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An estimated 3000 people are using hacked Apple iPhones on the Vodafone network in New Zealand at the moment, but later in the year the phone gets a legitimate release through Vodafone, which has done a deal to release the phone in 10 countries.
Vodafone is tight-lipped on
the details. Its press release ran to merely two sentences. So while Vodafone's securing of the phone is exciting news for New Zealand mobile users, there are plenty of questions up in the air - the release date chief among them.
It is almost definite that the iPhone that comes to New Zealand for 021 subscribers will be the new 3G version capable of connecting to data services at high speed.
Why? Because Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin has pointed out in the past that he sees the iPhone as being marginal without 3G connectivity.
The 3G iPhone is widely tipped to debut next month, with some reports suggesting heavy subsidisation by operators will drop its price significantly - as low as US$199.
The iPhone will likely come in 8GB and 16GB versions as is the case in the markets where it has already launched.
The phone will be sold here by Vodafone, but not necessarily exclusively by the mobile giant. The latest round of deal-making between Apple and the mobile industry, particularly in the Italian market, suggests Apple is going to offer the iPhone to more than one operator in each market.
That suggests Telecom may still be able to offer the iPhone when it launches its GSM network in November. This non-exclusivity is also expected for Australia where mobile operator Optus is also expected to be able to sell the iPhone
So what will the 8GB iPhone sell for here? That's still anyone's guess, but I'd say it will be in the vicinity of $700 given the mark-up Vodafone has applied to high-end phones in the past.
Maybe you'll get it as low as $400 - $500 on a 24 month contract requiring you to commit to a high monthly spend, but I can't see Vodafone letting go a sought after gadget device like the iPhone for less of an upfront cost. After all, what else has Vodafone got that comes close? There are some high-end Nokia handsets and the N96 will be a slick little device when it arrives, but there's precious little else that comes close to the iPhone in terms of form factor and usability.
The iPod functionality of the iPhone won't necessarily lead to explosive growth in downloads of music tracks from the iTunes music store, but it will quickly become the most popular phone-cum-music player on the market. Once you scroll through the visual library of albums on the iPhone or iPod Touch you'll realise why.
Will the phone be locked to Vodafone? Almost certainly yes, given Vodafone's new policy of locking new handsets to its network and charging a $50 fee to unlock them for use on other networks.
Will Vodafone offer the all-you-can-eat data plan for email and web-surfing that customers of AT&T in the US enjoy? Probably. This is where the mobile market is moving and while Vodafone doesn't currently do an all-you-can-eat data deal here, the iPhone would be the perfect plan to introduce flat-rate data pricing.
Will iPhone buyers get as part of the deal access from their iPhone to a nationwide network of Wi-Fi hotspots as AT&T customers in the US and O2 customers in the United Kingdom enjoy? Unlikely. Telecom has a deal with the only true nationwide Wi-Fi network operator SmartPay/Fivo, which in December won the rights to manage Telecom's hotspot network.
No one else has as extensive a Wi-Fi network and Vodafone has nothing in the way of active partnerships in the Wi-Fi hotspot space.
Local iPhone users will certainly get the visual voicemail features so valued by early iPhone converts.
What is less clear is what role the walled-garden Vodafone Live portal will play on the Vodafone-branded iPhone. It's likely to appear as a default icon on the iPhone, but while most Vodafone handsets steer you towards Vodafone Live for accessing online services, the iPhone's gateway to the web is through native applications on the user interface and through the Safari web browser.
Vodafone Live is unlikely to get much of a look-in in the new environment which signals a shift in the mobile web business model.
Vodafone's locally sold iPhones will almost certainly be able to connect to the upcoming iTunes App Store which is likely to become the outlet for a host of localised applications created by local iPhone developers taking advantage of the software developers' kit Apple has released for the phone.
Why is this significant? Because the iPhone is the best mobile internet device to appear to date. It's touch-screen interface is still second to none and the Safari browser makes online applications like YouTube, Google Maps and Facebook look great.
It iPhone users get the benefit of all-you-can-eat data when they stump up for the phone, it will change the face of mobile use in New Zealand.
Will you be keen to buy an iPhone? How much are you willing to pay for one and how important is all-you-can-eat data?
