T-Mobile gets iPhone for Germany

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 20 September 2007 01:37

Your IT - Mobility

Hot on the heels of the O2 deal in the UK, Apple has announced that T-Mobile will be the exclusive iPhone carrier in Germany.

It's not that exclusivity means much now that instructions for unlocking the iPhone are freely available, but T-Mobile will support visual voicemail, allowing iPhone owners to access messages in any order they choose.

T-Mobile will be the only network operator to support EDGE throughout its German GSM network when a rollout is completed by the end of the year. A 3G version of the iPhone is expected sometime in 2008.

The company also operates 8600 Wi-Fi hotspots around Germany.

"We are convinced that we can get our customers excited about experiencing the mobile internet with the iPhone," said  Hamid Akhavan, CEO of T-Mobile International.

"I am proud that Apple and T-Mobile have become partners. The best mobile device currently on the market will soon be operating on the best network in the country," he bragged.

The iPhone will go on sale in Germany on November for €399 ($US557). As with the UK price, this represents a substantial markup on the US price, even after making allowance for taxes that are customarily included in European prices but added at the point of sale in the US. Even so, the price is slightly higher in Germany than in the UK. Apple has already attracted European regulatory attention for charging UK customers more than those in the rest of Europe for iTunes Store purchases.

As in the US, a two-year service agreement is required, but details of applicable plans have yet to be revealed.

Commentators are suggesting the next stop on Apple CEO Steve Jobs European tour could be France, where the company is expected to partner with Orange.