iPhone in Europe: Let's Meet at 11h00 CET [update]
Today at 11h00 CET, Apple will hold a Special Event in London Regent Street Apple Store to officially launch the iPhone in UK, and most likely announce the name of all European carriers engaged in a partnership with Cupertino around this device. This event being UK-specific, we will not provide a live coverage, however we will post a summary of the announcement as soon as we obtained information.
Last information we have collected indicate that O2 won the battle with Vodafone by agreeing to share 40% of iPhone-driven revenues with Apple! If T-Mobile will hold a press conference tomorrow to fully unveil its iPhone-dedicated offers, it remains unknown when Orange will provide similar information. However, we know that Orange did not face strong competitors (SFR or Bouygues) when battling for exclusive partnership with Apple.
The interesting rumor is the number of countries to be covered by each carrier. O2 is reported to be serving UK only, while T-Mobile is currently expected to offer the iPhone in Germany and in Austria, while potentially extending the service to Netherlands, Hungary and Croatia. Via Orange network, France, but although Switzerland, Poland and Netherlands too could be offered the iPhone. It would be for both T-Mobile and Orange a market representing over 100 million customers
[update]
According to French sources, the iPhone should be priced 300 euros in Europe + variable subscription costs depending on the voice offer selected. If announcement is today, the iPhone might not be available before mid-November, at least in France.