After five days of sales, French wireless carrier Orange has sold 30,000 iPhones, the company announced Wednesday. Louis-Pierre Wenes, Orange's executive director for France operations, said the number was "a very good score," and added that half of the iPhone sales are accompanied by a new Orange subscription.
Orange's parent, France Telecom, had set a goal of selling 100,000 iPhones by the end of the year. Considering sales volume is typically higher immediately after a product launch, Orange will be hard-pressed to hit those goals in the three weeks remaining in December.
In Germany, T-Mobile said it sold 10,000 iPhones on the first day. And in the UK, O2 said the iPhone was its fastest selling unit ever, but refused to provide numbers.
Sales Look 'Sluggish'
Even accounting for the difference is size between the U.S. and France, "30,000 units seems sluggish," Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence, said in a telephone interview. "The iPhone is having a tougher time in Europe."
In its first weekend, AT&T and Apple sold 270,000 iPhones in the U.S., which is five times the size of France. Thus, even accounting for the population difference, the French launch was half as strong as it was in the U.S.
The reason might be that wireless in Europe is more advanced than in America, Sterling said. The iPhone offered "a quantum leap in quality in the U.S. that doesn't exist in Europe," he noted.
Unlocked Version Available
Another factor is the dominance of Nokia in Europe, Sterling said. "Nokia is the dominant handset maker and has a lot of devices, a lot of smart devices. They're pretty entrenched in Europe, so Europeans may be more blasé about the iPhone."
France is a unique situation for Apple, because French law requires Orange to sell unlocked phones in addition to the ones tied to an Orange contract. Orange sells iPhones with an unlimited Internet contract for 399 euros ($585), 549 euros on other contracts, and 649 without a contract.
Orange only sold 1,500 of the 30,000 without a contract. A 100-euro fee is required to use the phone on another network.
In Germany, a judge ruled Tuesday that Apple's partner T-Mobile does not have to sell an unlocked version of the phone. Rival Vodafone had sued T-Mobile over the exclusive deal with Apple. The ruling overturned a lower court decision that required a T-Mobile to sell an unlocked iPhone, which had been selling for the extravagant price of 999 euros.
"The intention of the legal action was to ensure clarity on the commercial position in the German marketplace," Vodafone spokesperson Simon Gordon said. "We will be examining it closely to decide on any future actions. ... Vodafone Germany does not believe that the pricing model is in the best interests of the German consumer."
|
