Orange sells more 3G iPhones than original
By Alisa Zykova, Tuesday 2 September 2008 at 17:33 :: World Digital Media Trends :: #2206 :: rss
French network operator Orange, owned by the state's France Télécom, has sold 116,000 3G iPhones since the device launched in mid-July, surpassing the 100,000 first generation iPhones it sold previously, Silicon.fr reported.
The success of the phone may be due to the expansion of mobile phone distribution in the country, as stores like Fnac, Darty and Auchan has also began selling the device.
Furthermore, it may be the price that is attracting users to buy an iPhone. The older iPhone was sold for €399, whereas the 3G version is being sold for €149 and above, with a monthly subscription of €49 and higher. The new phone may be offered for €99 for users who payed the full price for the old generation device.
Orange said that nearly half of its clients who bought iPhone 3Gs are those that already have the older version, according to silicon.fr.
The speeds offered by Orange are slower than promised, being 1 Mbit/s despite the fact that the device is HSDPA (note: High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, a 3G mobile telephony communications protocol that allows for speeds ranging between 1.8 and 14.4 Mbit/s) compatible.
Customers have expressed concern over speed, and the network provider announced that starting from August 27 they would be granting new clients with speeds of 1.8 Mbit/s, according to silicon.fr. For those who already bought their phones, Orange would progressively increase the phone's data speed during September until all of its subscribers will have an iPhone with the same speed.
The operator allegedly limited speeds in order to sustain the stability of the network, according to HotNews.ro.
A Wired.com study showed that iPhone 3G speeds do not depend on the phone but on the network provider, HotNews.ro reported.
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