Comments on: T-Mobile Bringing G1 to Five EU Areas, at Least One with Subsidy

By: Bruno

Bruno — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:52:15 +0000

Expansys seems to offer unlocked G1

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:46:31 +0000

Last I heard, Telefónica announced in February that they were bringing the HTC Dream in. They didn’t say when that would be however.

By: Trixy

Trixy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:36:12 +0000

I live in southern Spain and really really really want a G-1, when is it coming our way and which network will it be with?

By: 2manydjs

2manydjs — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:21:24 +0000

“Good to know that we’re not the only ones suffering from what I call “cellular servitude”.”

Speaking for the Dutch, I think most people are quite happy with the system. First off, it’s not common to have exclusive phones for the networks (the only exception to my knowledge: iPhone and now the G1). Secondly you can choose between a cheap subsidized phone or a cheap plan, the latter we call sim-only and is typically half the price of a normal plan. So we are given quite a lot of choice, which I think is good!

And like Desmond mentioned, they throw in all sorts of “free” gifts when you sign up for a normal plan. My brother and his girlfriend signed up for two contracts and got two phones, a big screen TV and a laundry machine :) .

By: Javier

Javier — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:47:33 +0000

Of course, Kevin, this servitude seems to be a “global 2 year´s pain” for users. That´s why i have to use an “old” New York iPhone here in Spain, with my own GSM provider, because i can´t buy a full price free iPhone 3G. And there´s a lot of people that do the same until this “cellular servitude” changes here en Europe. Thanks for your blog!

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:26:05 +0000

How awesome is it that we got comments from practically every country mentioned in the post! :) Thanks for the clarification, everyone. Clearly, I need to make use of that shiny, new passport.

The reason I thought subsidization wasn’t prevelant in the EU: it seems that every time we mention two-year voice or data plan commitments here (in return for subsidized phones or devices) we get comments from around the world saying they don’t follow that business model. Good to know that we’re not the only ones suffering from what I call “cellular servitude”. ;)

By: Javier

Javier — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:03:42 +0000

Hi, only a few words to tell you that here in Spain we don´t have any choice nor freedom to buy a phone like G1 or iPhone 3G at full price, just for use it with other companies. As i know, only in Italy ( by law ), where users have the right to choose what they consider unlocked. So if i want to buy an iPhone 3G or G1 unlocked i have to travel to Italy, in Spain it´s impossible, because Movistar ( Telefonica ) have all exclusives of this kind of devices, including the iPhone 3G, the Nokia XPress 5800, and the G1 as i read in the newspaper. By this way, spanish users can´t use a G1 here when Google signs with this company of course with the 18-24 month exclusive deals that i consider too long.

By: Philip Ferris

Philip Ferris — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:52:50 +0000

When looking at phones in UK in November, I saw a lot of 12 month and 18 month deals on T-Mobile but not 24 months.The 18 months naturally gives better terms.

2 year deals are still seen as a bit too long.

By: Desmond

Desmond — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:40:18 +0000

Yeah, in the Netherlands it’s also quite common to sell phones with an one or two-year plan. Even in combination with subsidized gifts like a netbook, nintendo ds, psp, et cetera.

By: Tomas

Tomas — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:43:31 +0000

Actually it’s quite normal to sell phones for cheap in exchange for commiting to a two-year plan in europe…well, at least in czech rep.
But there is always second option – paying more for phone, but without any commitment..

By: Andreas

Andreas — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Kevin, I don’t know what you mean by saying that subsidization was “undesirable” in Europe. It is quite common here in Germany…?

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:41:20 +0000

T-Mo subsidizes all sorts of things in Germany, from cell phones, to netbooks, to laptops. For cell phones, of course, you have to sign a contract for phone service. For PCs, I believe they require a “Web-n-Walk” data contract. Cell phones are usually 1 Euro with a contract. PCs usually have some percentage of the price knocked off with a data contract.