The General iPhone Thread and FAQ

[Panzerboy]

	Quote:	Polorise
	whyever not ... its browser based, nothing to stop you ....

Aaah, but I don't want to use OWA. The new iPhone 3G will have native support for Exchange in its own mail client (based on Active Sync). But AFAIK, the operators can block this feature and unlock it only for business plans.

So the question is: will Orange and Swisscom do this or not?

[Panzerboy]

Sorry about the double posting.

[Jonnyinter]

	Quote:	dawiz
	Are you under 26, too? Swisscom will offer some special deal for people under 26. It really depends on how long you talk on the phone. Swisscom's per hour tariffs can be a real cost safer if you talk a lot on the phone. Apart from that: if you plan on downloading things from the web just make sure you get a plan with 1gb of included data traffic. peter

Actually if you look at this link http://iphone3g.swisscom.ch/pdf/NATE..._grande_en.pdf - it says that calls to any other network provider will cost 0.50 a minute. That means if I call my brother who has Orange for 10 minutes it will cost me 5 francs. I will stick with the Orange plan but i'm not sure if to get the 44 franc a month deal or 61 franc deal .

[AlexNo]

Hey guys, right now I'm really attracted to the orange plans, but the thing that bothers me the most is that people say that orange network coverage is really poor comparingt to the swisscom one. So would the orange coverage cause a lot of problems for a person who travels a lot throughout switzerland?

[dawiz]

	Quote:	AlexNo
	Hey guys, right now I'm really attracted to the orange plans, but the thing that bothers me the most is that people say that orange network coverage is really poor comparingt to the swisscom one. So would the orange coverage cause a lot of problems for a person who travels a lot throughout switzerland?

It's not "really poor" - the problem is, that Orange doesn't have EDGE (= faster GPRS speed). So once you leave their 3G network coverage, which is being expanded but far from complete, you only get normal GPRS (somewhere between 9.6kb/s and 56kb/s, which is REALLY slow). Especially since the iPhone doesn't compress web-traffic like Opera Mini etc. It'd take minutes to load a website over, say, 1mb of size. So no fun browsing there. Also, you can't use VoIP services over normal GPRS.

If you will be traveling / working all over Switzerland, go for Swisscom.
I don't know any companies who are on Orange - probably for that reason. Not only does Swisscom have EDGE, they're also about a year ahead of Orange in their 3G expansion plans.

If you're manly staying on or near the main railway lines and / or in major metro areas, Orange is probably the better (= cheaper) choice.

peter

[Panzerboy]

Hey,

I just got the following mail from Orange:

Dear Mr XXX,

Now’s your opportunity to be among the first to get your hands on the new iPhone 3G and enjoy the full iPhone experience. As an exclusive welcome gift at Orange, we are opening our e-shop 2 days earlier for you, before our official market launch on 11 July.

All you have to do is choose one of our attractive offers combined with an exclusive iPhone price plan including everything you need to get the most out of this revolutionary mobile phone, iPod and internet device.

[Here comes an image with the table with the offers]

So put the 9 July in your agenda now. But don’t worry, we will be sending you a reminder email with direct access to our iPhone e-shop.

Your iPhone will be shipped as of 11 July. Rest assured that we will be handling your order with priority as stock allows.

Thank you for choosing Orange.


Best regards
Your Orange Team

So I guess in the end I'll go with Optima 30. I am really curious if I get it on the 11th. It seems it pays off the fact that I've filled that form a week ago or so . Also, they might give priority to new customers to Orange (I've never been a customer of them, so they might want to attract me )

I think the 3G network of Orange will have to improve, in order to remain competitive. Before Euro 2008, Swisscom's network was so bad I couldn't even make a call from my workplace in Basel.

[Worm_Buffet]

I also got this e-mail today.

IIRC, I entered on the reserve page the day it came up. I'm already a customer with Orange and stated so, so that is not necessarily a factor.

[Jonnyinter]

Lucky people. Do any of you know how many iPhones will be released in the Dataquest in Zürich (the one in Bahnhofplatz)?

[peachy]

I got the mail, i'm not up for handset renewal so can't get it, the missus is so she can get it.

I'll speak to them anyway and see what I can do, we spend enough money with them for them to show me some love.

[ElJeFe]

	Quote:	peachy
	I got the mail, i'm not up for handset renewal so can't get it, the missus is so she can get it. I'll speak to them anyway and see what I can do, we spend enough money with them for them to show me some love.

If you are a good source of revenue for them you will have a good chance. My best mate spends minimally 300+ CHF a month on mobile bills and when he wants a new phone after a year they give it to him for free. The argument is simple: The phone is a tool that generates money for the provider. Without that tool they don't make money off you. Threaten to move to another provider, and if you're a good client and you'll find you have plenty of bargaining power.

[peachy]

	Quote:	ElJeFe
	If you are a good source of revenue for them you will have a good chance. My best mate spends minimally 300+ CHF a month on mobile bills and when he wants a new phone after a year they give it to him for free. The argument is simple: The phone is a tool that generates money for the provider. Without that tool they don't make money off you. Threaten to move to another provider, and if you're a good client and you'll find you have plenty of bargaining power.

I'm worth more that 300chf/month to them, I generally find Orange in Switzerland pretty unaccommodating though. In the UK they used to send me loads of free stuff.

[Ed Pummelon]

I was wondering about the email from Orange, and the promise to deliver through the post.

How will they do the ID and credit checks when it's ordered online? If I remember rightly, when you order a credit card or similar online you have to send them a signed form first of some description - you can't do the whole thing completely paperlessly. Does anyone have any idea on this?

I also wonder what the delivery time would be - I could see that stretching into 2-3 weeks depending on demand...

Any thoughts folks?

[Worm_Buffet]

When I ordered my orangeclick abo, it was done completely online. I had to validate my identity with my permit when retrieving the SIM card at the post office.

All that said, what about the mandatory in-store activation they've promised in the US? I suppose that won't be the case here?

[Panzerboy]

	Quote:	Worm_Buffet
	When I ordered my orangeclick abo, it was done completely online. I had to validate my identity with my permit when retrieving the SIM card at the post office. All that said, what about the mandatory in-store activation they've promised in the US? I suppose that won't be the case here?

Well, what does this activation mean? With all the phones I've bought, the process was as follows:
- went into the store, picked a model;
- the guy asked for my papers, filled the contract and I signed it;
- the guy let me pick a number from, like, 5 to 10 available;
- gave me an unopened box with the phone I chose;
- asked me if I know how to put the SIM in the phone;
- that's it.

What would be different with the iPhone?

With Orange, on the 9th we will be able to order and buy online. I suppose that when we click on "Submit" we agree to enter into the contract we picked and they'll probably send 2 copies of the contract by post and we have to send one signed back.

With orangeclick is different because there's no contract. It's prepaid.

[Worm_Buffet]

	Quote:	Panzerboy
	... What would be different with the iPhone? ...

The previous iPhone had to be "activated" before being usable. Activating meant connecting it to your computer and going through some process in iTunes.

This time around, AT&T in the US have announced that the iPhone has to be activated in the store at the time of purchase, presumably to stifle hacking/unlocking. No carrier in Europe has announced a similar process though as far as I know.

[dawiz]

	Quote:	Worm_Buffet
	The previous iPhone had to be "activated" before being usable. Activating meant connecting it to your computer and going through some process in iTunes. This time around, AT&T in the US have announced that the iPhone has to be activated in the store at the time of purchase, presumably to stifle hacking/unlocking. No carrier in Europe has announced a similar process though as far as I know.

AFAIK both Orange and Swisscom require in-store activation. When I asked Swisscom if I could use their pre-paid package with a different Swisscom SIM-card, they told me yes, but the old card has to be activated in-store for the iPhone to work.

[Ed Pummelon]

	Quote:	dawiz
	AFAIK both Orange and Swisscom require in-store activation. When I asked Swisscom if I could use their pre-paid package with a different Swisscom SIM-card, they told me yes, but the old card has to be activated in-store for the iPhone to work.

That's exactly what I was wondering about with the Orange online offer. If they post it to you, how will they cover (or get round) the in-store activation requirement...

[dawiz]

	Quote:	Ed Pummelon
	That's exactly what I was wondering about with the Orange online offer. If they post it to you, how will they cover (or get round) the in-store activation requirement...

Either they'll send you the iPhone already activated (with a new SIM-card / contract) or you'll probably have to go to a store to get it activated.

peter

[cyrus]

I got a slightly different letter from Orange, annoyingly they posted it in German (their other emails were in English).

So original, followed by a google translate,

	Quote:
	Sehr geehrter Herr XXXX Wir möchten uns für Ihre Kundentreue und Ihr Interesse am iPhone 3G bedanken. Momentan steht Ihnen leider kein Angebot für ein neues Mobiltelefon im Rahmen einer Vertragsverlängerung zur Verfügung. Wenn Sie jedoch von einem solchen Angebot profitieren und das iPhone zu einem Vorzugspreis mit unserem exklusiven iPhone Preisplan erhalten möchten, empfehlen wir Ihnen das Ende Ihrer Vertragsdauer abzuwarten. Möchten Sie sofort ein iPhone beziehen, können Sie dies bereits ab 9. Juli, 2 Tage vor der offiziellen Markteinführung unter der Nummer 0800 780 500 bestellen. Wir gewähren Ihnen einen Rabatt von 10% auf den iPhone Preis ohne Preisplan. Bei sofortiger Bestellung, können wir Ihnen Ihr iPhone je nach Verfügbarkeit ab dem 11. Juli ausliefern. Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bestellung. Freundliche Grüsse Ihr Orange Team

	Quote:
	Dear Mr. XXXX We apologize for your loyalty and your interest in the iPhone 3G thank. Currently, you unfortunately not an offer for a new mobile phone under a contract extension available. However, if you have such a benefit and the iPhone at a preferential price with our exclusive iPhone price plan would like to receive, we recommend the end of your contract period to be seen. Would you place an iPhone, you can already from 9 July, 2 days before the official launch at 0800 780 500. We grant you a discount of 10% on the iPhone price without price plan. For immediate order, we can send your iPhone depending on availability from 11 July-installed. We look forward to your order. Yours sincerely Your Orange team

So I guess I can still get one at a discount. Might just do that.

[dawiz]

	Quote:	cyrus
	So I guess I can still get one at a discount. Might just do that.

If you don't mind losing your number, I'd get a new contract. The 10% discount is a joke, if you ask me.