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02 July 2009
Posted in
News -
International
MacTalk Forums are pointing out that the Australian online Apple Store are selling iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS models outright and unlocked. This is the first time that the phones have been able to be purchased directly from Apple by Australians. Unfortunately, it appears that the same is not the case for the New Zealand online store, where the iPhone is listed as an 'information only' listing that points you to Vodafone.
With 4 companies now selling the iPhone 3GS in Australia, as well as Apple, it appears we are far, far behind our Australian cousins in terms of purchasing options open to us, with Vodafone currently being the only avenue to purchase.
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Philip Roy
said:
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Note - I appreciate that the date of July 10 is one we'll look at closely. This is a date for Vodafone to start selling the iPhone 3GS and I am hopeful that maybe Apple might sell directly too. There's also no reason if there was to be online sales, that Apple couldn't start with just the 3G model...although that might send a signal to us that we can get the 3GS online from them and not Apple. Personally, at the moment, July 10 will not be the date I buy. At this stage I'll wait and see if anything else eventuates. |
DBMandrake
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Bear in mind that Australia has an actual Apple presense and also some Apple stores for people to take their warranty claims in to - New Zealand does not. Apple NZ is really just Apple Australia and there are only 3rd party Apple resellers in New Zealand...(such as renaisance) Apple as a company does not exist in NZ, and there are no Apple branded stores here... iPhone warranties in NZ are handled by Vodafone who pass them on to MobileFoneRepair.com who send them back to Apple Australia. My guess is that due to these logistics Apple will not sell iPhones directly in NZ for the time being... |
Philip Roy
said:
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Well you could give the same argument for Macs not being sold online. There is no Apple in NZ for those and whilst there are resellers who might repair them, I have clients who bought online and Apple OZ shipped their Mac back there or parts had to come from there. In that respect Vodafone is just an iPhone reseller in the way Mac dealers are...although I know that's putting it crudely. Phil |
Philip Roy
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The phones are in fact now available on the Apple Store NZ....great to see them on the same day the iPhone 3GS launches. Phil |
DBMandrake
said:
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And $30 cheaper from Apple than Vodafone  Once again Vodafone rips their customers off.... (yes I went and ordered one from Vodafone this morning to use with Prepay....sigh) I notice in the fine print it says "iPhone 3G & iPhone 3GS purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier." - surely this is a subtle dig saying well if you want to use it with Telecom, go right ahead ? What other carrier would count as "any" other than Vodafone and Telecom ? I suspect Vodafone NZ and Apple's relationship is not too cosy, especially when last year NZ was an initial release day partner and this year we were in the "second wave" of releases, that plus the fact that Vodafone has gone right to the wire before releasing pricing or indeed a release date, and that Apple has gone and started selling it themselves with no prior announcement.... |
Philip Roy
said:
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Actually when Vodafone posted the handset price they also commented in their forum that the phone could be used on the XT system.....so I don't think this is Apple taking a dig at them....I think it just shows that VFNZ are all about getting you into a plan. You could cancel cancel your order, save money and support the site.... http://www.nziphone.com/forum/...sider.html |
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