Apple iPhone to launch with O2 in November

18 September 2007

The Apple iPhone will be on sale in the UK from November 9 and will cost £269 (inc VAT).

Despite rumours to the contrary, the UK-bound iPhone will feature EDGE rather than 3G. However, it will be available with 8GB built-in storage capacity and users will be able to access the internet at high speeds using the handset's built-in Wi-fi.

The Apple iPhone will be available on three O2 contracts: a £35, £45 and £55 contract. Each of the tariff deals will include unlimited web browsing, as well as free access to all of The Cloud's 7500 hot spots across the UK. Each of O2's Apple iPhone contracts will run for 18 months. O2 also confirmed that other network customers, looking to switch to O2 to get their hands on the iPhone, would be able to port their numbers for free.

Apple's CEO and co-founder, Steve Jobs announced the launch of the UK iPhone at Apple's flagship London store on Regent Street. He described the new iPhone as "the best iPod we've ever made."

When asked why the new handset did not include 3G, Jobs replied that: "3G chipsets are power-hogs" and "the iPhone offers a talktime of 480 minutes," which would not be possible on today's 3G chipsets.
He added: "The EDGE network works really well for most of the iPhone's applications...."and for the Internet, Wi-fi is far quicker than 3G."