Apple promises to do better with European iPhone

given the strength of the euro vs. the dollar, there is soooo much money to be made in Europe! Apple is going to be significantly missing a great opportunity if Cagni can't do better.

How about:

1) No carrier tie-in at current cost or free with tie-in. 2) Full smart-phone capability, like cut down office apps, cut and paste, SMS forwarding, etc. 3) Better camera (like they had on Nokias three years ago) 4) MMS

I should point out that I do like my iPhone, but it seriously lacks some of the features I had on Windows Mobile phones back in 2003! Come on Apple, do the job properly (same goes for that thing you call an Apple TV - where's the TV bit??).

maybe the existing hundreds of other better phones that never make it to the US is a factor? the iPhone shines here because American carriers have had lackluster phones for so long.

1) Sell iPhones unlocked. 2) Set reasonable price so Europeans wouldn't be thinking you are robbing them.

Voila! Sales will soar.

The rest of gimmicks like 'better camera, office apps, MMS' is good to have, but they do not sell phones, as iPhone promptly pointed out already. Do you really think that the lack of these features is the culprit of slow European market adoption? Cost comes before the features, as Asus Eee have shown, the impact of the rest is just negligible.

I think Apple also has the same pricing policy in Europe for the iPhone, don't they? That is, they charge the same number of currency units in Europe for an iPhone, as they do in the US... even though $1.60 = €1.

I'd resent being overcharged by Apple too, if I were living over there.

Agreed that the extra features are not all important, although I would say that SMS forwarding and MMS are the norm on other free phones. However, the price and tariff are the issue. Charge for it with loads of features and no lock in, or make it free with lock-in. In the UK it's either or.

I have an iPhone, but I'm not typical on the c. 40 million mobile phone owners in the UK. I suspect the rest of Europe is not dissimilar.

Lower the damn price!! It's too expensive over there and it's too expensive over here. Everyone in the USA would want one if it was reasonably priced.

Apple kit and services are very expensive here. Therefore more of a luxury item. Also, as an owner of Apple Macs and iPhone/iPod I also find that they struggle to understand the world outside of North America. Microsoft do a far, far better job of regionalisation of their software.

When Apple start to treat their customers here in Europe with a little more respect, then I think they will do very well. The whole warranty/Applecare business is a prime example, although in the UK we have laws (Sale of Goods and Services Act) that covers us beyond warranty periods. When my MBP battery deformed after about 14 months I called Apple. They tried to fob be off with not having Apple Care. I quoted the Sale of Goods and Services Act, was put on hold for 5 minutes and lo and behold, a free battery was sent to me.

I forgot the teeny-weeny little matter of 3G. EDGE is not that fast, WiFi is a moot point when you are on the move. My N95 with 3G was fantastic. I could even tether it to the Mac using BlueTooth as a modem.

Aye, brethren! Apple needs to learn a bit about Europe, it seems. First of all, get the prices down. It doesnʼt matter whether you have some tiny, little sales tax added to the advertised prices in the US. As far as I know, it doesnʼt even apply everywhere and where it does, it is not about that much. And reflect the status of the dollar a bit more. Here in Norway, Appleʼs products were lowered a wee bit but far from enough! A MacBook would have cost 5600 kroner here, equalling the US price - it costs 3000 kroner more, though, or close to 600 dollars more. That is more than a handful... Since the iPhone hasnʼt arrived here yet, one cannot guess what the price would be, but they need to adopt to the market here. If we pay that much for a phone, it is supposed not to be tied-in. Norway is a rich country, but people do not like it when they feel that they are being squeezed out of more money than what is fair, anyhow. Apple could sell like hot wheat bread as we say here, if they adjusted a bit more to the markets they are in. And yes, the consumersʼ rights here gives us more than the Apple Care does. So come on, Apple, show that you really want to increase your market share! Listen to Europe and learn Europe!