[MW Forums]

The iPhone will be competing against lower-priced handsets and more entrenched brands when it arrives in the U.K. on November 9. more

[rjwill246]

Gee, tell us something new! European/UK customers are certainly not used to buying high-end products at the same rate they do in the US-- hence, Apple's lag in Europe. Same goes for the iPhone. It will catch on though as a well heeled set has emerged and shown that they are not the typical cheapos that once characterized the UK/Euro set. Not that those have all vanished as is evidenced in the forums here today with much whining, whinging and hand wringing over the cost and lack of features of the iPhone. Notably, by people who have yet to see one let alone use one.
Despite the author's outdated sense of the current market, the iPhone will be a huge hit. It will be hacked and used on cheaper networks, regardless. Here's to a great future for the iPhone and to Nokia et al-- get used to it-- a new day is upon you and Apple has just begun in your neck of the woods.

[Citizen_Dave]

I'm a Maceverything user -- Macbook Pro, Macbook at home, kids have iMac, PowerMac for work -- and I'm also an O2 Premium customer. I just got my N95 for $free with O2. I won't pay for the iPhone for two reasons: for one thing I won't buy any phone that is SIM-locked and for another thing I won't buy a phone that isn't 3G. Note also that the N95 has GPS as well as wifi.

[Namdlog]

I couldn't agree less. European consumers, such as myself here in Finland, are used to paying more for electronics than in the US, but Apple's approach to the iPhone and iPod touch is truly gouging. The markup for the other Apple products in Europe is not so ridiculous (and one assumes that they are not selling iPhones and iPod touches at a loss in the States either). Anyway, for me to move from my current smartphone, the iPhone would have to have 3G and GPS. Hell, my kids' Nokia phones are all 3G...

[MCJ]

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I'm a Maceverything user -- Macbook Pro, Macbook at home, kids have iMac, PowerMac for work -- and I'm also an O2 Premium customer. I just got my N95 for $free with O2. I won't pay for the iPhone for two reasons: for one thing I won't buy any phone that is SIM-locked and for another thing I won't buy a phone that isn't 3G. Note also that the N95 has GPS as well as wifi.

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The N95 is one sweet package, and is superior to the iPhone from a technical POV. The only thing that it really lacks compared to the iPhone is the advanced user interface.
That said I actually quite like the Symbian OS used in the N-series.

[ReeceTarbert]

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to Nokia et al-- get used to it-- a new day is upon you and Apple has just begun in your neck of the woods.

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Steve... is that you?

Sorry, couldn't resist! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[alansky]

I totally disagree with this analysis. The iPhone is not intended for people who intend to make their next mobile phone buying decision based on price. The iPhone is intended for those who are willing and able to pay a premium for the priviledge of getting their hands on an awesomely cool new product as soon as humanly possible. The iPhone faces no competition whatsoever in Europe or anywhere else because there is nothing else even remotely like the iPhone. Some people understand what the iPhone is about and will pay whatever it takes to own this truly ground-breaking device. For everyone else, there's the same tired old cellphone crap there has always been.

[jpmuk]

I got an N95 on Vodafone a couple of months ago free for 35 per month with 750 free minutus. 100mb per month is an extra 8 per month and it's a 2 for every mb you use after that. However surfing on the thing is like pulling your own teeth out. My soul dies every time I try to find a web page. The interface is clunky and 3G or not the thing is slow.
I actually hate the N95. It's slow to do anything, the 5 megapixel camera takes blurry pics with shocking lag (good for a phone though but worse than the very cheapest digital cameras). The music player is quite good but the battery life is absolutely appalling, really, really bad. In fact, it seems like the iPhone has it licked in every way, fast, slick and with decent battery life.

[horvatic]

This has all been said before in the U.S. market and Apple went to number 1 and sold more phones in a month than most do in half a year. Apple's iPhone is a superior product made for the consumer, not a programer or engineer. You don't have to figure out how to use the iPhone. It's that simple and it just works. The N95 is a slow piece of crap that runs Windows and takes twice the amount of time to do anything on it along with its cumbersome interface compared to the iPhone.

[MCJ]

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Get some facts straight, horvatic. The N95 doesn't run Windows, it runs Symbian, which is more popular in Europe. Anyway, they also sold 10 million N-series devices last quarter (1.5 million N95s), so Apple isn't creating a smartphone market in Europe the way they did here in the U.S. (where smartphones have never sold well before iPhone). This means that it is reasonable to assume they will face stiffer competition there. I think iPhone will sell well, but I also expect it will need improvements to sustain its sales in Europe (I fully expect a 3G iPhone and some form of GPS next year). Nokia will also need to make improvements, which they are doing with the upcoming N95 8GB, which has a faster, simplified interface and better battery life. Why does every discussion have to turn into an "everything other than Apple is garbage" thread? The fact of the matter is that both Apple and Nokia have enjoyed positive runs lately, and judging by market values, they are both expected to. Both put out decent products, and it will be interesting to see what the two companies put out to compete with each other.

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Well said, KPO'M. It's refreshing to see someone with an objective point of view.
I look forward to reading more of your thoughts when you have had more time to compare the phones.