Credit Suisse: Vodafone likely to carry (3G?) iPhone in Europe
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jun 27th 2007 6:01AM
posted Jun 27th 2007 6:01AM
According to a Credit Suisse research note, Vodafone is the frontrunner to carry sole rights to the iPhone in Europe due to their coverage in most European markets. Fine, we've heard this before. The difference this time, however, is an accompanying "confirmation" of a mostly done-deal by way of anonymous Vodafone sources to Europe's Bright Magazine. The story is also being carried by Europe's mainstram media including reputable Dutch news site, nu.nl. Of course, if Apple's going to sell 6 million European iPhones in the next 3 years as expected by Credit Suisse, then you can bet that little slab will be sporting a 3G radio for data-happy Europe. Apple already promised Europe an iPhone in Q4 and, funny enough, 5 million units of the 2nd generation iPhone are rumored to begin shipping from Taiwan in September. Surely, Stevie boy won't release a 3G iPhone in Europe without spreading the love Stateside will he? But let's not get too far ahead ourselves, mkay, it's all just speculation heaped upon rumor at this point. [Via MacDailyNews, thanks Beef S. and William M.]
Read -- Bright (Dutch)
Read -- Credit Suisse
Read -- Nu.nl (Dutch)
I still don't understand the nagging about lack of 3G in the US - there's still not enough coverage to use it.
I don't need USA wide 3G, just my home city where I spend 90% of the time.. and guest what, we do have 3G here... so I will await a 2nd Generation iPhone.
Never tried Sprint's EVDO network, I see. The only places I've seen it unavailable are rural spots.
iphone is taking over the world like alexander the great.
no ichat, no video, no 3g, to real internet, no battery replacement, no mms, no copy paste, no sling mobile, no mp3 ringtones, no thanks
BUT IT HAZ THUH TUCH SKREEN!
so, you're trying to say that for once the UK actually get a new gadget before the US?
.... ha suckers! I can't wait to get my 3G superfast iphone :)
Europe will reject this technological relic still stuck in the past. We after all are swamped with excellent quality phones at low prices (eg. Nokia N73 free with 12 months contract for $60 a month, activation fee not needed).
BTW, Vodafone (and Orange) are well known to cripple phones. I guess they won't need any help disabling functions from the Iphone when there isn't anything left to disable.
Yeah exactly. Still you have to wonder about the amount of branding vodafone would introduce. Most of their phones in the UK are absolutely useless unless you debrand them.
@ js
Not exactly true. I have been on O2 for a number of years (before that Vodafone for five years). All the phones I received from them (Sony Ericssons, Nokias and XDAs), while branded (just a couple of screensavers and wallpapers), has no functionalities removed.
My S-E K700, K750i and XDA mini S and Exec were even factory unlocked, much to my surprise! Helped a lot whenever I sell the phone off!
It's weird to see everybody everywhere complaining about lack of features in the iPhone compared to the N95 for example....sure, the Nokia N-series has video calling, 5Mpix cameras, 3G, GPS and so on....but have you ever tried to actually use them??? I can tell you they are a total pain in the back side. Both Nokia and Ericsson os's are sssslllooooowww, clunky and buggy. And they get more slow, clunky and buggy everytime a new feature is added (read: glued on top) to the newest model.
Here in Finland everybody has a video call enabled 3g phone, but does any one actually use the feature? No.Does the GPS in N95 actually work in a moving car? In my experience, no. Does it cost extra? You betcha. Do I ever use 3G internet? No, 'cause everywhere there's FREE wifi and the current "browsers" in Nokias totally suck - they have nothing or little to actually do with the internet.
So for everyone complaining about the European market being loaded with more feature rich phones, trust a Finn and take the iPhone for what it is - a multimedia devide you'll actually WANT to use. I for one will change my E90 for it in a heart beat.
@FlyingFinn,
Before the N95 came out I remember how many Apple apologists were invading almost every non-Apple smartphone posts, touting how it would be feature rich, and now that it is clear that it can't even hold a candle against free phones in terms of functionalities you guys come up and say "we do not need this and that".
BTW not everywhere has free WiFi. And yes I have used the N95 and love it. But I still prefer surfing the web, downloading RSS feeds and phoning on Skype on my 1 1/2 year old XDA Exec with its 3.5" VGA screen.
I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there's nothing reputable about nu.nl, it's just a scuzzy news aggregator with a heavy accent on gossip. Vodafone, or indeed any major carrier, would be great news though.
this is good news, as it means more certainty for it to come to Hong Kong (well, not that I've ever doubted, but still) as Vodafone has acquired SmarTone not too long ago.
But I highly doubt I'll be opening my wallet anytime soon as I don't think the 1st gen iphone can replace my Razr V6 maxx (3.5G BABY!). And yes, HK is covered with 3G ENTIRELY, even the MTR (or tube or metro or underground or 'the place you get *grass*', depending on where you live).
the iPhone will probably have to come with HSDPA for it to succeed seeing as thats were nokia and se are heading..
Mhuk01, the european cellphone market is way ahead of what we have in the US. They laugh at 3G. And don't let me start with Japan.
Aside from Europe though, I think it's a slap in the face for Apple to release an EDGE phone in the US then go a quarter or 2 later and release a 3G in Europe.
That just sucks.
"And don't let me start with Japan"
Yep- I have a Japanese phone (Toshiba 904T) and I love it. 3.2MP camera (prints out 8x10 prints just fine) QVGA screen, GPS (not so much but it works), QR code (pretty big thing for me- type my web addresses on my computer and print out the resulting barcodes to scan with the phone instead of typing in those long URLs on that keypad), and a decent music player (if I hadn't broke the headphone port some months ago I'd still be using it). Oh, and the flip+twist screen- I can hold it like a real camera when I take photos as well as watch full screen video. Better than the iPhone (seriously, that touch keyboard is no good, and I prefer real keys; don't want iTunes integration since it takes up too many system resources) and cheaper too (it cost me $300 unsubsidized, and no contract either).
The European market is different to the US and exclusives never work here. Vodafone may be one of the biggiest providers in Europe but it does not hold the biggest number of subscribers. We have plenty of network choice and plenty of providers. Only died hard must-haves will move to Vodafone for a phone like this but even then not at the same restrictive and costly subscription agreements seen in the US.
Additonally Vodafone never release new phones without extensive testing on thier own network for a few months.
Apple will have to work hard to encourage more networks to take the phone, not restrict to one.
My guess: locked from Vodafone with included contract, unlocked from Apple Store with no visual voicemail or contract and same price.
Just a guess, tho.
Waiting for the first dude to start a Q in front of an Apple store in Paris already to stay in par with the Americans ;)
Oh yeah, we too have idiots over here, maybe twice as many than the US based on the number of iPhones expected to be sold here. :)
I'd be very, very surprised if Apple allowed a third-party brand ANY kind of customisation of the iPhone - with perhaps the exception of the default wallpaper.
Vodafone are well-known for both physically and digitally "badging" the handsets they carry but I think Apple will take a very strong stance on this.
To be fair to Vodafone they appear to have stopped "crippling" their handsets [eg. stopping Bluetooth for OBEX and thus forcing users to transfer data via the network] unlike Verizon in the USA.
I'd personally feel very let down if Europe didn't get a 3G device because, let's face it, over here we're about 36 months ahead of the US in terms of mobile usage.
I have to add, that with Apple's current subscription model the iPhone HAS TO come to Europe 3G enabled, 'because for example in Finland it is actually ILLEGAL to sell non-3G phones that are locked down(the idea behind this is that it's traditionally been illegal to sell operator-locked phones(you know, anti-competion issues) but about a year ago they allowed it to help 3G phones become more widely adopted. Thus this doesn't apply to non-3G phones.) So basically, if Apple wants to sell the iPhone in Finland with a special operator-bound deal it has to be a 3G phone. Period.
i can transfer things with obex fine on vzw...your living in the past
Exactly. When it has a REAL keyboard, then i'll consider it. 3G is a nice bump though.
As a serious side note. Vodafone, at least here in the CZE, is a very small operator which aims its services towards young people, mainly students, with very limited budgets for such services.
Therefore, I think, iPhone is comlpetely out of the question for such a ridiculous price of $500 USD! Nobody would buy it, seriously.
The two strongest operators here are O2 and T-Mobile (O2 is the leader in the business market), tehrefore those two are a bit more expensive, but provide some extra services, which would make a bit more sense to offer such a phone, because people who are on O2 or T-Mobile can, potentially, affort such a gadget. Then, again, iPhone is aimed towards fanboys, students and people who desperately want to be "in", so, Vodafone, in our case, is probably a better bet as O2 is very business oriented and T-Mobile is somewhere in-between.
I personally see iPhone, at least in my country, a not-so-hot deal. Especially if we aren't used to such long-term contracts (well, not in case of Vodafone).
I don't know. I personally started to not care about iPhone as soon as they revealed the lack of 3rd party apps. support/development, the lack of some of the must-have features etc... It's really ridiculous, so many nice hw innovations with so much sw degradation.
Besides, Apple, here in Europe, doesn't have such a strong possition. Well, they don't have almost any possition in comparison to the US market. We don't have Apple events, Apple stores or Apple fanboys here (at least not as many).
Vodafone may be expensive, but I've found their Customer Service to be second to none. I've had my problems, but they have always worked hard to rectify them quickly and in my book, that scores them well. I don't even mind their "branding". On my K800i, I think they did a pretty decent job of it.
To say it in a way the young folks unterstand: Voda iz teh 3vil!
They only have customer service once you cancel your contract (suddenly they notice you are a "premium customer", trying cheap, probably illegal tricks and clawing at you for weeks until you just have to get unfriendly with the poor callcenter slaves),
they brand everything to death (no, I have no desire to be an unpaid running ad for your company, thank you. No, I think my phones' maker had a much better idea about how this should look and work than your pathetic "we need to cut down on service cost so all better look the same" approach, thank you),
and their pricy "unlimited whatnot" plans mean that you will still pay through the nose whenever you dare texting or calling someone who is not on Vodafone, WHICH IS ABOUT 99% OF PEOPLE.
I had a Vodafone Toshiba V904T and a Sanyo V801SA and they weren't "branded to death". There's a "Vodafone Live!" hotkey on each phone, a physical Vodafone logo (smallish red Voda logo on the V904T, a label or something on the top-left of the V801SA saying "Vodafone Global Standard")and a Vodafone startup/shutdown animation for each. No real biggies for me- it's not like Vodafone inserted their own UI into the phones. I can switch between themes on both phones.
The only real "obnoxiousness" was found in the V801SA- won't let me manually enter GPRS settings.
Then again, Vodafone Japan (it's Softbank now) seems to be a bit of an odd duck compared to Vodafone Europe (and Smartone-Vodafone).
I've had several Vodafone phones. Yes the come with a special Vodafone menu that links to Vodafone services, most of which are convient. I've never had connection issues and customer service is good, could be better but acceptable none the less.
Don't ge me wrong — technically, Vodafone is very good. Very good quality of service in my experience.
I will say, though, that some of the Vodafone oddities rub me the wrong way. For example- Java apps are called "V-appli" on my Toshiba, and there's something called V-cast that won't work (some sort of push content service). The Vodafone Live menu is just the WAP browser on my phone, so I don't know what that "special Vodafone menu" is on the Euro phones. Other than that, my phone has served me well unlocked in China (China has no 3G- I really want to, at the very least, *try* videocalling).
after reading all the stuff the iPhone can't/won't/doesn't do I think I'll stick with Sony Ericsson 3G handsets thanks!
Here's how the Nokia N95
1:Downloads at 120kbs in HSDPA areas
2:Runs Tomtom
3:Lets me play Genesis/SNES roms full sound, full speed
4:Displays landranger maps at my position with built in GPS
5:Takes piccies at 5MP and has a flash to light the room
6:Hasnt got a destroyed touch screen from the keys in my pocket
Off topic: How well does Viewranger (assuming you are using VR) work on the N95? I have a friend who has it on his N80 and it works well with a Bluetooth GPS.
Thinking of trading in my N80 for a N95 and buying Viewranger for mountain biking. Can't beat having a GPS, phone, camera, cycle computer AND Ordnance Survey maps in one device!
Thanks. I e-mailed the developers (nice folks) last September and they promised that a Windows Mobile version will eventually be developed (though they are concentrating on S60v3 platform). I guess I will have to play the waiting game. But once the weather gets better and MTB season begins I guess it is time to upgrade to the N95!
I expected 02 to be the one to sell it, in Ireland anyway. If you want to buy a Apple Computer you generally have to go to a 02 Experience store.. which has an upstairs that only sells apple products. Then again I don't know the different between 02's i-mode and Vodafone's 3G. Eitherway I think the european market has much more phone users than America. I just doubt we'll ever see a pay as you go version of this phone.
Works great, of course not as well as my seperate Holox bluetooth, accuracy is the same but lock times are longer and you really need the flip open to get lock and then you can close it after that.
The bigger , brighter screen clinches it for me, my old N70 screen now looks like a postage stamp.
Viewranger shines on the N95 AND they let have free serial number for my new phone.
reasons why Apple need to get their act together to launch in the EU.
1: Video and picture messaging are a fairly big feature here, people want it.
2: 3G is something expected from an expensive phone, as are a wide selection of games and software.
3: accessable sim slot is a must.
4: people will not pay £300 for a phone that then requires a £30 a month contract here.
er...(4) ... rubbish, of course they will. Every SE smartphone that's ever come out has been £300 at launch.
@ Jerome, what are you smoking?
Sony Ericsson K810i (new) - free on any O2 tariffs on £20 (US$40) a month with £50 cashback. £100 cashback for £30 and above tariffs.
Sony Ericsson W880i (fairly new) - same as above
Nokia N95 (fairly new) - £130 with £30 a month T-Mobile 18 month tariff.
Samsung U600 (new) - free with £20 18 month tariff
Jon, a proper smartphone, like a P990, not a toy like a K810. They are not the iPhone's competitors. The closest you're getting is the N95 and a 3g iPhone makes it look like a 3110. They will fly off the shelves at £300 and i'll come back and share with you what i'm smoking.
I got my XDA Exec new when it was released in late 2005 for £150 with a £35 contract. Been surfing the web full style with UMTS and WiFi on my 3.5" VGA screen since then.
Still waiting for your June 2007 Iphone to catch up.
haha yes, yes, an XDA. Don't be ridiculous. Have you even seen how the iPhone works? You probably think it should have a 3.5" floppy drive.
Vodafone do a package where the total cost of the 18month contract is £575 for an N95 (phone is 'free'). If the prices do come across I'd rather get the N95 and spend the money saved on a laptop
I have seen the videos. It looks ghastly. Design also looks like a rip-off from Dell's own X5x series of PDAs.
Imagine trying to type on that thing while travelling on the tube.
While I do believe that Vodafone might be the company picked to carry the iPhone in England, they wont be able to cover Europe with it for two very simple reasons.
1) Vodafone doesn't excist in any of the Scandinavian countries.
2) Even if the company is called Vodafone in several countries, it has to be run as individual companies, and thus have to negotiate with every single country regardless.
So I for one will hold my horses till they first of all announce a 3G iPhone for the European market and till I get more carrier information about the country I live in.
hi..to all. i'm ronel from philippines. i have a vodafone model by sanyo V801SA. Can you give me the settings of vodafone live because when i go to internet,theres a message appeared "Info for this handset not retrieved"..can you help me? what is the code settings of this or the settings so that my internet will function...please...
WHAT ABOUT CANADA eh???
Everyone is saying that Vodafone criple and badge/brand their handsets. This is not completely true.
The last couple of handsets i've had from Vodafone have been completely unbranded and unlocked. No badges or logos on the outsite, no crippled features etc.
So its not difficult to beleive that if Voda had the iPhonee it would be unbranded.
Why is the reviewer complaining about us getting something first in the UK. We had to wait 3 more months for the PS3 and plenty of other things. For once can't we be first to have something released by the time we can get something over here it's old in the US. Even 3G in my area isn't good, I can only get right in the centre of town and sometimes I'm lucky if I get it standing by a window.
I'd also like to add that we probably (in the UK) will not be offered the cheaper version and when you get the "nd generation one you'll probably be able to buy it a lot cheaper. We're overcharged for everything here.
@JeromeOD: Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. The iPhone is most certainly not a P990i competitor. Why? Because the P990i sells like a sunbed in August. Apple's pitching the iPhone to be a high-volume product, not a niche model. It's covering too many bases and not doing any of them well enough.
Asians have 3G for the last 10 year. Heard about DoCoMo? I reject to pay 600$ in 2007 for a non 3G phone.
ohhh I wanted o2 to carry it, they're the best network IMO
From my understanding, the reason why 3G was not included in the iPhone for the US market is because compared to Japan and Europe, it is not as common and widespread here. There are less customers using 3G here in the US than in Europe and Japan. And, from a business standpoint, if there are less customers using an advanced wireless network, why provide access to it now? US is severely behind in terms of network technology than in Europe and Japan. I have friends with 10 mbps and even Japan has 100 mbps network lines available from their ISP. Japan is about to hit 4G wireless for their cellphones. Why is it that the US, as powerful and advanced as we are, cannot improve the infrastructure of our phone and data lines, as well as wireless network?
There may be 3G providers such as Sprint's EVDO network, but in reality, how many customers are using 3G from Sprint compared to the numerous customers in Europe and Japan? How many cellphone carriers other than Sprint offer widespread 3G coverage compared to those in Europe and Japan? I've also read that not all 2G customers buy 3G cellular service. They cite high costs for service plans, high input fees, and less coverage. Therefore, that is only thing that came to my mind why 3G wasn't included. And, hopefully that by 2008 and beyond, there will be more 3G users, providers, and coverage that will warrant a valid enough reason to include 3G wireless support in the iPhone.
I'm an American in the UK and Sprint's plans are WAAAAAY cheaper than the crap you get here. $70/month for 350 minutes and 100 txts and that's it? For that much on Sprint you'd have like 450 anytime, unlimited weekends and after 7pm weekday minutes, unlimited texts AND 3g EVDO, which is faster than UK 3GG as far as I can tell.
Ha ha ha ha! You're killing me!!! iPhone on Vodafone? Have a read of this (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/31/vodafone_data_pricing/) and then look me in the face and tell me Vodafone are getting the iPhone, all without laughing.
From a Finnish perspective, I don't think iPhone would be a very big hit here, if someone sold it like AT&T is selling it. People don't like to first to pay 500/600 and then big monthly fees. Rather buy the phone right away and then choose your carrier or then pay the carrier monthly with no starting fees. No sim card is a no no. People want to buy a phone and choose the carrier separately. There are no carrier branded phones and no carrier exclusive models here.
But if Apple brings a unlocked 3G model, then maybe, although Finns do love their Nokias, even if they aren't always so perfect.
DO you guys know that the only place in the world that you get charged for an incoming call is the USA!!!
Vodafone? Why can't they give a couple of options over here?
what about sweden!
telenor bought the swedish market from vodafone!
will it be 3 (www.tre.se or http://www.three.dk/) for the scandinavian market, would make sense, since they have the biggest 3G net.
will the 2G iphone have Turbo-3G, otherwise i personally would have no reason to uppgrade from my SEM K610i. I dont think im alone here either.
The iPhone is hot, but if it dont have Turbo3G then it won't get far, we in europe need the 3.6Mbit/s, 384Kbit/s 3G is slowly being phased out and dosen't cut it any more.
*sigh*
If only Vodaphone would carry the (3G) iPhone in Australia :(
Dear GOD I hate the thought of Telstra's "Stick To Your Knitting" price gorging tactics on MY iPhone...
2009 can't come soon enough xD
i've just signed up with vodaphone, so i think a 2nd gen iPhone would make a fairly nigty christmas 2008 present... we'll see.