Apple iPhone 2.0

[X.]

Here's the skinny:

- It's 3G, so faster downloading of content over crappy US mobile networks
- Best of all: 8GB model is only $199; 16GB is $299. Compare that with the original iPhone's $599 price tag, and this may be a bestseller.
- Releasing in 22 countries (does that include UAE?) on July 11, 2008.

For more, read this.

[shariqq]

Was just reading about it on Y!'s homepage.

If it's really as cheap as that in Dubai, I think I'll get the $299 version when it comes out here (White or grey market)

[sulphurhead]

Its not being officially releasing in the UAE as of now (Jeff Chen presented a world map of countries the iphone is going live with in july and the UAE did not seem to be on it)

[ozzylogic]

But it's made of plastic, and still has a 2MP camera!

[kaytee]

Etisalat are a bunch of fucking bastards...Pricks...

iPhone 'must drop monopoly practices before UAE launch'

Dubai: The iPhone will not see an official UAE launch as long as it wants to be made available through one telecom operator exclusively, an official at the Telecoms Regulatory Authority has said.

An exclusivity contract for the iPhone that etisalat was seeking has been rejected by the TRA, Gulf News has learned.

The spokesperson for the TRA, Rasheed Joumblatt, refused to confirm this but warned that all exclusivity contracts will be rejected "regardless of which operator applies".

etisalat and Apple's representatives in the Middle East, Arabian Business Machine, also refused to comment.

"Exclusivity is considered anti-competition in the UAE. If Apple does not open the iPhone to all [operators] in the UAE, it won't be coming here," said Joumblatt.

"We don't want anything to do with monopoly. Exclusivity is close to monopoly and it is prohibited in the competition law of the telecom sector," he said.

Joumblatt said he could not comment on whether any telecom operator in the UAE had been seeking an exclusivity contract with Apple because it would amount to commenting on marketing issues.

du did not comment on whether it has plans to bring the iPhone here.

Apple's first version of the iPhone was launched in the United States with an exclusivity contract with AT&T, but according to Abbas Jaffer-Ali, editor-in-chief of meMobility.net, Apple has changed its revenue model with the launch of iPhone 3G, entering many countries without an exclusivity contract.

With the launch of the previous version of iPhone, said Jaffer-Ali, Apple made an exception in France, where the telecom regulatory authority ensured that an unlocked version of the phone was available for consumers for a higher price than the one locked to the Orange network.

Exclusivity contracts involve the telecom operators giving a percentage of the monthly service fee paid by iPhone users to Apple in exchange for keeping the monopoly over sales of the smartphone and determining the selling price with Apple.

The UAE is not on the list of 71 countries that Apple is expecting to launch the iPhone 3G by the end of the year. Qatar is the only Gulf country on the list, where it is going to be available through Vodafone.

"For now, Apple is just launching in countries that have telecom operators it already has a relationship with," said Jaffar-Ali.

The 3G version of the smartphone will launch in Arab countries through telecom companies Apple has dealt with before. It will launch in Jordan through Orange and in Qatar and Egypt through Vodafone.

[fizz]

Doesn't EtiSLUT have an exclusivity with Blackberry? I don't think you can use the cool, nifty BB features if you have a DU Sim card. If so, this is nothing but hypocrisy on their part.

[ozzylogic]

Rules are regulations here are nothing but hypocrisy. No monopoly eh? What about the period when Du didn't exist? Fucktards.

[sulphurhead]

No, I think du have just started offering the BB service too. I saw a banner when I was passing by the Du showroom here in DIFC.

[shariqq]

No Monopoly? Anti-competition laws? I am sorry, but was this guy born last night?

[X.]

Don't believe a word of this PR game. We all know who sits on the TRA board of directors. Like many aspects of the new push for 'democratizing' commerce, this is just talk-talk-pretend-pretend. But, where there is smoke, there is fire: DU is pissed about not being able to sell iPhones, and it wants market share; Etislut (thanks, Fizz) is too greedy; and TRA is getting heat from its money-hungry benefactors. Apple is smart to stay out of this capitalistic quagmire, until the dust settles.

For people here interested in buying iPhones, my suggestion is be nice to Sammy.

[madali]

Whatever, guys, I dont know what the behind the scenes game is, but fuck Iphone's exclusivity.  Phones should remain isolate devices that work on any network.

Iphone still sucks.

[sammy]

haha...well its a very interesting and albeit successful market for Apple.

Its not really bothered with small markets (though the UAE at one point had the most number of iPhones) and it made a pretty penny with the iPhone 1.

As for Du, they have other things to worry about (like their network reach!)

I think the french were doing something similar requiring apple to remove the contract requirement, if the user has used the device for 6 months and wants to cancel.

Lets C....as the war heats up! google's new phone's twinkies are on and off all over, and the new bb interface is supposed to be * | *

[ozzylogic]

Used it for a week as my boss bought a cracked model from HK, and asked me if I could configure a VPN connection and Exchange connectivity, and if these were successful, we'd all be using iPhone 3Gs instead of our current BB 8310s.

[X.]

Oz, keep up updated on your experiences with the unlocked 3Gs.

Also, check your PM box.

[ozzylogic]

I'll be taking another shot at configuring it this week when I get the time. Thanks AK.

So far, I find it over-rated. I got bored of it after an hour or so. Slicky, lag free UI...and that's it. I've been more excited using Nokia's E-Series line of phones.