O2 Germany starts sales of iPhone 3GS without permission from Apple!

In countries where there is only one carrier that offers iPhone, situation is very bad: that operator offers inferior services or higher prices and customers cannot do anything but have to buy iPhone and service from a carrier that they hate.

One of these countries is USA where every dwarf knows that Verizon has much better 3G coverage than AT&T, that offers iPhone exclusively.

In Germany, T-Mobile has exclusivity on iPhone and while T-Mobile’s network is extremely good (after all T-Mobile is owned by former telecommunications monopolist – Deutsche Telekom), pricing however is outrageously high – practically speaking 4-10 times more expensive than other carriers.

Now German O2 has just announced that they are starting sales of iPhone 3GS for 779 euro and even without SIM lock and they even offer interesting offer: you pay 299 Euro in advance and then you pay 20 euro for 24 months. However they do not have permission from Apple!

Previously T-Mobile Germany has successfully sued Vodafone Germany so that Vodafone Germany was forbidden to sale iPhone. Now O2 is trying the same and since O2 is very proactive on German market, they will probably not give up so easily as Vodafone…

In meantime German T-Mobile has released notice that they still are exclusive partner of Apple in area of iPhone for Germany.

Commentary: Apple should start sales of iPhone to all carriers in Europe – after all no adaptation of radio part is needed (in USA an iPhone would not work on 3G of T-Mobile USA). Apple does not need carriers anymore, particularly such that offer much lower coverage or much higher prices to their customers. Customers in USA want to use iPhone on Verizon (that has huge 3G coverage) and customers in Germany want to use iPhone on ePlus network (that has prices so low, that even bums can afford unlimited calling and unlimited data). Steve Jobs, maybe you should stop that Zen meditations for a while and listen to the customers at least once in a lifetime?

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