French Carriers Looking To Subsidize 3G iPads With Apple
October 1, 2010
It has been a bit of a surprise, especially for Europeans, that carriers haven't offered a subsidized iPad 3G. It's a current practice for netbooks of all kinds and it probably also helped netbooks gain popularity, so Apple not following suit was a bit unsettling.
We can see Apple's motives. Most likely, they don't want iPad users to enter two year data plan agreements, which they don't need. Also, it could have a negative impact on Wi-Fi only iPad sales. European carriers have failed Apple, and unlike AT&T, it's still very tricky to get an iPad data plan and then to later get out of it in Europe. In the US things are much easier with AT&T's simple on-the-go offerings.
Will the situation change? According to the French newspaper les échos (via 9to5mac), French data carriers are still intensively negotiating with Apple to release a subsidized 3G iPad before Christmas. They're not the only ones, as similar talks are reportedly also going on in several other EU countries.
We have no idea whether Apple will give in to this, especially since they've been very protective about the iPad so far, and don't even allow carriers to resell them. Yet, now that the supply can finally meet the demand, it would be an interesting move in an effort to get the device into more people's hands. If you're getting a data plan anyway, getting a couple of hundred bucks off the price of the device would be more then welcome.
What do you think? Are you even using the 3G feature on your iPad?