Yep I saw this coming a while ago. When Apple first announced it was intending on selling its iPhone here in Germany I figured that if they attempted the same type of forced deal here that they have in the US that the German courts would have something to say. Man I love being right.
So as a brief summary I’ll put it to you this way. Apple and T-Mobile entered into an agreement similar to that between Apple and AT&T in the US concerning the selling of the iPhone. T-Mobile rival Vodafone protested that agreement in German court who then issued an injunction that requires T-Mobile to allow people to opt out of the two-year contract, as well as preventing them from selling the phone with a SIM lock, so that people can use other carriers. Now the kicker is that T-Mobile doubles the price of the iPhone for those people who opt out of the contract so now they are looking at 1000 Euro price tag.
Not sure how this is going to end up but I’m putting my bets on the iPhone being much less exclusive on who provides service here in Germany than else where. Sometimes you just have to love German business laws.
