Comments on: iPhones sell like crepes suzette in France

By: Todd, Columbus, Ohio

Todd, Columbus, Ohio — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:34:40 +0000

If the iphones are unlocked in France, then how is the Apople upgrades to the iPhones going to work? The upgrades are what was "bricking" unlocked iPhones in the U.S.

ex ped: Apple has a way to unlock iPhones in an authorized fashion that doesn't lead to bricking. The unlocking guys can't wait to get their hands on it.

By: Rafael Palacios, Madrid, Spain

Rafael Palacios, Madrid, Spain — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:22:25 +0000

In France, the price difference between iPhone with Orange contract and unlocked iPhone is more than 100 eur.

With contract 399 eur

unlocked 749 eur

ex ped: 100 euros is the cost of unlocking. You pay extra to get the phone without a contract. Here's the price schedule:

* 749 euros ($1,109) unlocked iPhone, no contract

* 649 euros ($956) locked iPhone, no contract

* 549 euros ($809) unlocked iPhone, with Orange contract

* 399 euros ($588) locked iPhone, with Orange contract

* 100 euros ($147) to unlock a locked iPhone

–Philip Elmer-DeWitt

By: Kev Moore, El Albir, Spain

Kev Moore, El Albir, Spain — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:18:31 +0000

Incredible footage of the queues in Paris. It reminds me of queueing for the Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum many years ago, or the hysteria surrounding the release of Buzz Lightyear toys!

By the way, Surely the spelling of crepe suzette is immaterial- the taste is what counts!

By: Ron Davis, Omaha Nebraska

Ron Davis, Omaha Nebraska — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:00:39 +0000

I am currently a Treo 650 user and have not yet jumped on the iPhone bandwagon. I want to see how the iPhone performs after a years worth of usage. Does anybody know whether the Jawbone bluetooth head set can be used with the iPhone?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 07:39:14 +0000

the reason is is that in the uk iPhones come with a 30-50 pound a month for 18 month bill to use it and you have to get it!

but in france the law says they cant do that so u can buy the handset so english people travel via eurostar probz just go to the terminal lol or near by buy an iphone change the language then take it home then put your sim in.

By: Chris Page, San Jose, CA

Chris Page, San Jose, CA — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:15:49 +0000

Web sites should avoid specifying the fonts unless absolutely necessary and let browser preferences control them to the greatest extent possible. At the very least, the main content should not specify any font at all and use the font set in the browser.

By: Charles Wiles, Bretagne France

Charles Wiles, Bretagne France — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 01:44:44 +0000

Hardly anyone seems to care about the content of this article! It seems only to have attracted comments from the web-design police and P.C. bores. As an englishman living in France it's interesting to hear the iPhone doing so well chez les francais. It certainly sounds like it's doing rather better than in my country of origin: could that be because France is (now) the only place you can legitimately buy unlocked iPhones?

As for the critics: I don't know what the old web design of this site was like, but the new one looks fine to me. Perfectly legible, at least on Safari: perhaps it's harder to read on browsers/platforms with more primitive font rendering. Anyway, I'm beginning to get bored with sans-serif fonts: I've always thought Roman fonts looked more sophisticated and don't suffer from the l, I, 1 ambiguity. As display resolutions increase I predict they'll become fashionable for on-screen use too.

By: Bruce mcKay, Auckland, new Zealand

Bruce mcKay, Auckland, new Zealand — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 01:08:43 +0000

iPhones from France to India?? Ha! You can buy unlocked iPhones here in downtown Auckland (yes, New Zealand is a real country!)… they ain't cheap in the local currency, but there is all that extra coolness that comes with the things..

Not sure about the whining about the web page.. I quite like it

By: Oh Blah Dee Blah Dah, Armonk, NY

Oh Blah Dee Blah Dah, Armonk, NY — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:25:15 +0000

The new font used in your blog is the BEST yet!

I agree with your choice.

I can now easily differentiate 1 from I from from l (that's the number ONE from the letter EYE from the letter ELLE), in case the complainers are reading this post).

Plus the serif gives the blog some artistic flair. I'm tired of the modern, bland, SANS serif.

By: Travis, Fremont CA

Travis, Fremont CA — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 23:34:58 +0000

i don't know if it's a w3c standard or not, but it is pretty common and agreed that using a Serif font for web design is horrible. web page should only use Sans-Serif fonts for the main content, Serif fonts should only be used for Headlines or small blocks of text (highlighted quotes, etc.). And using a such a light grey font is a usability (508) compliance issue for those with less than perfect vision. So, it's not a "focus group of one" by Ralph, these are common web site design rules.

the problem with some sites now is they are too busy trying to be "different" and forget about the average reader or usability & readability. you cannot bring Print rules to the Internet, two different mediums with different rules.

Look around the web, very few if any and almost no good news site does what you guys are doing. Why? Because they know better and want their site to be usable by EVERYONE!