Apple's iPhone abroad: Orange UK to sell; China debut in October

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
When O2's exclusive contract for the iPhone expires this year, Orange will also offer the handset in the U.K.; and China Unicom will offer Apple's iPhone for $732.50 on October 1.



Orange UK to sell iPhone



Under a new agreement, both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS will be available to Orange U.K. customers by the end of 2009. Price and availability have not yet been announced.



"Orange, which has the largest 3G network covering more people in the UK than any other operator, will sell iPhone in all Orange direct channels including Orange shops, the Orange webshop and Orange telesales channels, as well as selected high street partners," the company said. "A pre-registration site for customers to log their interest has been launched at www.Orange.co.uk/iPhone."



Orange, owned by France Telecom, said it now offers the handset in 28 countries and territories. Orange already offers the iPhone in the company's home country of France. The exclusive deal with Telefonica's O2 is set to expire later this year.



Earlier this year, reports suggested the British T-Mobile was also negotiating to sell the iPhone. A proposed merger between T-Mobile and Orange was put on the table earlier this month.



iPhone to hit China October 1



Official details on the impending launch of the iPhone in China are beginning to surface, as Reuters has revealed that the handset will launch October 1 for a price of 5,000 yuan, or $732.50. Which model and capacity of the phone that price would receive was not said.



"The high price tag may force buyers of the popular handsets to sign up for subsidised packages carrying lower handset prices but also longer-term contract commitments, as competition heats up in China's recently reformed telecoms sector," the report said.



The company plans to launch its 3G network the same day that the iPhone is available. China Unicom will offer eight plans ranging from 126 yuan to 886 yuan per month, and subsidies will be available for those who sign up for a contract.



In August, Apple and China Unicom reached a three-year deal to sell the iPhone. The new hardware model approved by China's State Radio Regulatory Commission excludes Wi-Fi.



Unlike other agreements worldwide, the deal between Apple and China Unicom is not an exclusive one. Reports have suggested that the handset maker has now turned its attention to China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier, for a possible deal.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    The first post is mine!



    732.50$ in China? That's unbelievable !!!
  • Reply 2 of 38
    At last the possibility of being freed from O2's useless 3G network!
  • Reply 3 of 38
    parkyparky Posts: 383member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacFinder View Post


    The first post is mine!



    732.50$ in China? That's unbelievable !!!



    Have you seen the UK non contract prices?



    3G (8GB) = £342.50 = $542



    3GS (16GB) = £440.40 = $697



    3GS (32GB) = £538.30 = $852



    So the China price depends on which model is being sold.
  • Reply 4 of 38
    parkyparky Posts: 383member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by akf2000 View Post


    At last the possibility of being freed from O2's useless 3G network!



    I just hope that at the end of our O2 contracts we can get the PAC code and transfer our handset to Orange. If the handset is still tied to O2 then that would be bad.
  • Reply 5 of 38
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by parky View Post


    I just hope that at the end of our O2 contracts we can get the PAC code and transfer our handset to Orange. If the handset is still tied to O2 then that would be bad.



    What would be the advantage in moving to Orange? I get 5 bars of 3G in any city centre I'm in, so I don't really see a need to move?



    Unless Orange are cheaper I guess, or will unblock/uncensor BBC iPlayer. Whatever the case I'll certainly be ditching O2's insanely expensive contract when it expires and go with the £10 a month data only option.
  • Reply 6 of 38
    parkyparky Posts: 383member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    What would be the advantage in moving to Orange? I get 5 bars of 3G in any city centre I'm in, so I don't really see a need to move?



    Unless Orange are cheaper I guess, or will unblock/uncensor BBC iPlayer. Whatever the case I'll certainly be ditching O2's insanely expensive contract when it expires and go with the £10 a month data only option.



    I barely get a 3G signal at home, which is not great.

    Orange have a much better coverage in my area.

    Hopefully prices / tariffs will be better.

    I would just like the option to move IF the Orange deal looks good.
  • Reply 7 of 38
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Does the Chinese iPhone include MMS?
  • Reply 8 of 38
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    That's rather pricey considering it's made there& no trans-pacific shipping costs.
  • Reply 9 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by parky View Post


    I barely get a 3G signal at home, which is not great.

    Orange have a much better coverage in my area.

    Hopefully prices / tariffs will be better.

    I would just like the option to move IF the Orange deal looks good.



    Yeah Orange (and soon T-Mobile/ Orange) has unparalleled network coverage. I'm glad I didn't extend my contract and bought an unsubsidised 3GS, just hope porting is allowed.
  • Reply 10 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    That's rather pricey considering it's made there& no trans-pacific shipping costs.



    You didn't know there is VAT in China do you?
  • Reply 11 of 38
    That $732.50 is the price of 3G (8GB). I seriously doubt many Chinese will buy these crippled iPhones with such a price hike instead of buying unlocked and much more cheaper iPhones in Hong Kong.
  • Reply 12 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rheuter View Post


    You didn't know there is VAT in China do you?



    Yes, but that's more expensive than a 16GB 3GS in the UK with the massive VAT plus larger margins...



    It's even more expensive than an outright officially unlocked handset in Australia too!
  • Reply 13 of 38
    Yup. It happens to be a bit more difficult, than to cry the economy maturity in the forum board, but I won't be much surprised, if iPhones sell all right there.
  • Reply 14 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rokken View Post


    That $732.50 is the price of 3G (8GB). I seriously doubt many Chinese will buy these crippled iPhones with such a price hike instead of buying unlocked and much more cheaper iPhones in Hong Kong.



    Yeah, it puts mainland China as one of the more expensive countries for iPhones.... More expensive than the Hong Kong, UK, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore... (the only countries I know the prices outright of, and those are all officially unlocked!!)



    The officially unlocked ones in the wealthier Chinese province of Hong Kong are cheaper (?!?!?)



    It doesn't make sense. They have no reason to hike the price of unsubsidised phones, considering there is no other FDD-UMTS network in China for it to operate on. Plus no-one outside china would want to buy one of these handsets as they have no WiFi.



    Maybe the Reuters report is wrong, or the carrier has some amazing subsidies planned.
  • Reply 15 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    Does the Chinese iPhone include MMS?



    Of course it does. All 80+ official iPhone networks had MMS from day one except AT&T.
  • Reply 16 of 38
    markbmarkb Posts: 153member
    Well the only thing I can see that would stop a complete meltdown of a network launched on the same day is the ludicrous price.



    Launching the 3G the same day might be cute but....



    Especially considering they have the wifi disabled so all network traffic will have to flow through the 3G connection.
  • Reply 17 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by parky View Post


    Have you seen the UK non contract prices?



    3G (8GB) = £342.50 = $542



    3GS (16GB) = £440.40 = $697



    3GS (32GB) = £538.30 = $852



    So the China price depends on which model is being sold.



    Have you seen the USA prices ?

    The cheapest 3G is 99$, the cheapest 3GS is 199$.

    That's very strange!
  • Reply 18 of 38
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacFinder View Post


    Have you seen the USA prices ?

    The cheapest 3G is 99$, the cheapest 3GS is 199$.

    That's very strange!



    You're quoting the contract prices. On a contract, they're free in the UK.



    Amorya
  • Reply 19 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by parky View Post


    Have you seen the UK non contract prices?



    3G (8GB) = £342.50 = $542



    3GS (16GB) = £440.40 = $697



    3GS (32GB) = £538.30 = $852



    So the China price depends on which model is being sold.



    I was going to buy a 3GS on PAYG until I saw the price in my local O2 store. Even the store rep said they were way too expensive but as long as they are selling well I can't see any reductions anytime soon. Hopefully this deal with Orange will lead to lower prices in the new year.
  • Reply 20 of 38
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by parky View Post


    Have you seen the UK non contract prices?



    3G (8GB) = £342.50 = $542



    3GS (16GB) = £440.40 = $697



    3GS (32GB) = £538.30 = $852



    So the China price depends on which model is being sold.



    Cheaper than Ireland then.
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