iPhone 5 launches in Luxembourg on Luxgsm, Orange & Tango on September 28th

Update 28-Sep-2012 12:00:

• Last but not least – here are the Luxgsm prices for the iPhone 5:
  

Update 28-Sep-2012 09:30:

• Orange came out with their prices as well this morning. Find them below:
  
  

Update 27-Sep-2012 10:45:

• I received Tango’s prices for the iPhone 5 in Luxembourg from an anonymous source. The image file was located on tango.lu but not linked to from anywhere, which is why it is credible and published here. Note that the iPhone 5 has increased in price from the iPhone 4S (see bottom of post). There is of course no gurantee that this is also the price Tango will release.
  

Update 27-Sep-2012 10:26:

• On Friday 28-Sep-2012 for the iPhone 5 launch, Orange will have the following opening times:
  - Orange Shop Luxembourg-city Grand-rue & Place d’Armes: 06:00 am
  - Saturn Esch Belval: 10:00 am
  - Saturn Luxembourg Gare: 09:30 am
  - All other Orange Shops: 08:00 am

Update 26-Sep-2012 17:20:

• I had the pleasure to attend Orange Luxembourg’s 4G network launch event yesterday. It sure is very impressive data transfer speeds that can be achieved on these networks. Nevertheless, we will not know the ‘real deal’ before it is launched and many users start to use the network. Orange Luxembourg will launch their 4G network for the public on 29-Oct-2012. They will do so with small mobile hotspots (I forgot to take a picture of them, but they look similar to this). Orange’s management told me that they will cost around 150 EUR with a 39 EUR/Month contract lasting 12 or 24 months. Data transfer speeds of up to 50 mbit will be granted for the first 10GB volume. The speed will then be decreased to a transfer rate not yet known. The ones who are lucky enough to get their hands on an iPhone 5 from Orange from 28-Sep-2012 onwards (and no, they did not tell me how many they have in stock) will continue to use the 3G network. At some time mid 2013, the iPhone 5 customers who want to benefit from the 4G network will need to get a new sim card from an Orange Shop.
• The other network operators are still very slow to get back to me with information that is good enough to share. Let’s hope it is because they are too busy unpacking iPhone 5s Stay tuned for more information.

Update 13-Sep-2012 15:20:

• Orange Luxembourg’s marketing manager confirmed that they will launch the iPhone on 28-Sep-2012. They will not release anything about pricing at present. Orange’s network will be 3G+ (DC-HSDPA) – allowing max 42Mbits.
• Luxgsm’s commercial director said that they do not have any information themselves concerning the iPhone 5. The same person promised me to let me know once they know more.

Up until June 2012, Apple has managed to sell 400 million iOS devices (this includes iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch). Whenever a new iPhone was released the world has gone crazy about it and cannot wait to get their hands on it. In Luxembourg this is no different (see my post from the iPhone 4 release). Apple is clearly dominating the smartphone market here. Old, young, male or female – it doesn’t matter. Here are the details of the new iPhone 5:

iPhone 5 – thinner, lighter, bigger & faster

New physical design of the device

It is fair to say that the iPhone 4 was a very big change compared to the iPhone 3G. The entire device was pretty much re-designed. The differences from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5 are not as significant. Apple has made the iphone 5 thinner (7.6mm) and 20% lighter (112 grams). Furthermore, the iPhone 5 requires a nano sim card which is even smaller than the micro sim cards currently used in iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
The screen is 4 inches big. It’s the same width while being taller, thus allowing for another row of app icons to show on the screen (and of course the apps themselves have more space to work with).

Speed: hardware & network

More importantly, the device is set to be faster because of the new A6 CPU which promises a faster experience such as 2x faster graphics, app launches and photo saving procedures. Another aspect that will make the iPhone faster, is the ability to use 4G networks such as LTE. In the case for Luxembourg, this is very important as it is not sure which 4G network standard Luxgsm, Orange and Tango will launch with (Orange has an event on 25-Sep-2012 where they will announce it). If the network standard is not supported by the iPhone 5, the high data speeds of up to 100 mbit per second downlink, cannot be delivered. With network speeds like that, the iPhone 5 will be able to transfer data as fast as the quickest consumer fiber connections such as LuxFibre100 from p&t. Stay tuned on this blog for updates concerning this point.

Battery, camera & new connector on the iPhone 5

Finally a better battery life?

Apple did not go into detail on the battery when presenting the iPhone 5. They only promised that it will last longer than on the iPhone 4S. As the data connections get stronger, chances are that the apps will also communicate more and thereby using more battery. For many this is a very important factor as they cannot go a full day without having to recharge at some point. Again, stay tuned here for more information. It is a vital factor and I will be keeping a very close eye on reports concerning the battery life of the iPhone 5.

New camera features. Not a new camera

The iPhone 5 has an 8 megapixel camera just like the iPhone 4S. Because of the faster processor the iPhone 5 will be able to work the pictures faster, but it pretty much ends there. One feature they are able to pull out from this are 3264×2448 pixel panorama pictures that are native in the camera application. The front facing camera has been moved to the top middle of the phone and is capable of 720p HD video capture (unlike the camera on the iPhone 4S).

A new connector = adapter needed for current accessories

Apple has decided to introduce a new connector. This is the part of the iPhone which is needed to charge it and connect it to many accessories. Apple mentioned that they no longer require the connector to be as performant, because features such as syncing is now done wirelessly. The new connector is called ‘Lightning’ and will be shipped with every iPhone 5. Adapters will become available, so that the iPhone 5 can still be used with accessories designed for prior iPhone models. Many people would have liked to see Apple introduce Micro USB connectors as it would adapt to a more standardized approach, but it was not to be.

iOS 6 – the new operating system

Heavy integration of other data sources

As online marketers, we pay very close attention to the sources from which data is pulled. With iOS 6, Apple is intergrating data sources like never seen before. After scrapping google maps, Apple now use their own mapping service. During the introduction of the iPhone 5, Apple used Yelp (the review site of brick-and-mortar businesses) and Rotten Tomatoes (the movie review site) as examples. Furthermore, app launches from sources such as Siri was introduced. Open Table can now be launched from Siri in order to book a table at a restaurant. This obviously poses huge opportunity for businesses which we will continue to cover as iOS 6 is rolled out to the public…so stay tuned.

Facebook & Passbook

As expected, facebook has been integrated in the same way which Twitter was introduced in iOS 5. This means that you are now able to share from Apple’s (and many other publisher’s) apps. This includes sharing websites, places, contacts etc via facebook – just remember to think about what you share to all your facebook friends before actually doing it. Privacy is a huge matter – really!

iOS 6 also sees the introduction of Passbook. This is a central place to keep your flight, train, hotel etc reservations, so that you have less paper and/or email confirmations to deal with. You can be very sure that the stakeholders will introduce this very quickly as it saves them money and allows them to show that they are a fast adapting company.

iPhone 5 Price in Luxembourg

The iPhone 5 was said to have the same price as the iPhone 4S had in the beginning of September 2012. This is the one thing I will pay closest attention to (and emails have gone out to luxgsm, orange and tango like when the iPhone 4 was introduced). Stay tuned to this article in order to know as soon as the pricing is made official. In the meanwhile, judging by what Tim Cook of Apple said today during the announcement, prices in Luxembourg are very likely to be as following:

Luxgsm

Orange

Tango

One more thing…

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