Apple iPhone hitting Europe by December
By Paul Miller 
posted Jul 26th 2007 2:48PM
posted Jul 26th 2007 2:48PM
Just in case you missed it yesterday, Apple did indeed confirm that it'll ship the iPhone to a few major countries by Q4 2007, Update: A re-read of the transcript seems to point at Q4 of the calendar year, not their fiscal year. In other words, December not September.
Cool. So we can finally get this anachronism over here. It will be great to use my modern 3G phone to video film the losers buying this piece of crap! :)
What about Canada :(
Announce it already, Rogers
Exactly! From USA to the UK, France and Germany? How does that make any sense? Do the not like Canadians or something?
Don't worry, it'll be coming to Canada.
Your comments: Canada?? eh! we only JUST got the HTC TyTN here.. Canadians
also
*LOVE* RIM - people here love the Blackberry... eh
Not going to happen for a very very long time...
The answer for Canadians is here:
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2087/125/
I don't know anyone who cares about this phone, nor who will be signing their life away for one.
*Shrugs*
It's just not very good I'm afraid. We're used to more. Much more.
get off your high horse dipshit... i have an iphone.. it's amazing... it has a REAL browser... youtube... and all sorts of other goodies...
what do you have that's so much better?
people that probably have never even seen an iphone giving opinions about it pisses me off..
I have a K800i. It's 3G, it has Stereo Bluetooth, a 3.2 Mpx camera with Xenon flash, 4GB of expanded memory, (it only supported 1GB at launch) and Opera Mini 4 which is also a 'real browser'. It plays games, apps, and my podcasts, and the battery life is impressive.
I bought it six monthes ago... for 150 quid sim-free. The iPhone yet to launch here costs more, does less, and is only available on contract.
It's a no-brainer.
I'm sorry, but the Opera Mini browser sucks ass.
If you said Opera Mobile then you'd have something worthwhile.
I agree with you, the IPhone is over-hyped, we get pda phones free in the uk when on contract, so why would we pay for one and get locked to a network?
Especially when PDA phone can play movies, music, install software and they usually can browse the internet pretty well! Oh and the plus of being able to unlock from your network for £30 after your contract is up..
I cant wait to see ofcoms reaction to a phone that can never be unlocked from a network....
hey look, Engadget got all of Europe
now if only they could zoom out of the UK on their Zune Europe anouncements
Did anyone confirm that these overseas markets will have 3G wireless instead of our feeble EDGE-based network here in the states?
The two killer-apps I would like to see that would make me fork over for my iPhone are (1) 3G-network access and (2) Bluetooth-modem capability, so my phone will allow my laptop to get internet access from wherever I have a cell signal.
I use this function on my Treo 650 and it's awesome, except for the speed.
-Anthony
http://mybilliardsparlor.com
3G is useless.
It has basically no coverage
3G is useless.
It has basically no coverage
3G is useless.
It has basically no coverage
Sorry about that, engadget's comments are screwed up.
@Miles: Are you stupid or just lying? 3G has VERY good coverage over here in Europe.
The iPhone is a joke over here and you know it.
Like any cellular service, there will obviously be hotspots and coldspots... I'm in Charlotte, NC and we have a good swath of coverage in all the areas I do business from Mooresville to Concord, so Miles, if you're not 3G yet, just be patient and we'll catch up with the rest of the world sooner or later :-)
Argot: In what way is Europeans (IYHO) saying the iPhone is a joke? I know it's criticized for it's limitations such as Corporate email support and but it's not so much a matter of limitation as much as purpose: who was this phone built for and what will they be doing with it?
Just curious :-)
By the way, my manager got his iPhone on day 1 and loves it... He's been a Mac-Head since OS 7.5 and I've been on board since OS X so I have an appreciation for Mac's progress on both sides of the fence.
--Anthony
http://mybilliardsparlor.com
Miles @ Jul 26th 2007 3:36PM
Perhaps in USA is useless, in Europe we have very high coverage of 3G
3G (UMTS) and it's slow speed -- albeit lightning quick compared to EDGE and GPRS.
3.5G (HSDPA) at 3.6Mb/s is what powers my wireless networking all over UK, some European implementations have got 7.2Mb/s and UK is later this year, with 14.4Mb/s following.
3.5G iPhone is what's required in Europe.
Miles, the world doesn't end with USA mate; and your mobile phone system is old skool.
The data on the Mig is inaccurate...
Apple stated in their conference call that they'll have a European release by December:
"We are on track to begin selling the iPhone in Europe during the fourth calendar quarter of this year, starting with a few major countries and expanding the number of countries throughout 2008. We will announce our initial plans with our European partners later this quarter."
I was just about to post this, but Chris beat me -- he said calendar quarter, not fiscal quarter (so Q4 = October-November-December)
When Apple says 4th quarter they mean fiscal quarters. For Apple the Year starts on October 1st and ends on September 30th. Engadget is correct and this does mean the iPhone should be released in Europe by the end of September.
@Kenban: but Apple specified CALENDAR quarters, not FISCAL quarters. All this guarantees is a release before December 31.
Actually, as I look over the transcript again, Messrs Cook and Oppenhimer State on multiple occasions that AAPL will introduce next fiscal quarter:
Timothy Cook
"As Peter mentioned earlier, our next step is to begin selling the iPhone in Europe next quarter starting with a few major countries and then expand over the whole of 2008. We hope to, as a result of this and other things, we hope to grow our sales step by step, year by year and model my model, just like we have done in the prior product lines."
Peter Oppenheimer:
"We plan to go into a few major countries in Europe next quarter; to move across other countries in Europe across 2008 and to
enter Asia in 2008 as well."
@Chris: Which comments came first? Besides, the "fourth calendar quarter" quote is the only one that truly specifies what type of quarter they're referring to.
Also, if you search Google News, it appears most articles say before the end of December.
You can read the transcript on http://seekingalpha.com/article/42374 (for free). I'm waiting for Apple to post the podcast to listen to the audio. Apple's original statement by Peter Oppenheimer was:
"We hope to sell our one millionth iPhone by the end of its first full quarter ending September 29th. We are on track to begin selling the iPhone in Europe during the fourth calendar quarter of this year, starting with a few major countries and expanding the number of countries throughout 2008. We will announce our initial plans with our European partners later this quarter."
It was later in the Q&A session when the other 2 statements were:
Timothy Cook (page 4)
"As Peter mentioned earlier, our next step is to begin selling the iPhone in Europe next quarter starting with a few major countries and then expand over the whole of 2008. We hope to, as a result of this and other things, we hope to grow our sales step by step, year by year and model my model, just like we have done in the prior product lines."
Peter Oppenheimer (page 12):
"We plan to go into a few major countries in Europe next quarter; to move across other countries in Europe across 2008 and to
enter Asia in 2008 as well."
There is definitely a need for clarification, because "4th Calender quarter"= December, whereas "4th Fiscal Quarter" = September......
As I say, I believe that it still is calendar quarter. His original statement said so, and the fact he doesn't repeat it later doesn't mean anything. It is already implied that here he talks about calendar quarters.
And as I said, the prevailing opinion on Google News is calendar Q4 (with many quoting the exact "fourth calendar quarter" statement)
Someone really needs to correct this article
I guess europe is finally getting some good phones now.
Q4 ends Sept. 30? I thought a year has 4 Q's... Doesn't Q3 end on Sept 30 and Q4 end on Dec 31?
Apple's fiscal Q4 ends September 30, but Apple announced that it would be released in the calendar Q4, not the fiscal Q4
yeah i think engdaget got a bif confused, remember reading before that apple said iphone out in UK in time for christmas. end of calendar Q4.
i thought Q4 2007 starts oktober and ends december....?
You mean the calendar quarter, not the fiscal quarter.
I would like to mention for the record; (as I'm a qualified European) this story is inaccurate. I'm 99.99% sure Apple said on the conference call the iPhone will hit select countries in the fourth 'calendar' quarter. Which as this poster correctly states; "begins in October". I'll be glad to admit if I'm wrong on this one, but I don't think I am. So If indeed I am correct, it will be in some European countries in October 2007 at the earliest.
I can't imagine the Netherlands, Scandinavia or other West European countries not being in the few "major" countries.
Yes that's true, and not to forget Italy!
But it was the same thing for the iTunes Store, F, G, and UK came first.
Generally, the UK, Germany and France are considered the three major countries in Europe, with most others forgotten about.
I want the iPhone in Luxembourg! I just can't wait until 2008. We are one of the smallest countries but as you can see in the news, we are leader in cellular market penetration. But I am hopeful, actually we also have our own iTunes Store, so come on Apple, dont forget us !
What I can report so far is, that I know many people here in Luxemburg that are really excited about the iPhone.
Yes, we have the Nokia N95, we have UMTS and HSDPA, an WLAN as well, but most people just want a phone that is simple to use and looks nice.
Digg it.
http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_hitting_Eurpoe_by_September
Hey Apple, how about LA? No, not Los ANgeles, the *other* LA.
:/
louisiana? los alamos? landscape architecture?
@fahnboi: Funny. Wait, wrong word ;-)
shangri la?
Lanthanum?
(I'm about to get killed)
The sad thing is that I can picture people at Apple having the same discussion... ;)
The sad thing is that I can picture people at Apple having the same discussion... ;)
Hmm, comments seem broken today on Engadget - sorry for the double post.
The comment system isn't broken, it's just you being a total moron.
Latin America?
Yes. Thank you! I know (I hope?) some of you were kidding, but seriously, Latin America was *never* mentioned by Apple so far, which doesn't bode well for those of us here wanting to eventually get one, since Apple appears to have no plans for selling an unlocked version.
@Icheb: "Other" gadget sites (I'm thinking of one in particular, starts with 'Giz') automatically filter duplicate posts that are bound happen if the page doesn't update correctly and the user reposts. Engadget does not.
I wonder if South Africa will be getting it in September too like one of our local networks advertised and wikipedia says...I certainly hope so. A 3G version would be awesome because we have 3G/HSDPA almost everywhere you would want to use it, and EDGE everywhere else. I'm due for an upgrade on my contract soon so it would be nice :P
hmm, well the country code for Laos is LA. how many ppl know that?
And where are the 2 most active mobile markets of Europe? Italy and Spain
uh, I think you mean end of Q3
is it just me or is ther something wrong with this sentence:
"Apple did indeed confirm that it'll ship the iPhone to a few major countries by Q4 2007, which ends September 30th."
Q4 is oct, nov,dec... how can it end sept 30th???
Please Apple just give us a freakin' date...i check various sites every day hoping theres new info or a statement on a release date, my contract was up here in the UK 2 months ago and i'm not getting a new phone till the iPhone is out and i can upgrade to it as soo as possible when it's out in the UK. So PLEAAASE Apple give us a DATE! so i can Pre-Order. Please!
I cannot believe all you fellow engadgeteers, when i read that, ijust had the biggest iGasm EVRRRRR...
HELLO iPhone GOODBYE LIFE SAVINGS! WEWT
goddamnit, what about us aussies?
oh no, we're a third world povo country, RIGHT APPLE?!...GAH.
How about Taiwan? We practically make the damn thing, why not sell it here?
So...towards the end of the year then?
Hmmm...Now I have a dilema. Maybe one of you guys can advise me?
I have a 3 contract that expires in October. I have no intention of renewing it, and plan to transport my number to maybe O2...or whoever will be covering the iPhone.
My question is this, what should i do with my iPhone now?! My wife picked one up on a business trip to the US days after its release. I haven't activated it with itunes or AT&T or anything. All I have done is take it out the box to swoon over it & touch it!
Should I hang on until the UK release, and hope an O2 (or a.n.other carrier) sim card will fit the one i have, or should i try & sell it now, and use the proceeds to buy one when it is released in the UK? (bearing in mind the 3G thing and the fact that the US versions are not 3G (Feel free to prove me wrong-I like nice stuff, but am in now way techie minded Lol)
Any help or advice will be much appreciated.
get a box of tissue for that iPorn.
Sell it now. Firstly, operators and manufacturers hate grey importing, and will ensure that there is no easy way to get Euro sims working on US models. Also of course, remember that it has an EDGE radio chipset. Secondly, it hasn't been sim-unlocked yet, meaning that it may be a difficult operation to unlock it when the thing's released in Europe. Finally, who knows what extra protection they'll put on it? Wait for the domestic release.
BTW, out of curiosity - why leave 3, for O2? O2 have no 3G coverage, 3 will have full UK-wide HSDPA @ 3.6Mbits/s by Q1 '08. If it's preconceptions about customer service, trust me I've tried them all, and O2 has (imo) the worst coverage and similar customer service.
I've had 3 as an operator for the last 18 months, and the coverage has been poor throughout..and their CS is in somewhere like Africa & I always had problems communicating with them. I had neither coverage or communication probs with 02..
However, I read with interest your comments about O2 & 3G, and that was something I was unaware of I must admit, what about Orange or Vodafone?
I must say I am erring towards selling the iPhone, apart from the whole unlock situ, I realise, that I prob wouldnt need or use half the features! I might get a N95 with the proceeds instead...
I've had 3 as an operator for the last 18 months, and the coverage has been poor throughout..and their CS is in somewhere like Africa & I always had problems communicating with them. I had neither coverage or communication probs with 02..
However, I read with interest your comments about O2 & 3G, and that was something I was unaware of I must admit, what about Orange or Vodafone?
I must say I am erring towards selling the iPhone, apart from the whole unlock situ, I realise, that I prob wouldnt need or use half the features! I might get a N95 with the proceeds instead...
I've had 3 as an operator for the last 18 months, and the coverage has been poor throughout..and their CS is in somewhere like Africa & I always had problems communicating with them. I had neither coverage or communication probs with 02..
However, I read with interest your comments about O2 & 3G, and that was something I was unaware of I must admit, what about Orange or Vodafone?
I must say I am erring towards selling the iPhone, apart from the whole unlock situ, I realise, that I prob wouldnt need or use half the features! I might get a N95 with the proceeds instead...
i heard also on sept 30 apple will lower the price on iphones in usa cause they are getting cheaper screens from some new peeps