Apple's iPhone Sales Sluggish in Europe

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Apparently the iPhone doesn’t seem to be selling too well in Europe. Although higher prices and market dominance by Nokia are partially blamed, analyst don’t really know why the phone isn’t selling better.

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.
Click to expand...
 
Maybe it is related to the fact that the real novelty feature (touchscreen) is also available from other phone manufacturers. The SE K850i, for example, has been available at Amazon.de since the end of September, for much less than 1k Euros and has more features than the iPhone.

Then again, maybe the Samsung touchscreen phone that I saw advertised on TV earlier this evening is also a more attractive option? Additionally, in Germany the iPhone is only available through one of the most expensive mobile phone providers, T-mobile. While I pay 10 cents/ minute or SMS to anyone in Germany with my prepaid account, T-mobile's plans are somewhere around 40-70 cents a minute for overages and SMS, if you have a contract.

Additionally, the sub 300 Euro Nokia e51 was just released, while it does not have a touchscreen, it has some other phone features (such as dual-band HSDPA) that the iPhone does not have.

Last but not least, I would think that people in continental Europe are on average less gadget crazy than Americans. Many people will not switch to a provider for a phone, but rather look for a cheap contract to use with their old phone. Additionally, many European carriers provide sufficient access to recent phone models, so there's a lot of decent phones to choose from.
 
FAIL. LOL.

It doesn't sell becuase in Europe they already have cool phones. A big 2.5G phone with features that would have been out of date two years ago is not what they want. The swishy UI doesn't matter, as a phone it sucks compared to the competition.

I guess the Cult of Jobs doesn't really float that well in the EU.
 
Also, isnt in Europe where they hd to release the version not tied to AT&T, which cost 3x as much, like $1500 US... maybe that is why...
 
Easy to answer this one.

I used to work for O2 in the UK a few years ago (was rated fouth highest retail salesperson in the Country in my employment there).

Number of Reasons.

1: As all other handsets on pay monthly or pre-pay plans are heavily subsidised by the Network in the UK, users do not want to be spending £249 on a handset as well as having to pay £35 a month for 18 months, when other handsets with better specifications are available for free on lower tariffs & contract lengths.

2: Lack of MMS is another killer as MMS is used a lot in the UK & Europe.

3: Lack of being able to add your own ringtones/message tones without having to hack about with them. Most handsets in the past 4 years have been able to have standard MP3's uploaded to them and used as ringtones/message tones. Ringtones are one of the biggest markets for mobile phone consumers in the UK at least with billions of £'s spent each year on them, without requiring a credit card to purchase them (added to monthly bill if on pay monthly or taken out of pre-paid credit).

4: Most people have realised that handsets have been available for a number years with touchscreens and the same, if not higher specification, than the iPhone (such as the HTC range of devices). My O2 XDAII (HTC Himalaya) does everything that the iPhone does (barring EDGE & visual voicemail - my voice mail is turned off anyway) and more, and I have had it since launch. If I want to use WiFi, I simply stick in the SDIO adaptor & away I go. I can easily and quickly choose what music I want to listen to by using 1GB SD or MMC Cards with different genres or artists on them. I can also change the battery if needed without voiding any warranty or use a higher capacity battery pack. Hell, I can even legally install hundreds of applications depending on what I want to do, as well as use it as a SatNav system in the car with the Bluetooth GPS receiver! My wifes Sony Ericsson 'walkman' handset has all the same functions barring EDGE, WiFi & Touchscreen!

5: We also have 4 main operator networks over here in the UK with a number of smaller but growing independant networks that rent cell sites and usage from the big 4. All of these have almost equal coverage of the UK and not localised. Having the iPhone locked to O2 only is slitting the throats of the consumer. Sure it can be 'jail broken' but when you are spending out all the money on the handset & then the 18 month contract on top, it works out equal to extortion!

6: Poor reception from the cell sites is also something that the iPhone is suffering badly in the UK. You can have 5 different handsets all on O2, and an iPhone, next to each other, and the all 5 non-iPhone handsets will have close to maximum reception, and the iPhone will be on 1 bar.

7: It takes something very special to get the UK market to buy a handset that offers less than others that are cheaper & Apple simply have not done it. Maybe a 3G version would go down better over here, but I wouldn't hold that much hope for it.
 
ok while I know people in the EU make more, asking them to pay 1k Euros was pretty far out there.

Also, as others ahve stated, it doesnt have the most advancaed features. In the US we are behind the curve in cell phone technology; Europe is more advancaed than we are in terms of consumer networks.

As such,m there, the 3G features really shine.


The iPhone is dated even here in the US, in Europe it is obsolete.
 
And here it was me thinking all this time the iPhone was failing overseas due to the lack of effete MAC snob types in Europe.

Even the MAC decision to attempt to save face by removing the phone part is a failure. All you are left with is a grossly over priced iPod thingy. At least they got past the easy to scratched screen problem by using glass; just don’t drop the damn thing.:rolleyes:
 
BillR said:
And here it was me thinking all this time the iPhone was failing overseas due to the lack of effete MAC snob types in Europe.
Click to expand...

Good grief no, we've got plenty, but in general they are less ... religious ... about it.

No my own take is that:

A: Folks remember how the US early adopters got screwed over on price.
B: The European cell phone market is more advanced (technologically and culturally) than the US one, the iPhone and it's contract lock-ins looks less impressive (moreso) relative to rest of the market than it did in the US.
C: They want how much money for it? No thanks, I can get the same or better for cheaper.
 
The iPhone is also not 3g - which seems an obvious feature too wait for given Europe's excellent 3g coverage.
 
It's not 3G
The cameras is dreadful
It can't record movies
It doesn't do MMS
It is disgustingly expensive PLUS a contract
It can't do SMS forwarding
It can't do SMS to multiple recipients
It can't play anything other than a specific movie format
You can't add applications
It can't play anything as a ringtone
You can't have it on Pay as you go
Edge coverage is crap in the UK - improving, but crap
O2 is a company I've had some experience with and would never deal with again (Sorry TheNomad )
Ditto Carphone Warehouse ( who attempt insurance extortion with every sale )
We're used to a good handset, that can do more than the iPhone for FREE with a big contract like £35/month


"analyst don’t really know why the phone isn’t selling better."

They should think about getting a different job, as the reasons are fairly frickin' obvious.

Doug
 
Like I told you before it came here, Iphone will never catch wind because it's

a) Overpriced
b) Two generations old technology
c) A toy
d) It doesn't work good in any role

This I could tell without laying a hand on the phone myself. I'm not surprised at all from the sales figures.
 
`cause its too expensive, i dont want to buy a phone for 999€ with many features missing i´d like to have :eek:

and btw. Vodafone lost in court against T-Mobile in Germany, so they will stop to sell the phone for 999€ too.
 
djellison said:
"analyst don’t really know why the phone isn’t selling better."

They should think about getting a different job, as the reasons are fairly frickin' obvious.

Doug
Click to expand...
QFT. I think the analyst companies ought to give some of the [H]'ers jobs.. we'll do it better than their current muppets.
 
drizzt81 said:
Last but not least, I would think that people in continental Europe are on average less gadget crazy than Americans. Many people will not switch to a provider for a phone, but rather look for a cheap contract to use with their old phone. Additionally, many European carriers provide sufficient access to recent phone models, so there's a lot of decent phones to choose from.
Click to expand...

Yeah, some big generalisations here, but I think that US folks wants something big and flashy (and the iPhone UI is very flashy), while EU folks just want something that works and doesn't have to be flashy (except you're a teen and want to brag for your friends).

But I know a 25 year old woman who lives in the US and she sent me an message once about how cool and awesome she looked while standing in some concert line typing on her iPhone while waiting to get in. And I don't think that kind of mentality is nearly as common in Europe.
 
what everybody said plus ;)

no fckn flatrate! if i ever get an iphone it has to come with a flatrate. unlimited minutes, unlimited sms unlimited, data unlimited. a fixed price per month and thats it, then we can talk about it. but all the "offers" until now in europe are as far as i know limited. :eek:
 
Other than what everyone else has said...

There seems to be more Lemmings in the US than EU.

They have better and have been using better. The iPhone isn't all that but, because it's Apple. That bandwagon is pretty large here.
 
Steve said:
Apparently the iPhone doesn’t seem to be selling too well in Europe. Although higher prices and market dominance by Nokia are partially blamed, analysts who want to keep their jobs but don't want to get fired for telling the truth don’t really know why the phone isn’t selling better.
Click to expand...

FTFY
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top