We’re all sitting here waiting for the unveiling of the new 3G iPhone… and while the wait continues, more and more deals are being made over in Europe that are providing some hints as to Apple’s attitude towards service providers. New deals have been made with providers in Italy, Austria and a small group of other countries as well. Looks like Apple is mixing things up, exclusivity is no longer the word of the year.
On Friday, Orange announced it will sell the iPhone in Austria, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, and a few African nations. Good on ’em.
These multiple supplier deals can only mean one thing. Apple has broken down on their insistence to have exclusive marketing agreements wherever the iPhone is sold. The ‘big iPhone launch’ is still rumored to be in the works, a huge launch including all sorts of counrties around the world… So perhaps Apple is gearing up to get the iPhone into as many hands as possible. More carriers means more plan options and choices… and a little healthy competition amond providers has to be a good thing.
No word yet whether this new attitude will affect AT&T’s 5-year deal with Apple… But note this: AT&T and T-Mobile have begun offering WiFi side-by-side at Starbucks locations. T-Mobile uses a GSM network (a necessity for the iPhone), while Verizon and Sprint run on CDMA. If a carrier is going to break the non-exclusivity stranglehold that AT&T currently has, look for T-Mobile to step into the ring.
All I know is this. Exciting ‘iPhone’ times are upon us. The iPhone is not only scheduled to go 3G in early June, but it will also (probably) launch in numerous countries around the world at the very same time. Also, with this news of non-exclusivity breaking from Europe, look for more carriers to pick up the iPhone, therefore increasing proliferation of the device and lowering monthly plan prices (fingers crossed!).
[via Yahoo! News]
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TAGS: 3G iPhone, AT&T, iPhone, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon
