Sol says Telstra 'œbigger than Apple' as T[Life] store opens without iPhone

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 26 June 2008 07:00

Your IT - Mobility

I don’t know if Trujillo was saying that Telstra itself is bigger than Apple, or just the store, but it’s certainly true that Telstra has many more products in on sale from a wide range of vendors, and does touch the lives of many more Australians than does Apple, despite the enormous popularity of the iPod.

But in regards to the iPhone, Sol was silent, preferring instead to briefly show off the “exclusive” HTC Touch Diamond device during his speech.

In an answer to a journalist question about the iPhone and its non-appearance, Telstra’s Consumer Marketing and Channels Group Managing Director, David Moffatt said afterwards that “Telstra is a market leader that investigates all newly released products” but wouldn’t be drawn any further.

Telstra spokesperson Peter Taylor also had nothing to add to the iPhone speculation, so we can only go on his previous advice to “watch this space” to see whether the iPhone pops into that space anytime soon, or not.

So... it’s definitely an impressive store opening and Telstra has clearly learned a lot about retailing from Apple.

They’ve got a much wider selection of products and services from companies including Acer, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, ZTE and others.

But the one Telstra customers are waiting for is still unavailable and unannounced: the iPhone!