I’m short of time today – covering the Being Digital conference – but my story of last night has been confirmed by O2’s release, pasted below:
O2 to Launch iPhone 3G in the UK on July 11 O2 today announced that the innovative iPhone 3G will be available in the UK on July 11 for free on selected O2 consumer and business tariffs and that it will also be available for Pay & Go customers. Existing iPhone customers will be able to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G, taking advantage of the same great offers as new customers. iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast* as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.”The iPhone is already a phenomenal success in the UK and now we’re making this revolutionary product more affordable for even more customers,” said Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2 in the UK. “iPhone quickly became our fastest selling device ever and with this new pricing, iPhone 3G is an unbeatable proposition.”iPhone 3G will be available in the UK through O2, Carphone Warehouse and Apple sales channels with the early upgrade offer for existing customers only available through www.o2.co.uk/iPhone where anyone can also register their interest in iPhone 3G for regular news and updates. The 8GB model will cost just £99 on a new £30 per month tariff and the existing £35 per month tariff. Consumers choosing either the £45 or £75 per month tariffs will get the 8GB iPhone 3G for free. The 16GB iPhone 3G will cost £159 on the £30 and £35 tariffs, £59 on the £45 tariff and it will be free on the £75 tariff. All customers will continue to receive unlimited data browsing over O2’s HSDPA network and unlimited access to 9,500 Wi-Fi hotspots through both The Cloud and now BT Openzone**. Both the 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G will also be available for O2 Pay & Go customers with pricing to be confirmed in the coming weeks. Fit for Business iPhone 3G will also be available on current O2 business tariffs as a monthly bolt on, with the device available for free on the majority of business tariffs on a 24 or 36 month contract. iPhone 3G business customers can also receive many of the same benefits as existing O2 business customers including unlimited calls between O2 customers, unlimited calls to ten landlines, shareable minutes and texts between users plus multi-user billing and activation and free, 24×7 access to business customer care specialists.
Thanks Mike! Cool stuff.
This aggressive pricing confirms it – the 3G iPhone is going to sell like hot cakes in the UK.
Great news!
Two new 3G iPhones for our household then!
Shame I’m on Orange
I’m on Orange to, but after just under 9 years and being totally happy with their service, I’m going to get my PAC code and leave for O2. They really should have bargained harder for the iPhone in the UK. The EDGE handset really wasn’t worth having, but the new one? Big mistake on their part…
Any details on the existing customers options – e.g. will it be like the 16GB iphone where you can get a new one if you renew your 18month contract? (seems like an ok deal to me)…
Robin, the same deal is available to existing customers.
So its £169 to upgrade to the 16GB, but free to upgrade to the 8GB on a £45 contract
Well, this is a cheap phone. It should be free on fairly low tariffs, and with 12 not 18 month contracts. For example, the N95 8Gb was about a £500 phone and was free on a 18 month £45 tariff at O2, so a £99 phone should be available at much less lockup – e.g. free on a 12 month £20 contract I’d guess.
Ivan Its not a £99 phone. Thats the subsidised price. The 8GB iPod Touch sells for £199 so what makes you think the iPhone with far more features will be half the price?
How does O2 or Apple make any money on a 12 month contract at £20? Thats £240 for an iPhone with a year of calls and data.
This is such rubbish. The iPhone has not been a phenomenal success in the UK.
Phenomenal success compared to the Nokia N95?
@ Ian
Its one of O2s best selling phones in the past year. Though if you have more accurate figures than their CEO, please do share.
And given that the N95 can be got for free on a contract on all networks whereas the iPhone was until recently £269 and only on O2, i’d bet that they made a whole lot more money on the iPhone than the N95.
So I guess it goes to what is your definition of success? Units shifted? Or profit?
hey guyz check out this new site for the iphone: http://www.iphoneanswers.org
This is not true. I received a text from o” saying i can upgrade. I have now tried and they have stated that it was sent in error and i am not allowed to update my old iphone. Really peed off at the bad customer service as they didn’t even appologise for the mistake.