The iPhone will be marketed by Orange from 29 November
The touchscreen device, capable of making calls, connecting to the Internet and storing thousands of music and video files, will be sold in Orange stores from Thursday 29 November. The unique 8 GB model will be offered at a price of 399 euros with subscription. The prices of the packages associated with the device have not yet been communicated by the operator.
"We are delighted to team up with Orange and to be able to offer iPhone in France in time for the holiday season, "said Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple." We hope that French mobile users will appreciate it as much as we do. "
"Orange customers across the country are going to have a very pleasant Christmas ! ", for its part pleased Didier Lombard, CEO of France Telecom.
The announcement comes to an end a saga of several weeks, during which newspapers, magazines, blogs and specialized sites have in turn predicted the postponement or cancellation of the launch of theiPhone on the French market, mentioning in particular disagreements between Apple and Orange on the issue of sharing revenue from the sale of the device.
Tuesday morning, the weekly Challenges announced on its website that the two partners had finally found a compromise, the French operator agreeing to pay Apple 30% subscriptions iPhone-Orange subscribed.
It remains to know the rate at which will be charged the unlocked version of the device. To comply with French law, which prohibits the tied selling of a product and a service, Orange must indeed propose theiPhone unlocked, that is to say without subscription and therefore usable by customers of competing operators. The price will undoubtedly be a deterrent, in order to avoid the explosion of a parallel market ofiPhone unlocked.
"We are delighted to team up with Orange and to be able to offer iPhone in France in time for the holiday season, "said Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple." We hope that French mobile users will appreciate it as much as we do. "
"Orange customers across the country are going to have a very pleasant Christmas ! ", for its part pleased Didier Lombard, CEO of France Telecom.
The announcement comes to an end a saga of several weeks, during which newspapers, magazines, blogs and specialized sites have in turn predicted the postponement or cancellation of the launch of theiPhone on the French market, mentioning in particular disagreements between Apple and Orange on the issue of sharing revenue from the sale of the device.
Tuesday morning, the weekly Challenges announced on its website that the two partners had finally found a compromise, the French operator agreeing to pay Apple 30% subscriptions iPhone-Orange subscribed.
It remains to know the rate at which will be charged the unlocked version of the device. To comply with French law, which prohibits the tied selling of a product and a service, Orange must indeed propose theiPhone unlocked, that is to say without subscription and therefore usable by customers of competing operators. The price will undoubtedly be a deterrent, in order to avoid the explosion of a parallel market ofiPhone unlocked.
