Vodafone NZ to get the 3G iPhone!

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Vodafone NZ to get the 3G iPhone!

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4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#129012 7-May-2008 07:15

TheBartender: Am I missing something here?
....
- What about iTunes...is that going to be available, in competition with the Vodafone music store?

We already have the iTunes Store...?

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#129014 7-May-2008 07:48

nzbnw: [Paul, you seem to have gone media shy on us re 2G Vs 3G?

Because Paul probably don't want to be the leak on this information and have the Wrath of Jobs coming down hard on him...

SightUnseen

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Master Geek

#129018 7-May-2008 08:16

Without the wrath of Jobs coming down, look at the hints. There's a a 7-10 day wait in the U.S., and French Apple Stores, 2-3 days in the U.K. Store, various retail outlets have no stock on hand, and financial reports coming out of Asia re: the contracted iPhone manufacturer refer to orders for a new device.

On top of this, last year AT&T limited employee vacation requests between June 15 and July 15 to prepare for the original iPhone launch which took place June 29th. AT&T have just sent another memo again restricting staff vacation requests, this time between June 15th and July 12th. The reason given was:

"...to ensure adequate store staffing and to give everyone an equal opportunity to benefit from an exciting product launch.".

As per Apple's insistence nothing will be said before launch, but an intelligent person can put the picture together without too much trouble.

steve98

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#129019 7-May-2008 08:35

The fact that Voda hasn't announced exclusivity of the iPhone for NZ leads me to think that Telecom may well be getting it, too. My guess is that Telecom are waiting for Apple to officially announce the 3G iPhone before they make any statements, so that they can shout about having the 3G iPhone from outset, unlike Voda who - for now at least - must pretend its the original iPhone they're getting.

If Apple aren't worried about exclusivity of network providers in Australia, I can't see that they would be here since it's basically Apple Australia running the show anyway.

Nightwyrm

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#129025 7-May-2008 08:47

I agree with steve98. Note that the official statement from Vodafone doesn't say anything about exclusivity. I think if it was an exclusive deal, they'd be crowing that from the rooftops.

If the Australian analysts are predicting that Apple will offer an unlocked phone through their store if Vodafone do lock it, it stands to reason that the same would apply here. Even if Telecom don't sell it themselves, it doesn't sound like there's much preventing you running the iPhone on their new network.

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joshp

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WorldxChange

#129026 7-May-2008 08:47

I know that when the original iPhone was announced, Vodafone mentioned that it did not suit its new "live" 3G network.. and hence did not think it was entirely a good fit being that it wasn't 3G.. now Vodafone has made an announcement that it will support the iPhone just as the rumour mill boils over with 3G iPhone suspicions..

i think its natural progression and many people have held back because the non 3G compatability..

guess time will tell..

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steve98

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#129029 7-May-2008 08:55

The complete lack of anything to do with this at all on the Apple website, plus only a one-paragraph press release tucked away on the Voda website says it all re speculation as to whether its the 2G or 3G iPhone making its way here.

If it was the 2G iPhone, it'd be on the Apple Website to co-incide with the announcement, just like it was for the USA, UK, Ireland, France and Germany. The reason it's not there, is obviously because Apple don't want to put up pictures and tech specs of the 2G iPhone when its not the model we're getting. And naturally, they can't put up pictures and tech specs of the 3G iPhone, because officially there's no such thing yet.

Same for Voda. If they were getting the 2G iPhone, there'd be images of it and marketing hype all over their website.

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sbiddle

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#129034 7-May-2008 09:00

lugh: I agree with steve98. Note that the official statement from Vodafone doesn't say anything about exclusivity. I think if it was an exclusive deal, they'd be crowing that from the rooftops.

If the Australian analysts are predicting that Apple will offer an unlocked phone through their store if Vodafone do lock it, it stands to reason that the same would apply here. Even if Telecom don't sell it themselves, it doesn't sound like there's much preventing you running the iPhone on their new network.

I think Apple's business model of carrier deals has proven itself to be seriously flawed. While it was a good money making exercise for them I would argue that had it not been for the absolutely huge market for unlocked iPhone's that the iPhone itself would have been a flop.

NZtechfreak

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#129036 7-May-2008 09:09

I agree.

FWIW I'm pretty sure we're talking the 3G iPhone here.

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eeb41039

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#129037 7-May-2008 09:14

Just thinking out loud but if it is the 2G iPhone that Voda release does that mean all the data network functions (sans WiFi) will be using GPRS rather than EDGE which Voda can't do? (that'll be an interesting marketing situation - I spose they'll talk up the wifi connectivity.

gehenna

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#129041 7-May-2008 09:36

OurFord: Just thinking out loud but if it is the 2G iPhone that Voda release does that mean all the data network functions (sans WiFi) will be using GPRS rather than EDGE which Voda can't do? (that'll be an interesting marketing situation - I spose they'll talk up the wifi connectivity.

Can't be that big of a deal to regular consumers, the BB Curve has sold extremely well and that's not 3G. My iPhone works well on GPRS, I just don't like paying for data when I have a WiFi hotspot near me almost everywhere I go. Let's not forget there's talk of the 8 and 16Gb versions of the current phone being sold out all over the place (US/UK) with no ETA's on resupply - it's clear that a new version of the iPhone is coming out, and it's clear that it'll be 3G because Steve said so in his keynote. I don't see why there is so much conjecture over this, 3G iPhones are a reality - they've already been announced. So many people seem to forget that in the blog and tech journalism world. I also believe it'll come in a higher capacity, 32Gb such as the iPod Touch. As for Vodafone exlusivity - well any company that has an exclusive deal with Apple will make a mint - just look at AT&T, but that doesn't work well for those of us that are paying them our money. If Telecom were to offer this in competition with Vodafone I'd be happy. I won't move to Telecom but I'll enjoy seeing the specials both companies put up against each other to garner a share of the iPhone market in NZ.

eeb41039

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#129050 7-May-2008 10:02

@Gehenna

Yeah...my comments were purely conjecture - GPRS will be fine for most uses/users except maybe mobile Safari... OFFTOPIC but what's the web browsing experience like on a Curve? Actually, nevermind I'll go look in the other forum...

If it's the 2G model I hope it's easy to 'legitimise' our current iPhones on the Voda network.

I SOOO hope it's the 3G iPhone - hopefully because it'll be a new enclosure - I wanna be Wowed again

Sounddude

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#129059 7-May-2008 10:34

The question I have on my mind.....If the iphone VFNZ are going to be selling is the 3G version, is it going to take advantage of the UMTS900 rollout Vodafone are rolling out?

Having 3G all over the country with the iphone would rule!

Australia and Eurpoe are big on UMTS900 rollouts currently, so I really hope Apple have planned ahead for this.

imadog

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Master Geek

#129071 7-May-2008 11:24

I decided to buy an iPhone from the US a few months ago instead of waiting for an official NZ release. I still think I did the right thing because:

NZ price inflation - Any product imported into NZ is always sold at an inflated price compared to the true import cost into the country. At best, add 25% of the US price. At worst, double it. Check the price of the LG Prada phone for a comparison. FYI I paid ~$650 NZD for my 16GB iPhone

I like prepay - This phone will likely be tied to an expensive voice and data plan. Apple will want to take a cut of the action or they would not have given exclusivity to vodafone nz.

2G < 3G - irrelevant when the cost of using mobile internet is so prohibitively expensive. I would love for vodafone to drastically drop their charges to prove me wrong but I wont hold my breath. I think the current casual use is around 8/10 per MB. OUCH. Other countries are offering plans with unlimited bandwidth. We dont event get unlimited bandwidth for home broadband so dont be too surprised to get a low monthly cap.

Nightwyrm

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#129072 7-May-2008 11:28

imadog: NZ price inflation - Any product imported into NZ is always sold at an inflated price compared to the true import cost into the country. At best, add 25% of the US price. At worst, double it. Check the price of the LG Prada phone for a comparison. FYI I paid ~$650 NZD for my 16GB iPhone

My gut feel prediction is that the price will be $999. I think they'll want to avoid cracking the $1k psychological barrier and our small market will be a constraint on the price being lower.

Post-geek, opinionated mediaphile, and natural born cynic. Jack of all genres, master of none.

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