Files in iPhone reveal overseas plans for T-Mobile, Vodafone

That iPhone firmware leaked this week? Well, as found on the iPhone Dev Wiki it's been cracked open, its files laid bare, and deep within the system one can find four very special, very telling files:

Default_CARRIER_ATT.png
Default_CARRIER_CINGULAR.png
Default_CARRIER_TMOBILE.png
Default_CARRIER_VODAFONE.png

We know AT&T / Cingular have a 5-year exclusivity agreement on the iPhone in the US, but if this doesn't make clear Apple's plans to launch on Vodafone (presumably for UK and much of Europe) and T-Mobile (presumably for Germany) we don't know what does.

P.S. -Sorry, those iPhone images are encoded all funny (something about flipped R and B pixels?), we couldn't get 'em working. Anyone with some hacking skills want to make 'em readable for us?

P.P.S. -Apple can stop calling the iPhone's browser "Safari" now, we know they differentiated by calling it MobileSafari.app in the iPhone (and it's only 640KB, oddly).

[Via Hackintosh]

[shaun @ Jul 4th 2007 3:16PM]

noooooo we don't want you vodafone here in England

..I wanted o2 to get it but I think they have no money left after buying the millenium dome

[Fraser Drew @ Jul 4th 2007 3:25PM]

I agree, however, IF vodafone do a AT&T, and do an OK deal, with unlimited data etc... I've not got a problem with them.
The vodafone problem has always been cost (for me)' there network coverage is great, and customer service average

[shaun @ Jul 4th 2007 3:28PM]

Yer it needs unlimited data...do we have EDGE over here? I know we use GPRS but when I turn my phone on it says it had EDGE

[Code601 @ Jul 4th 2007 4:06PM]

I can see vodafone selling this for £549 With some £30 a month 2 year contract. Uck.

[Gil @ Jul 4th 2007 3:23PM]

It might be for roaming.

[Sven @ Jul 4th 2007 3:33PM]

Opening the file with file with TextEdit something about

A

[Sven @ Jul 4th 2007 3:37PM]

Opening the file with file with TextEdit something about

[BWR @ Jul 4th 2007 3:27PM]

Information on switching the images to their proper type can be found here at the iPhone Wiki. The images are BGRA and need to be converted to RGBA to be displayed properly.

[Carbonize @ Jul 4th 2007 3:30PM]

We have 3G over here which was actually developed by a company owned by Bob Geldof.

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ Jul 4th 2007 5:37PM]

You thinking of 3W, as in the third world :P

[Jeffrey Fourmile @ Jul 4th 2007 3:31PM]

I'm hoping for T-Mobile in the UK. They are the only network to have unlimited data for about $15 a month.

[James @ Jul 4th 2007 6:57PM]

Outrageous! This is why I hate our marketing department. I work for 3, and we've had a proper unlimited data offer for only £5 ($10) a month for almost a year!

T-Mobile come along and launch their stupid web 'n' walk (unlimited my arse, it's got a 512MB "fair use" limit!) for more money and everyone thinks they got there first.

Stupid marketing fools, why do we pay them?

[Alan Partridge @ Jul 4th 2007 8:48PM]

Not being funny but Three's service is piss poor, both customer service and actual using-your-phone-day-to-day service.

Its true about your marketing though, how are people supposed to work out your data plans from this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap1-OPM9Qao

[Jamar @ Jul 4th 2007 11:01PM]

Oh, and about 3- segregating your 3G from your GSM network is never a smart idea (why not just call the whole darned thing 3 instead of 3G and 3-Dualband with separate SIMs for each?).

...Oh wait. That's Hong Kong.

[James @ Jul 5th 2007 6:36AM]

Our customer service certainly has a bad reputation. Not convinced about the day-to-day - 3G handsets are still not up there with 2G when it comes to reliability, battery life, stability and so on, but that's not our fault, it's Nokia's (25% return rate on N95s? Oh dear).

Anyway, on topic, iPhone looks like O2 now, which makes sense given that it's the only network in the UK with no 3G!!! What a joke.

[SteveMB @ Jul 4th 2007 3:35PM]

And I care about the iPhone going overseas why?

[Vissionary @ Jul 4th 2007 3:42PM]

The US isn't the only country that views this site...

[T H @ Jul 4th 2007 3:48PM]

Dude, don't be a jerk. That's why the rest of the world doesn't like us. Well, that and we're the richest country, but still.. curtail the jerkness.

[Lee @ Jul 4th 2007 3:50PM]

Steve, are you asking for flames?

Not all who read Engadget are from the USA, and many of us who've sat through the photos of lines, videos of lines, unboxing and reviews (ad infinitum, but good work guys) can't wait to find out when we get the phone.

Strangely, this site isn't *just* about what you want.

[JJ @ Jul 4th 2007 3:53PM]

Aye... that is a rather close-minded remark. Most of the posters/readers on Engadget are not just from the US, but from places like Canada, Europe, Australia even and other parts of the world. Even though I'm from the US, comments like that is why our country so hated outside the US. Jerks like you make this country look bad to begin with.

[M @ Jul 4th 2007 4:16PM]

Lol America is not the richest country in the world at all! You are actually only 6th in the world. Plus over 50% of America's wealth is held by 10% of the people, making 90% of you no where near as wealthy as you would like to think!

[TJ @ Jul 4th 2007 4:44PM]

Actually, the US is the richest nation. If you rank by GNP, the US is the largest - if you rank by GNP per capita the US is somewhere between number 4 and 6. Does not make above poster any less of an idiot for assuming the rest of the world hates us for our wealth.

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ Jul 4th 2007 5:33PM]

George Bush, LOL.

[SteveMB @ Jul 5th 2007 1:59PM]

brendan Sheehan jnr, LOL

[neal @ Jul 4th 2007 3:40PM]

i think they choose those 2 networks as they are both offering unlimited web browsing, "something i think the iPhone needs?" im on orange and staying with them my good old N95 will do me till next year! :D

[Datacide @ Jul 4th 2007 3:51PM]

Nothing about Rogers or other Canadian providers?

[PDB @ Jul 4th 2007 6:17PM]

yeah that sucks... what about us Canucks ?

[Andy Merrett @ Jul 4th 2007 3:51PM]

It wouldn't be impossible for T-Mobile to be the primary carrier in the UK as well, or the odd trinity of Vodafone, T-Mobile, and Carphone Warehouse (as secondary seller) could still take the UK.

If O2 did get it, they'd need to introduce flat rate data plan pretty sharpish.

[matt @ Jul 4th 2007 3:54PM]

UK phones can usually be easilly unlocked..

o2 iphone for me please.

[Brian @ Jul 4th 2007 5:50PM]

I thought it was a requirement by law that carriers must unlock phones when requested to do so.

[Andrew @ Jul 5th 2007 3:36AM]

It's a requirement that carriers unlock the phone after the contract has ended in the UK - the contract is taken as a form of Hire-Purchase I believe.

[Karan @ Jul 5th 2007 4:25AM]

@Brian, Andrew:

I know that's a requirement in Australia at least that the phone be unlocked on request =)

[Rich @ Jul 4th 2007 3:57PM]

what the eff!!!!!

come on apple, what about Canada already?!?!?

please, just put out an official press release saying Q4 2007 or whenever!

i can stand the wait, but it'd be nice if i knew when i was waiting until!

[Gary @ Jul 4th 2007 4:02PM]

T Mobile are the obvious uk carrier, they already provide the "web 'n' walk" service plan. What I want to know is this though: can you download mp3s direct to the iphone from podcast websites and listen to them?

[Alan Partridge @ Jul 4th 2007 5:16PM]

Have you lost your mind? Download mp3s?! They dont even let you save images from the browser!

[Tom @ Jul 4th 2007 5:25PM]

or copy and paste text, or view flash pages, or...

[Gary @ Jul 6th 2007 7:22AM]

That sucks.

[Hexxeh @ Jul 4th 2007 4:05PM]

Give me a few mins I'll whip up a converter.

[bloginator @ Jul 4th 2007 4:14PM]

Not only the colors a swapped...CgBI: unknown critical chunk =)

[DaKine @ Jul 4th 2007 4:20PM]

here they are:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/2331/recoverymodeno4.png
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/7638/applelogoju2.png
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/5637/serviceneedediz8.png

[Unregistered @ Jul 4th 2007 9:14PM]

Thanks DaKine!

[DaKine @ Jul 4th 2007 4:20PM]

and these:
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/7466/chargedcc1.png
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/8646/batterylow0nv9.png
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/2546/batterylow1og2.png

[netgem21 @ Jul 4th 2007 4:24PM]

Those are the wrong pictures - where are the t-mobile/vodafone pics? please someone post them! :)

[WDUK @ Jul 4th 2007 4:26PM]

These aren't the images we are interested in, we are interested in the images related to the carrier.
Those images come from the iPhone Dev Wiki.

[m @ Jul 4th 2007 6:04PM]

nice work-- looks like they used your images for the very next story.

[ani @ Jul 4th 2007 8:05PM]

I posted this below but I think I lost it...

Anyway, I send the images to a friend with an iPhone and she could open them. Here's what they look like.

http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/3272/img6725qc8.jpg

[Mr. Picklesworth @ Jul 4th 2007 4:33PM]

Impossible! These are "desktop class" applications just like on Mac OS X!

[Mat @ Jul 4th 2007 4:47PM]

Im from argentina, and I cant wait the iPhone to come here. It looks like it will come around 2008, but as any apple thing, it will cost 50% more and the data and phone plans here stinks, and we are still in 2/2.5g networks, but the wifi feature with al the other thing makes the iPhone a great replacement for my treo 650

[Marty @ Jul 4th 2007 4:47PM]

I'm not so sure that this means that VF and TM are the EU operators, most GSM phones store details for other networks for roaming purposes. For instance the prefered roaming partner on my T-Mobile UK branded phone in the US is Cingular. For VF phones (don't forget the Vodafone have a big share in Verizon but can't use CDMA networks) its T-Mobile US. Go figure...

[Michael @ Jul 4th 2007 5:06PM]

Because your posting a comment...?