Comments on: Reuters and the German iPhone Report

By: consultant

consultant — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:51:06 +0000

Ok, for those who hasn’t done any international traveling/business/trading…

Mercedes and BMWs, headquartered in Germany (but doesn’t matter where it’s produced), costs more in the US. German tools cost more in the US, etc.

Apple products, headquartered in US, will cost more in other countries.

Simple as that.

By: Jamiro

Jamiro — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:35:04 +0000

I think the price is a big problem for many people here in Germany. I’d really like to have an iPhone but for about 568$ with a contract of at minimum about 73$ a month it’s too expensive for me. If it would cost maybe about 500â‚¬ (~730$) and would have no sim-lock, it would probably be more successful. But let’s see how it goes. I mean, many people complain about missing UMTS and MMS. But hey, who the hell uses MMS? Okay, for such an expensive phone you’d expect it, but I could live very well without it.

By: Slaser

Slaser — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:46:57 +0000

There is a steady Apple fan community here in Germany, and believe me it’s growing. The problem is, however, that there is no marketing here in Germany for Macs besides word-of-mouth.

Most Germans know the iPods. (But hey â€“ who on Earth doesn’t?)
And that’s it.

I’m pretty sure Germany could be a great market for Apple’s computer hardware. But Apple still has its “good-looking-but-expensive-stuff-for-designers-only”-image here.

I’d love to know why Apple didn’t air the Mac-vs.-PC TV spots here…

By: 10,000 iPhones sold in Germany on Launch Day - “failure”, my foot!

10,000 iPhones sold in Germany on Launch Day - “failure”, my foot! — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:44:52 +0000

[...] earlier today we talked about how their were no real lines at German Apple stores, and that Reuters had dubbed the launch of the iPhone in Germany as a failure….well…that may not be the [...]

By: Tristan

Tristan — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:54:43 +0000

And $584? Doesn’t it cost in America something like $400? I would want my $180 back! What’s with this rip-off Europeans strategy?

(most of the people I know who bought Macs, bought them in America, cause here the price of Apple products is here in many cases simply ridiculous high)

By: obi

obi — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:31:03 +0000

The plans are crap here in Germany! It is as simple as that.
Germans like well engineered tools no matter where they were designed. But maybe we are bit conservative when it comes to price/performance ratio.
Typing this from an iPod touch, because the iPhone is a ripp-off over here IMHO.
Regards, obi

By: Fabian

Fabian — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:19:29 +0000

@krye

I don’t think that’s the case here, just a product of bad advertising…

By: krye

krye — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:47:48 +0000

Is it just me, or does Germany not like anything this is not designed by Germans? You know, that whole “German engineering” thing.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:34:46 +0000

@Slaser

Wow…those are terrible sales numbers. Thanks for the report. It sounds like T-Mobile and Apple have a steep uphill climb when it comes to being successful with the iPhone in Germany.

By: Slaser

Slaser — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:25:51 +0000

I was in two T-Mobile stores in Duisburg, Germany today, just to see how they do. The first store in the city centre sold… tadaaa… two iPhones. The second â€“ a store primarily for business customers â€“ even sold eight. This was in the late afternoon.

Well, I’m not surprised. And by the way: I didn’t buy one either, although I really want one.

Looks like the iPhone’s start in Germany is going to be a huge failure. Of course, the official announcements will tell you otherwise, and, sure, there are some people who already bought iPhones. But I’m pretty sure, in T-Mobile’s next press announcements you won’t find any numbers, just because they’re too bad.

I think the main reason is: T-Mobile was not able to come up with truly innovative plans for the iPhone. In addition to that, Apple is not as well-known in Germany, as it is in the US. It’s a lot harder here for Apple, partly because they’re not advertising that much over here. I’ve never seen a TV spot for a Mac here, only for iPods and the iPhone.

Let’s hope that Apple put some success expectations in the contracts with T-Mobile, which will force T-Mobile to become creative on how to sell all these phones they have in stock. Bundling them with some accessories, coming up with better plans, or dropping the price would be nice.

By: Fabian

Fabian — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:19:21 +0000

I live in Germany and it seems the German press doesn’t really like the iPhone. They are all complaining about the phone not having UMTS and stuff… I think either they are just jealous or that’s just the way of German life, complaining and whining…