It seems that the EU really has something against American companies trying to lock their customers with exclusive contracts.
Apple, very much like Microsoft, has received a serious blow when Vodafone obtained a court order that requires rival T-Mobile Germany to sell Apple’s iPhone handset to Germans without a service plan.
Coverage of the matter by Dow Jones differs somewhat from the local German press by implying that the temporary injunction restricts any and all iPhone sales in Germany, rather than just those that would be sold with a contract. But due to the agreement between T-Mobile and Apple that iPhone only be sold with a service plan, it’s likely that both scenarios would produce the same result temporarily.
No doubt both Apple and T-Mobile will fight back. However, if the court order is confirmed and ratified, I don’t expect the potential legal battle to go anywhere.
I am not convinced by either approach. Love the idea of having even more unlocked iPhones around, and with the new rail tracks I can go from London to Paris in a little over 2 hours and pick up my phone there. On the other hand I don’t think Apple’s deal with T-Mobile has anything to do with anti-trust and unfair competition.
Obviously assuming that Apple was actually fair when deciding who to work with and was impartial when judging both carriers’ proposals.
All in all it sounds like Vodafone really didn’t like loosing the battle over the iPhone and instead of working to fight back with better services and contracts is just playing the primary school kid card.
