iPhone in the UK: O2, £269 and coming in November

Written by Phil Cogar

September 18, 2007 | 11:11

Tags: #3g #contract #crack #edge #gprs #iphone #launch #network #steve-jobs #wifi

Companies: #apple #o2 #uk

Last month, I told you about details of the iPhone in the UK. A portion of the information was misleading but now there has been official announcements as to the exact launch details. The iPhone will be available for £269 (including VAT) on 9 November from O2.

The iPhone didn't receive the most hypothesised upgrade though and will remain on EDGE and GPRS - that means no 3G connectivity for some high speed downloading. You will, however have unlimited data service on £35, £45, and £55 plans and Apple has teamed up with Cloud to offer over 7,000 Wi-Fi hotspots that will allow connection to internet sites and the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store just in case you want a little more speed or need some form of internet access.

O2 currently has EDGE coverage in roughly 30 percent of Europe but is striding to building a larger network just for the mobile.

Steve Jobs commented on the non-availability of 3G saying, "The 3G chipsets are real power hogs. Handset battery life cuts power to two to three hours. Our phone has a talk time of eight hours and that's really important when you want to use your phone for internet and music."

If you do decide to pick up an iPhone from O2, just keep in mind that you'll be locked into an 18-month contract with the network. And that unlimited data that's included on some of the plans? If you view over 1,400 pages per day, you'll be breaking the fair usage agreement. Also worth bearing in mind that £35 per month over the life of the plan, plus the initial purchase price, puts you in the red to the tune of £899 - a hefty sum for sure.

Word on the street web is that O2 paid through the nose in order to get the iPhone exclusively. The company could be paying Apple up to 40 percent of revenues that it generates from services related to the iPhone.

Picking one up or are you going to set this one out and see if Apple drops the price again in a couple of months? Or would you sooner buy an iPod touch and keep your existing phone? Let us know over in the forums or in the comment section below.
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