about $700), while the iPhone can be bought unlocked in any of the key metro cities for about Rs. 20000 (about $500). Why would anyone shell out the extra cash, even if might well be the 3G version? Plus, Indians aren't ga-ga over the iPhone anymore. These guys are way too late in introducing the iPhone. It has kinda lost the shiny mojo it had when it first launched, even though it is still a fantastic and altogether sexy device.
      • johnpaul191, on 05/06/2008, -1/+12India is one of those countries where a lot of the population falls on extreme financial situations. i generalize, but the poor are very poor and the wealthy are insanely wealthy. The wealthy people would not think twice about $600 or even $1600 if it was something they thought they wanted.
        • dysonlu, on 05/06/2008, -5/+1So, how many are extremely wealthly? Can you give numbers? Just because you read in the Web that some Indians have bought unlocked iPhones doesn't mean a significant number (100K, millions) of Indians can afford one.
      • supermanred, on 05/06/2008, -2/+21ZeroNeo, the iPhone is a hot item in India already. I suggest you stop watching CNN which makes every country in the world look like the third world and America the greatest country on earth. Other countries do have people able to afford a bloody 400 dollar phone.
        • dysonlu, on 05/06/2008, -9/+1So, how many Indians have an iPhone or can afford one? Can you give numbers? Just because you read in the Web that some Indians have bought unlocked iPhones doesn't mean a significant number (100K, millions) of Indians can afford one. Out of 300M+ Americans, probably more than half can afford one, but how many actually bought one?
        • doctordbx, on 05/06/2008, -2/+0I was in Mumbai a few months ago... and the extreme poverty and slums certainly made it look like a 3rd world country.
        • ZeroNeo, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1That's why I said "most", the way adrianc exposed india population (1,132,446,000 or 16% of the word popoluation, like he said) would make it seem that getting into the indian market would mean a huge market share and sales increase for apple. I'm pretty aware how the situation is, and you should agree, that the average joe cannot afford to buy an iphone. Yes, there are very rich and very rich people in india, but the majority (of those 1,132,446,000) are not.
    • prophetpimp, on 05/06/2008, -2/+5out of that 1illion plus onl to 50 million have the disposable income for such spending. even then its quite a sizeable chunk.
      • supermanred, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2What?
      • dysonlu, on 05/06/2008, -4/+1OK, 50M Indians have disposable income. How many of those are willing to buy a 500$ phone? Out of 300M+ Americans, probably more than 80% have disposable income, but how many actually bought an iPhone?

        I'm not questioning Apple strategy (it's always wise to have one foot inside the door) but right now, India is not a significant market for a 500$ phone.
      • freeo2iphone, on 05/06/2008, -5/+0Simply visit http://www.freeo2iphone.co.uk for further information on claiming your free iPhone and to watch a BBC Newsnight report into the legitimacy of the the website.

        In 3 simple steps you can claim your no contract, free iPhone and it won't even have to cost you a single penny. There's no commitment or risk - simply visit http://www.freeo2iphone.co.uk for more information
  • Shreyasva, on 05/06/2008, -4/+6time to buy some tents and camping equipment
  • OSJunky, on 05/06/2008, -4/+16This also means that Apple is no longer going carrier exclusive. TIM also will carry the iPhone in Italy. Telstra will also carry it in Australia.
    http://blogs.computerworld.com/iphone_goes_global_ ...
    • NeoRicen, on 05/06/2008, -4/+2There's NEVER been a solid rumour that Telstra is carrying the iPhone, it was only assumed because they're the only EDGE carrier in Australia. For a 3G phone Optus has had a pretty solid rumour and now Vodafone has announced it's carrying it. I do agree that it looks like carrier exclusivity is dead though. All the evidence is talking to non-exclusive subsidised phones for carriers and unlocked phones from Apple and Resellers.
    • wildmannz, on 05/06/2008, -1/+3Yeah - I'm not so sure about TIM - and DEFINITELY don't believe that Telstra has got the iPhone. Otherwise - why wouldn't Vodafone get the UK as well?
      Good news though. More iPhones for everyone - and more European countries will be added during the year.
    • rickcarson, on 05/06/2008, -0/+5Actually, there are senior executives at Telstra on record as saying that they don't think much of the iPhone and they aren't interested.

      They are decommissioning the Edge network. This does kind of make the current iPhone a non-starter from their point of view, while simultaneously having the benefit of torqing off a bunch of people in rural communities who won't get 3G access, and thus will be phoneless when Edge is yanked (sic) out from under them.

      Telstra - maximising evil since 1999
  • microft, on 05/06/2008, -8/+3damn... now my girlfriend is going to get one......
    • mistergoodburge, on 05/06/2008, -7/+4Dugg for Inaccurate...I had too
  • estvir, on 05/06/2008, -7/+2Uh, Vodafone? Come on Apple.. There's Optus, Telstra and others. :/ I don't feel like switching providers again. :x

    Aside from that disappointment, we need a date and some prices, stat.
  • TaKBiR, on 05/06/2008, -17/+4Cool I don't care
    • aamir2, on 05/06/2008, -1/+7TakBir, normally when you don't care about a story you don't bother clicking the link and you surely do not post in the thread.
    • MxM111, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2Why is it cool that you do not care?
    • wowpeanuts, on 05/06/2008, -0/+0i don't care that you don't care
  • mistergoodburge, on 05/06/2008, -6/+3Why they hating on North Africa? WTF
    • johnpaul191, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1It's either the issue of ramping up production, or negotiating the deals. possibly both. It's also possible those newer territories will jump right to the 3G phones (if that's what the given region uses). I am curious to see what happens in Japan, since they are way into the CDMA network.
    • MxM111, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2Can somebody translate this for me? (I understand the last, abbreviated part though)
  • seandfeeney, on 05/06/2008, -9/+1dugg even though I never go over seas...
  • pcronin, on 05/06/2008, -10/+52no Canada? wtf?
    • cmer, on 05/06/2008, -5/+24Canada is the worst when it comes to mobile technology. At this rate, Borat's Kazakhstan will get it before us!
    • ttntyler, on 05/06/2008, -1/+6http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=16042925 ...
    • yeahright, on 05/06/2008, -0/+22Uh, Rogers confirmed it was bringing it to Canada last week...
      http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/04/29/its_ ...

      PS. We don't have Vodafone in Canada...
    • mizike, on 05/06/2008, -4/+5I really can't blame apple for taking so long with Canada; having to choose between Bell and Rogers is like choosing between a punch in the face and a kick in the balls.....The Canadian telecom market is beyond pathetic....
      • TopDigger19, on 05/06/2008, -1/+3Bell is cdma, but ya, either way, canada sucks balls for wireless providers and data rate costs
    • sedawk, on 05/06/2008, -2/+2"Uh, Rogers confirmed it was bringing it to Canada last week..."

      With no solid time-line or details. Rogers has eff-uped this process from the start. Instead of working hard with Apple to release this product that has great consumer demand, they took e a "wait and see" attitude (quote from cbc.ca news). When negotiations did start they acted like buffoons - trying to deal like it was 1998 and they were selling a Rogers branded Star-Tac. No wonder our wireless costs, up until recently, was over 10 times higher than almost all other countries.
      • Canuck, on 05/06/2008, -2/+1It isn't up to Rogers to set the time-line or details, that is up to Apple. The announcement that came out a week or so ago stated that Apple would not allow them to give any more information than the fact the iPhone is coming this year. The same as what was stated in this article. I'm guessing that Steve will announce the date for all the countries in June.
        • sedawk, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2"The announcement that came out a week or so ago stated that Apple would not allow them to give any more information than the fact the iPhone is coming this year."

          That would be a NO. For your education the announcement is posted below. No where does it mention Apple "not allowing" Rogers to give anymore information.

          TORONTO, April 29 /CNW/ - Ted Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Communications Inc. today issued the following statement:
          We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.

          END
    • Zippo, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2I don't see much in the way of progress in Canada for the iPhone until a 3G iPhone is released... and even then, you can bet your ass that Bell and/or Rogers is going to make the iPhone ridiculously expensive.
    • pcronin, on 05/06/2008, -0/+4"rogers confirmed"
      HA
      las time rogers actually confirmed something, was the bringing back of the 60GB/month (up and down combined) limits on their crap ISP service.

      I've had "confirmations" from rogers about a good many products and services over the years. They either out and out LIED to get the sale, or one department said yes, and the other department said no.

      "The barrier to the iPhone in Canada is not Apple," said Michael Geist, Canada research chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa. "Rather, it is the lack of wireless competition that [...] leads to pricing that places Canadians at a significant disadvantage compared with other developed countries."
      Dr Geist is correct. we NEED another company to come in, put up their own towers, and offer proper cell service.
      what passes for service from bell and rogers here is deplorable
      if there was ONE company that came in and said "we offer x y and z, and have NO affiliation with bell or rogers" and were truthfull about it, there would be a mass exodus from bell/rogers. (especially in Atlantic Canada, where NBTel was once a world leader in telcom, only to be swallowed by bell and it's "WTF do customers think they are" attitude)

      Telus is bell.
      Virgin Mobile is bell
      Fido is rogers

      there is NO escape.
  • jessestorm, on 05/06/2008, -7/+15Canada?
  • xeos, on 05/06/2008, -3/+5Oh come on. MALAYSIA!
  • shyboy2008, on 05/06/2008, -21/+4I use my current iphone as a dildo...............a dildo.............a dildo.............a dildo...............a dildo............a dildo..........a dildo
    • LemmingJesus, on 05/06/2008, -2/+3Is there some new catch phrase I missed?
    • aaronmcdonald, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2your not funny..........funny..........funny..........funny..........funny..........funny..........funny
  • exonyte, on 05/06/2008, -5/+8Canada eh?
  • DaviDaviDaviD, on 05/06/2008, -6/+4Still no Canada, wow they real do have it in for our friends over here...
  • Yasihiko, on 05/06/2008, -7/+6Where the hell is the Canada love?!
  • delau, on 05/06/2008, -2/+10All the fanboys down here in NZ own hacked iphones already. It's pretty simple with vodafone.
    • bingo000, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1I know of at least 5 people who already operate iphone on a Vodafone network down under.
    • Flashman, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1None of them have G3 iPhones, do they?
    • revenz, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1yeah but theres no decent internet plan for them at the moment, so using your iphone on the internet (and not through a wifi point) is far too expensive. hopefully this means they will offer a plan for unlimited internet or something like AT&T.
  • phenom2k7, on 05/06/2008, -11/+3Nuviphone > iphone, bye.
  • este, on 05/06/2008, -1/+0now how about montana
  • coresnake, on 05/06/2008, -11/+1***** vodaphone and ***** apple
    • supermanred, on 05/06/2008, -2/+7Why ***** Apple? They havent really been fighting against the whole "unlock" thing... :)
      • coresnake, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Yeh except programming each update to reject it and making iphones blow up when someone tries to hard hack them...
  • hereisjohnny, on 05/06/2008, -2/+5How about Latin America!? We always go last : (
    • supermanred, on 05/06/2008, -0/+3Buy it, unlock it (use iJailbreak on your mac it is a one-button, 30 second task)

      then use any SIM card that is compatible with an "unlocked GSM phone"

      You would have to find a trustworthy seller on eBay who isn't going to gouge you. Best bet would be to have a relative in the US buy one for you and ship it over.
    • luchid, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2From my experience, lots of people here in Argentina have one, unlocked and fully running on all three carriers. Some (like me) had to install the Appsupport patch from Installer to fix stupid technical decisions by one of the carriers (Claro) regarding Caller ID, but everything else works perfectly.
    • metara, on 05/06/2008, -0/+3YOU go last? Try living in Eastern Europe : !
    • heystoopid, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2Alas the evil Vodafone in 2005 has established a joint partnership with a Mexican based América Móvil so it will probably be activated on that particular network in South America proper !
  • HorseloverFat8, on 05/06/2008, -7/+2BRILLIANT, there's no Vodaphone reception at my house.
    • geekchic, on 05/06/2008, -0/+7Not surprising - as there isn't a company called Vodaphone to offer coverage.

      Try switching to Vodafone instead.
      • HorseloverFat8, on 06/04/2008, -0/+0You're hilarious.

        Vodafone coverage isn't the best in Australia.
    • heystoopid, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1In the US hegemony it is called Verizon Wireless !
  • supermanred, on 05/06/2008, -2/+11Im in Canada, they are rumoring to be selling it here soon for $399 with a 3 year contract at $97 dollars a month.

    I went to the US, bought one for $399 and use a "pay-as-you-go" sim card for $24 dollars a month.

    Suck it, Rogers.
    • mrthebunny, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2Of course, by doing this you're losing 2 of iPhone's greatest features (IMHO) :
      - Visual voicemail (ok it's a gadget, but it's a nice gadget!)
      - Internet wherever you go by EDGE (unless you're prepared to pay an astonishing bill...)

      So apart from the "brag-to-your-friends" factor, why didn't you just get an iPod Touch?

      (ohandyoudovoidthewarrantybutwhocaresreallythatsjustsmalldetails...)
    • pcronin, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1Suck it, Rogers

      because you've managed to get a SIM phone working on Bell?
      you're still paying rogers bud.
  • bj00rn, on 05/06/2008, -1/+4There are some odd markets there... What about scandinavia :(
  • mightycbu, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2no official iPhone for the Netherlands :'(
    but they already swarm here unofficially!
  • JoeBaynham, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1Heh I would digg it but it was submitted by glenn wolsey.
  • Sushubh, on 05/06/2008, -2/+2india? awesome. i might get it if its not overpriced as their macs. but it would be anyways.
  • freeo2iphone, on 05/06/2008, -8/+0Simply visit http://www.freeo2iphone.co.uk for further information on claiming your free iPhone and to watch a BBC Newsnight report into the legitimacy of the the website.

    In 3 simple steps you can claim your no contract, free iPhone and it won't even have to cost you a single penny. There's no commitment or risk - simply visit http://www.freeo2iphone.co.uk for more information
  • rowlodge, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2good for them, no advantage for me though.
  • karolisonline, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2eh.. what about other European countries? This is good example why google is more successful then yahoo or microsoft is so successful in OS. You have to be friendly with everyone. It is not nice to let something to somenone and deny from another.
    • Rauby, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2I agreed. WTF Apple. What about rest of Europe (Union)?
  • dagamer34, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1What about carrier exclusivity in the US? I WANT MY T-MOBILE iPHONE DAMN IT!
    • NotaFanboy87, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0Why don't you ask T-Mobile? Surely they'll laugh at you like they laughed at Apple. "It'll never sell." What a bunch of jerkoffs. ***** American Cell Networks and their evolutionary approach to technology.
  • Viriatus2, on 05/06/2008, -2/+1iphone? bury!
  • SkinBintin, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1Holy crap! I can't wait to get one!

    THANK YOU VODAFONE! The sooner the iPhone officially hits New Zealand, the better.
  • freeman2910, on 05/06/2008, -0/+0Hope Slovakia is coming soon :D
  • metara, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2Congraualations Apple, just keeping me in business selling unlocked iPhones in Eastern Europe (Y)
  • heystoopid, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Ah yes , I remember Vodafone well , the top ten in management at foundation have resumes that look like who was whom from the British Government Cheltenham GCE Communications eavesdropping department (English version of NSA with some extra very large vampire fangs ) !

    Further , they were extremely deep into spying on friendly governments that were tilted slightly to the left from their corrupted limited point of view and as instructed by their real masters to this day and were heavily involved in adding clandestine additional switching gear at telephone exchanges to ghost important Greek Government telephone numbers after the popular uprising and overthrow of the very evil repressive Greek Army Colonels which at that time had the full and absolute support of the English Military as Greece was the cornerstone for NATO ! (it would seem wherever Vodafone goes ghost numbers always exist with them)

    Unfortunately a Telephone Engineer who was later assassinated in strange circumstances by MI6 operatives acting on orders from very senior elected UK official since deposed and also good bum buddy to the current DC Chimp or so it would seem blew them out of the water and exposed their dirty tricks to the public view !

    Vodafone(aka Verizon Wireless in the US) , are the English very evil insidious version of A T & T but only with much deeper roots into spying and monitoring their own customers directly and indirectly but only more so and are deeper in bed with all spies then you think you know !

    Do you ever wonder why Verizon practically leaped into the bed with the DC chimp back in 2001 to spy on fellow Amerikans with little or no direct prompting whilst ignoring all laws and legal impediments like the 1986 US Telecommunications Privacy Act , now you know why !

    The old story is buyer beware and be very wary of this evil English based telephone company that has a long traditional history of spying , monitoring and profiling it's own customers from day one , that makes AT&T look like a bunch of saints in comparison !

    Vodafone are evil incarnate and can burn in hell first , before I would sign up on one of their bloodsucking contracts and extremely crappy limited erratic mobile coverage !

    Or as some would say , how soon and how quickly some suckers overlook the obvious , never ceases to amaze me !

    Some choices whilst they look like a good idea at the time , can be very evil indeed in the long term !
    • Lemon, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Let's see, the same could be said about: Coke (where do you start on those pricks?), McDonalds, Ford, any petrol company in existence, I mean *****... can anyone name an international corporation that has never engaged in shady dealings?

      But thanks for the update. We know *****'s ***** up.

      When speaking to "crimes against humanity" in the telecoms sector I don't know that Vodafone is top of the list to be honest... maybe start with your local monopoly.
    • blueintrigue, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0aahaaaa
      sorry i dozed off while reading your comment
      no offence please
  • mastazed, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1bout time
  • dalesmatrix, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2I wonder if apple can encourage vodaphone Australia to have a more aggressively priced data plan. Currently it's $49.95 for 300MB data only(+ your normal monthly phone plan) I'm still hoping Three carry it here in Australia, as that's the only way I'm going to be able to use the iPhone with a decent data plan here.
    • TrendyTim, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1If they did (and it was a 3g phone) it may actually persuade me to get an iPhone to replace my trusty old Nokia 6310i (and thats saying something, since i dislike pretty much anything apple)
  • waz67, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Doesn't anyone else think that it's complete and utter BS that I can't just buy an iPhone or any other phone for that matter, and put it on whatever carrier I want (as long as the network supports that type of device that is)? Yeah, I know I can jailbreak it or whatever, but it's the principle of this that I find abhorrent.
  • enterneo, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1HELL YEAH!
  • Sinudeity, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1WOOOHOOO!!! South Africa FTW!!!
  • joshie3183, on 05/07/2008, -1/+0This is weird for Australia, Vodaphone has a 3g network, and Telstra have a 2g with edge network or a 3.5g network.

    What the hell iphone is gonna run on those? So Telstra could be getting the old 2g phone and Voda the new 3g one?

    Whatever happens the data costs are gonna be stupidly big here anyway so its going to be hobbled from the start.
    • ziggotron, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1What are you on about, Telstra has a 3G network. Basically all the major providers in Australia do (Optus, 3 and Vodafone).
  • polko, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1finally!!!
  • thecreativeguy, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0OMG!! I live in NZ And i have been waiting for this for AGES and vodafone has said that they wouldnt be bringing it out hen i asked but now i can be HAPPY
  •  

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