Following up on the posts by Leander and Leigh about the various iPhone rumors floating around, I thought I’d add a little perspective from the other side of the pond.
The subsidization rumor isn’t one I’m entirely convinced by (given Apple’s track record), but it is something Brits in general expect when it comes to new phone hardware, which might explain Apple having a change of heart.
When the iPhone finally arrived in the UK, somewhat late, Apple got the market wrong, inflicting an American model on the Brits. In this wee island, we’re not used to paying for hardware when on a monthly contract. Typically, if you’re paying £35 per month, you get a decent phone for free (or very little) and a decent number of minutes and texts; alternatively, you grab a pay-as-you-go card and pay full-whack for your phone.
Apple’s cunning plan was to go for all of the expensive options—a relatively high monthly charge and full-price hardware, along with a frankly insulting number of texts and minutes when compared to other local plans of the same cost. This pretty much explains why the iPhone borderline bombed initially in the UK.
The dreadful sales picked up some when the number of texts and minutes increased, but until Brits see iPhones on sale for £150 or less, they’re not going to go for it in any number, especially if there’s a (minimum) £35 per month contract attached. And the same goes for a lot of other European countries.
It wouldn’t entirely surprise me to see a subsidized iPhone in Europe, but the older system remain in place in the US. Frankly, it’d be about time we got something out of Apple after its many years of having fun with exchange rates and charging way over the odds for its goods in Europe.
Craig Grannell was once Cult of Mac’s designer and an occasional contributor. Find out whatever he’s doing now on Twitter @CraigGrannell or his website, craiggrannell.com.
