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Apple iPhone Set to Be Available in November in the UK.

O2 to Become Exclusive iPhone Carrier in the UK

Category: Mobile

by Anton Shilov

[ 09/18/2007 | 02:52 PM ]

Apple on Tuesday announced that it would start to sell its popular iPhone cell phone in the

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United Kingdom on the 9th of November. The mobile device will be exclusively available from O2 carrier.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with O2 to offer our revolutionary iPhone to UK customers. US iPhone customer satisfaction is off the charts, and we can’t wait to let UK customers get their hands on it and learn what they think of it,” said Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple.

Apple will not upgrade its iPhone 8GB phone with 3G capability to sell in the European Union, but will rely on much slower GPRS and EDGE networks, something, which will make useless data transfer intensive functions of Apple iPhone, such as Google Earth or YouTube Web applications. With the lack of 3G data transfer rates, iPhone's popularity in Asia and Europe is disputable.

Apple iPhone combines digital media player, phone, Web browser and personal digital assistant’s features. The device is equipped with 3.5” touch-screen instead of keypad, includes support for quad-band GSM, EDGE, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR wireless technologies. The iPhone also features a 2 megapixel (2MP) camera along with a photo management application.

Apple iPhone 8GB is scheduled to go on sale on November 9 and will be sold exclusively in the UK through Apple’s retail and online stores, O2 and The Carphone Warehouse’s retail and online stores for £269 including VAT ($541 or €387). In order to use iPhone, end-users will have to sign for a one of the three tariff plans by O2 (£35, £45 and £55), each of which includes minutes, SMS messages, visual voice mail, unlimited data transfers as well as free access to 7500 Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK.

Apple iPhone activation will require an Internet connection, an iTunes Store account or a major credit card.

“Our strategy at O2 is to bring our customers the best products and experiences,” said Matthew Key, CEO, O2 UK.  “The iPhone is a breakthrough that is changing the way people use their mobiles forever, and we're thrilled to have it exclusively for O2 customers in the UK.”