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Infinite Loop / The Apple Ecosystem

iPhone Europe negotations still underway

Demand for the iPhone in Europe is reportedly high, but Apple may not have a …

With all of the recent news and discussion of the upcoming US iPhone launch, it's easy to forget that Apple is also seeking a partner for the iPhone in Europe. The European market is a fairly large one, and is in some way more familiar with smartphones than the US, thanks to a large number of Nokia products that are Europe-only. We haven't heard much about Europe for a while, but there seems to be a bit of a lull before June 29, and attention is once again turning to Europe.

One piece of news that's quite heartening for Apple is that demand for the iPhone in the UK appears to be quite strong. More than half of respondents to the study had heard of the iPhone, and a quarter of those people said their interest in the iPhone is "strong." Extrapolating this number gives us the figure of 7 million cellphone users in the UK who would be strongly interested in the iPhone. It's a good sign, especially since Apple's command of the European market isn't quite as strong when compared to their influence in the US. The European market also makes greater use of 3G and less use of multimedia features on phones, however, so Apple has still got their work cut out for them if they want the iPhone to succeed across the ocean.

3G aside, Apple also needs to quit gold-bricking and sign a contract in Europe. A number of different European carriers, including Orange, O2, and T-Mobile, have been mentioned as potential European carriers for the iPhone, but no agreement has been signed as of yet. The delay is reportedly due to Apple, who is making demands that carriers just don't want to agree to. I haven't seen anything about what those demands are, but presumably they involve Apple exerting some control over the carrier, as we've seen in the US. Apple might be in a bit of a tough spot if they can't sign a contract, since they would then have to compete in the European market against several existing smartphones and smartphone manufacturers, all without the backing of a carrier. Apple will probably cave eventually, but they also have their hands full with the US launch, so it may take a while longer for the European carrier and release details to be finalized.

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