Apple and Orange get fruity

IF WE WERE ASKED TO LAY MONEY on which mobile airtime provider would be the first to offer subsidised Apple hardware with its mobile broadband contracts, we'd say "Don't be daft man! Apple doesn't get involved in that kind of nonsense."

But if we were forced to make a wager, our hard-earned cash would go on O2. It makes sense because the Cupertino company already has a lucrative deal flogging Iphones exclusively on O2 airtime contracts.

But the folks at Mobile Today reckon that Orange has got its feet under Apple's table and will start selling subsidised Macbooks with mobile airtime contracts this summer.

The report says that Orange has already completed testing the Apple hardware with its mobile dongles and has made a "high volume commitment" to a distribution deal.

It is also rumoured that the initial deal is just the first step in an ongoing relationship which will see Apple notebooks factory fitted with embedded mobile modems supplied and serviced by Orange. µ

L'Inq
Mobile Today