Apple Seeks Wider Distribution for iPhone 3G
10:29 am, June 23rd, 2008, Lonnie Lazar
Confident now that it’s got a winning product, Apple is set to release the iPhone 3G simultaneously in 22 countries on July 11. And unlike the limited distribution model in the US, where consumers may only purchase phones from the company or from AT&T, overseas customers will be able to find the new phone in plenty of places.
Apple Insider reports that Deutch Telekom, T-Mobile’s German parent signed a first deal which will let Gravis sell iPhones attached to a T-Mobile service plan, allowing customers there to pick up a phone without visiting a T-Mobile retail outlet.
Dutch and Italian consumers will also have a variety of outlets to choose from, according to an item in Macworld. The high-street-availability distribution model appears to derive from the success Apple and UK carrier O2 had in bringing Carphone Warehouse on board to maximize availability of the product.
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in Customer Services, Retail Stores, iPhone | Comment on this article
In Europe it’s common for operators to reach out to customers through multiple channels outside of their own stores. This is not something new or iPhone specific.
Alberto, on June 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Good for Europe, frustrating for America. From all I have read about the iPhone 3G it appears that Apple and ATT will not release the phone for sale online. I find it disgusting that the most revolutionary internet device, the one that allows you to have “the internet in your pocket”, will not be sold on the internet.
Would it be too much to ask that they sell it online via att.com and apple.com while forcing an activation before you checkout? In this way the customer can still purchase the phone via their preferred shopping method while still locking iPhone buyers into an ATT contract. The only reason I can figure is there some law I don’t know about that prevents US cell phone carriers from activating a contract prior to the customer receiving the phone.
- Sean
Sean, on June 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 am
Funny to see some countries omitted from the initial roll-out (likely due to local carriers and Apple not coming to some agreement), notably the massively gadget-crazy Iceland. Mind you, Iceland also happened to be entirely omitted from the map of the world Jobs displayed during WWDC, so perhaps Apple isn’t even aware the country exists (or it’s blacklisted it after nixing its Apple Store’s official status five or six years ago).
In the UK, it’s pretty uncommon to find fixed mobile products, in terms of outlets. The iPhone, on sale in two chains (and maybe three if Apple ends up selling them in its handful of stores here) is something of a rarity; with most phones, you can pop into one of a dozen different chains to grab one and a contract. That said, the chain tendency is now towards networks/carriers (as in, the O2 store, the Orange store, etc.) and away from stores offering a selection of products and carriers.
Craig Grannell, on June 24th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Really, the Macworld article mentions Germany, not The Netherlands. People in Germany are referred to as Germans. Albeit the Germans once tried, both are still seperate countries, with completely different markets. There’s no real news on pricing or availability there, safe for the release date.
Jay, on June 24th, 2008 at 6:09 am