The Last European iPhone Exclusivity Deal Is Dead

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One of the last bastions of iPhone exclusivity in Europe has finally tumbled: Vodafone and O2 are now reporting that they will soon be offering the iPhone 4 in Germany, breaking the knuckles of T-Mobile’s long standing stranglehold on the handset.

It was pretty easy to see the writing on the wall in Germany that this was coming: earlier this year, T-Mobile’s “exclusivity” was downgraded from the exclusive right to sell all Apple handsets to the exclusive right to sell the iPhone 4. Pretty much every carrier in Germany has been offering the 3GS ever since.

Today’s announcement’s by Vodafone and O2 eliminate the last glimmer of advantage that T-Mobile had. If Germany follows the rest of Europe, it’s basically a win-win for everyone but T-Mobile: Apple will sell twice as many iPhones, carriers will win new contracts and consumers will be able to choose the best service for them and take advantage of competitive pricing.

Great news for Germans… but when will America follow suit?

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