When the SonyEricsson P800 came out in 2002 i bought this smartphone as soon as it was available. I was totally hooked and i loved it. Finally i had a phone, a perfect calendar, and a mobile internet device all combined in a small nifty device. I took of the keypad the moment i bought it to never put it on again. A large touchscreen was all i needed.

So after i made the switch to Apple i was sad the original iphone was not available in Belgium. I know a lot of people who imported one and used it jailbroken. But i wanted all the support so i decided to wait for it launch in Belgium.

Because i left for a trip to russia just after the iphone 3G launch on july 11th i decided to wait until my return to buy one.

I was back in Belgium on august 15th and ever since i been trying to get hold of a 16Gb Black Iphone 3G. The iphone is availble through Apple premium resellers, Mobistar shops and the Mobistar online store. Or at least thats what is advertised … I contacted all premium resellers, and all of them had a long list of people who had pre-ordered the phone but could not give any estimate of when they would receive their phone. The same story at the Mobistar shops in and around Ghent … a waitinglist without an end. The mobistar shop in my hometown didn’t keep a list, i had to call them to ask if they had any in store that day. I gave up after 3 weeks of calling them twice a day.

My only hope was the the mobistar online shop. But for a long time none were available there. They don’t work with pre-orders, the website should be ‘first-come first-served’. They offer a mailinglist that informs you when the phones are available for purchase at the website. So when i got the mail informing me that phones were available on friday 10th of september i was delighted and ordered one quickly. I got the confirmation mail and when i checked back on the site the phones were already sold out again. I was with the lucky ones who had managed to place their order. Or so i thought.

Until today … i have not received my iphone, tho my creditcard has been charged. At their website mobistar has a page explaining why one would want to buy at their online store.

“Shipment within 24 hours“:

Whatever article you order, it will be shipped within 24 hours (workdays) after your placed your order. So you can make use of your purchased item as soon as possible.

Also found in the FAQ section of the Iphone3G minisite:

Once you order has been confirmed, it will be processed by our logistic team. If all details have been filled in properly, your order will be prepared for shipment and delivered within 3 to 4 work days.

After those 4 days i contacted Mobistar using their contact form. Only to hear back from them that they have problems with supplies and that they recently changed logistic partner. I would receive my phone as soon as possible.

In the mean time, i know of at least two friends who ordered their iphones online days after i did and already had them delivered. This raises serious questions about their ‘first-come, first-served’ policy. Their online shop has the feature to mark a certain type of phone as ‘no longer available’. So you would think, that if you order one that is available, you receive a confirmation mail and your credit card being charged would all mean they have those Iphone 3G Black phones in stock, ready for shipping to their customers. Whey else the whole circus of sending out mails “The iphone 3G back in stock, hurry up!” ??

To be continued … or so i hope.

UPDATE 16/09: Sent a registered letter to Mobistar to let them know they are failing to comply with their Terms of Service.

UPDATE 17/09: The letter has been received and signed for by Mobistar.

UPDATE 18/09: My Iphone finally arrived … after 13 days.