Apple's iPhone: Better in Europe

Why couldn't Apple have done this here in the US? As the Wall Street Journal reports today, Apple responded to criticism that slow phone networks would dull the luster of its iPhone roll-out by signing a slew of WiFi/hotspot agreements throughout Europe:

After Apple Inc. said it would sell the iPhone in Europe, critics contended the device's Internet connection would be too slow for Europeans used to speedier cell networks.

So Apple did something about it. It now has agreements in place with hot-spot providers in the United Kingdom and Germany so iPhone owners can use their speedy wireless Internet networks free of charge.

How hard would it have been to do this in the US, as well, especially given the fact that every review of the iPhone castigated its dependence on a slow AT&T network. But this isn't the only change Apple has made for Europe.

Apple also worked with providers to craft unlimited-data packages. This won't sound revolutionary to US mobile users. After all, we've had these for many years. But Europe's mobile market has been different, with unlimited data plans being a relatively new phenomenon (pushing business users to rely on SMS rather than the web on their phones, and also holding up Blackberry use for years). In fact, O2, a major European mobile provider, introduced its first unlimited data plan specifically for the iPhone.

My question: when will Apple bring back to the US its European innovations? The fixes it has made have universal applicability, even for we frowsy Americans.

[UrbanBard]

The iPhone is a work in process

Many changes are coming. Don't be so impatient. Apple hasn't forgotten you.
Some things take time.

[jbelkin]

Europe More City Centric - Smaller

In virtually every European city, the population is city centric and more "village" oriented in where people tend to gather & a culture that values being out and about versus being at home. There are 50 million people in the (just) England and over 8 million are in London ... that's a lot of people packed in 610 square miles ... and not only that, a HUGE % of the country lives in ONE CITY. NYC has 8 millon people in a slighly denser area but there are over 300 million Americas spread out over a country 100 times larger than the land of England ... and honestly, other than a few cities and literally streets, Americas do not tend to hang out in town square like settings - so it's that much harder in many senses to create wifi shops ...

[J.G.]

iPhone on AT&T Wi-Fi network, please!

AT&T has a nationwide Wi-Fi network that we iPhone owners are not allowed
to use. Opening it to our use could lead to millions more purchases of iPhones
and the concomitant AT&T contracts in my opinion. Sitting at a Barnes &
Noble cafe, seeing the AT&T Wi-Fi signal and not being able to use it is
frustrating.