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Germany’s Deutsche Telekom (DT) has started to take pre-orders for Apple’s unannounced iPhone 5, offering customers the opportunity to reserve a next-generation iPhone before knowing the name of the device or the hardware specifications included.
The German telco isn’t advertising this opportunity to its customers, but it is handing out “premiere coupons” to customers who expressly ask for an iPhone 5 as well as to those whose current contract is nearing expiration. According to German site Focus.de, the tickets do not give customers any information — no expected date of delivery nor final price.
This seems like a huge leap of faith for DT customers, in both the quality of Apple products and the fairness of the telco’s pricing; though, to be fair, there is probably no real obligation to buy the new phone once you’ve obtained a “premiere coupon”. Still, this is unprecedented shopping behaviour in consumer electronics and we wonder if it would be a successful play if replicated in Australia.
Can you imagine signing up for an iPhone 5 with your current carrier without knowing any of the specifics? Would you sign up for a new two-year contract if it meant that you definitely had your new iPhone delivered on day one, without having to queue with 500 other people at a midnight launch?
