The iPhone Gets Ready For Its European Debut
by
Randy Mears
Have I mentioned that I love my iPhone? Having had a number of converged computer/phone devices over the past several years I can honestly say that this is the first one that I enjoy using. I can't put my finger on why, but I use it more often and in more places too. Unlike similar devices I've had, the iPhone has left me angst free.
No one really expected the iPhone to live up to the hype (I think it represented a historical hype high-water mark) but there were also some unexpected blemishes that popped up once it got into the hands of the public. For instance, it bothers me that it doesn’t support Bluetooth stereo headphones and that it can be a little on the slow side when accessing web sites via AT&T's 2.5G Edge; but given how well everything else works those two big issues fade deep into the background for me. Some of the issues that seem important to my colleagues, like the lack of a mobile Outlook client, don’t really matter to me. I consider my iPhone a personal assistant, not a business assistant and, unlike my business assistant, my iPhone is with me 24/7. When it comes right down to it, I really don’t like to mix business and personal things.
So far, the US is the only place that you can get an iPhone but Apple has been negotiating with European carriers in a bid to offer iPhones in Europe later this year. Rumors in the press suggest that, at least initially, three European carriers will offer them. The named carriers and countries are T-Mobile in Germany, O2 in the UK and Orange in France. I don’t know what this means for the rest of Europe but I suspect that other European countries will follow. Since the US launch successfully burst the iPhone hype bubble, it will be interesting to see how much fanfare will accompany the launch in Europe.
