Apple iPhone hits O2 in the UK on November 9th

Ending months of intense, practically insane speculation, Apple just confirmed its first European carrier for the iPhone: O2 is scoring exclusive UK rights to the hotly contested device, and will be launching it on November 9th for £269 including VAT. Unlimited data comes standard with the £35, £45 and £55 voice plans, which include 200, 600 and 1200 minutes, respectively, and 200 SMS for the cheapest plan, but 500 messages for the other two. Just like the rumors (finally) predicted, Carphone Warehouse is being pulled in to beef up retail presence for O2, with 1300 retail locations, each with an "expert" on the iPhone. Naturally, Apple's not doing anything fancy here, and is announcing the same old EDGE phone we know and love here in the States -- shattering the 2007 3G pipe dreams of millions of Europeans -- but has made up for it slightly by scoring free WiFi for O2 iPhone users at the 7,500 hotspots serviced by Cloud in the UK. Those hotspots will certainly come in handy when trapesing through O2's EDGE-deficient network -- only 30% of the country will be covered by launch time. Of course, if you aren't keen on Visual Voicemail or Apple's blessing, there are certainly plenty of unlocked iPhones to be had between now and launch.

[Thanks, Josh for the O2 link]

[Chris @ Sep 18th 2007 5:18AM]

Seems a reasonable price, lets just wait and see the small print.

[Xavier Gill @ Sep 18th 2007 5:42AM]

Pretty awful deals on the price plans
http://shop.o2.co.uk/promo/iphonetariffs

[Gil @ Sep 18th 2007 5:50AM]

Reasonable?
267 GPB=550 USD!!!

You can get the N95 almost for free with those same plans

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 18th 2007 5:51AM]

Also at launch the majority of customers will have the pleasure of browsing full websites not on EDGE but GPRS! Such heady speeds can only be matched by a dial-up modem!

[Zach @ Sep 18th 2007 9:57AM]

Yea, but Gill, it IS the UK were talking about here, and that does include VAT

[qwertying @ Sep 18th 2007 5:19AM]

Could Engadget do a UK giveaway? and maybe give an iPhone away? Maybe to me? Please! I cannot afford it and noone is accepting me for fulltime employment around my area(unless you can offer a job for me?)

Thanks J

[anthonyjhicks @ Sep 18th 2007 5:25AM]

EDGE or 3G? I know O2 were talking about upgrading the software in their network to support EDGE as it was easy for them to do, but I'm still keen to wait for a 3G device.

[ashton @ Sep 18th 2007 8:50AM]

EDGE upgrades is not software limited. You need to change the TRXs to EDGE enabled TRXs and then upgrade the software. Each TRX commands upto £5000!

[iphone @ Sep 18th 2007 5:49AM]

probably just the old network, no 3g for uk...

[? @ Sep 18th 2007 5:53AM]

Ok, is this right, O2 expect me to pay £269 for the iphone, and tie me to like £35 deal for 18 month deal? get lost.

[? @ Sep 18th 2007 5:54AM]

Can any one confirm that the £269 just for handset only or do i have to pay for the phone and get tied to their contract?

[Gary @ Sep 18th 2007 5:58AM]

GBP£269 just for the handset, which has to be activated on an 18-month O2 contract via iTunes, just as it did with AT&T in the US. Unless, of course, you can unlock it.

[Ken @ Sep 18th 2007 6:02AM]

No one should buy this semi crippled device. It had to be 3G or it's not worth the money! I hope this version flops!

[flynnmeister @ Sep 18th 2007 6:02AM]

Thats mental. N95 - Free, K850 - Free, LG Viewty thing - Free , Samsuung G600 - Free all on £35/month!!! This isn't the US Apple - we don't do paying £269 for a rubbish phone!

[Zach @ Sep 18th 2007 9:59AM]

hey HEY! :p shits just a little expensive here haha! Too bad GSMs quality is shitty over here, cause I'd switch and get some unlocked goodness.

[john.curran @ Sep 18th 2007 6:09AM]

Will I be able to use my US hacked iPhone and get visual voicemail?

[AG @ Sep 18th 2007 6:11AM]

The free access to Wifi via The Cloud is quite a boon, as they charge about £12 a month or £6.00 per hour for access! Free data use is great because you can use the device for it's intended purpose without worrying about crazy data charges per MB. The problem for me is the big upfront charge - we're not used to paying so much for a device here in the UK, that's a change of culture, and 18 month contract - most people I know change their phones every year. This thing is going to be so last year next year when they bring out a better version ... plus, I hear the iPhone sucks at doing SMS.

[Gary @ Sep 18th 2007 6:09AM]

Can't quite believe Jobs flew over to London to parrot the US iPhone announcement. There's no escaping the fact that this hugely expensive phone is missing two of the most basic features of UK handsets: 3G and picture messaging (MMS).

Still, when the dust settles and the details of the Cloud Wi-Fi hotspot access emerge, this might not end up looking quite so bad.

[mikey @ Sep 18th 2007 6:14AM]

This is really, really poor. I was a total aple fanboy, but i must admit that this is pushing it.

269quid. Ridiculous. That's $537 for EXACTLY THE SAME HANDSET. $138 or 69quid more for NOTHING.

EDGE network. Poor. And at only 30% coverage!? That's jsut taking the piss.

Carphone Warehouse. Do i even need to say it? Anybody in the UK knows how useless these guys are.

O2 tarriffs. 35quid/month for 200mins/200 texts. Very bad value. Oh and unlimted data...on mainly GPRS. I'm sure i'll be able to use maybe 5mb a month at a real push then.

The Cloud. B-rate unreliable hotspots avilable in all the uk's shittest pubs and selected Mcdonalds.

So, anybody else about to buy one from the states and slap in a UK sim with a good or unlimted data tarriff? Sure there'll be no visual voicemail, but i'm not going to lose sleep over it.

[john.curran @ Sep 18th 2007 6:26AM]

It is actually just a bit more than $100 premium as you must remember that in the US, sales tax is calculated at the till rather than VAT which is included in the quoted price. Given that everything else is so much more here, not that bad actually.

[Philpo @ Sep 18th 2007 6:15AM]

It was all a bit of a let down really. El-Jobso flew all that way just for 30 mins of rubbish! Very dissapointed. I at least was holding out for a 16gb iPhone. I guess they felt they had screwed the US over enough already and went with the 8gb here too. Well I'm off to order an iPhone from the states and Unlock it 7 weeks in advance....

[disappointed @ Sep 18th 2007 12:14PM]

Oh dear, disappointing indeed. Bad bad bad on price, network, plans. I could understand the price if it was a 3G phone. Looks like the cracks are starting to show at Apple.

[Lex @ Sep 18th 2007 6:37AM]

@Gil

Actually you can get the N95 for free at those rates not sure about with O2 but at least with vodafone.

[Rich @ Sep 18th 2007 6:28AM]

I don't really think Apple understand the UK market. Long contracts and unsubsidised phones are not the norm.

You'll get fashion victims and mac die-hards buying the iPhone in the UK, but would any sensible person do so? I don't think so. Why pay a £269 premium for outdated technology?

Let's hope that Nokia's iPhone rip-off is better value for money...

[Jah @ Sep 18th 2007 6:32AM]

So pay £269 now and get tied to 18 month contract in and 6 months see the 3G and 16GB iPhone released for £less! Don't do it - wait until the next generation.

[elmuerKo @ Sep 18th 2007 6:46PM]

Shockingly bad value for money, I can get an N95 for free on a £35 a month, 12 month contract with more minutes and free data over 3G. Apple have not been paying attention the european mobile phone market and are about to pay the price.

[Singh @ Sep 18th 2007 6:56AM]

O2 site is down....lol.......iPhone is a deadly Virus

[Reg @ Sep 18th 2007 7:31AM]

No one's pointed it out yet, so I guess I have to:

The £279 price includes 17.5% VAT (Value Added Tax, the UK equivalent of state tax).

US prices are quoted without tax. It does make a difference when almost a fifth of the price of something is tax.

[Nawaz @ Sep 18th 2007 8:23AM]

I got excited... only £270!!! (vat is 17.5% and everything costs more here)

However a little more analysis and its maybe not such a good deal...

Trying to be fair I compared the iPhone 18-month tariff to O2's normal high street 18-month tariffs:

http://www.o2.co.uk/assets/O2HybridNav/Static-files/PDFs/DirectPMTariffTableSimplicity.pdf

200min/200texts = £35 for iPhone, £25 for non-iPhone
600min/500texts = £45 for iPhone, £35 for non-iPhone
1200min/500texts = £55 for iPhone, £50 for non-Phone

So over 18 months it costs you £180 more (or £90 for the top tariff) because you got an iPhone.

Oh, and "One more thing" :

You would have got a free phone had you not taken out the iPhone, and those in the UK can confirm its pretty mucn any phone e.g. K800i which must be worth atleast £100+. (Brand new off-contract it costs almost double that - try expansys.com)

So assuming you take out the £35/45 tariff you've paid £269 for your iPhone and another £180 extra charge on the equivalent tariff plus you lost out on you £100+ free phone.

In conclusion this thing is costing £550+!!!

So anyone in the states willing to see me an unlocked iPhone for less than $1100?

[Ed @ Sep 18th 2007 11:22AM]

Sure. I can send you one for $1000. You pay the import tax if it gets opened though. Email me.

[Vanillacide @ Sep 18th 2007 11:18AM]

Good analysis but you missed out the data access element. Those cheaper rates only include GPRS/EDGE at 100KB/month or 512KB/month for most expensive. Yes, those are KiloBytes per month; above that you pay through the nose.

Whereas new rates -- O2 said they were going to offer them to existing customers too from October -- include "unlimited" (with "fair use") GPRS/EDGE.

The iPhone contract also includes access to the Cloud, which covers plenty of places in London I use on way to work (e.g. train stations).

Therefore unlimited GPRS/EDGE plus The Cloud costs £10 per month.

Still, I am wondering if 16GB iPod touch and Nokia N95 (3.5G and GPS) for free is better deal. Hrm...

[Jamie @ Sep 18th 2007 12:12PM]

A couple of months ago I got a Nokia E61 on Three for £15 a month. For an extra £5 you can have X-Series which includes unlimited data, and my plan includes 600 texts and 75 minutes. A minute-heavy one is also available.

All that remains to be seen is how well the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field can spread across Britain.

Incidentally, O2 sucks for data, and often coverage. Roaming is a scam as well.

[Costas @ Sep 18th 2007 11:04PM]

If you have a look at this article,

http://www.hidebookmarks.com/?85xc5y8f43

you'll notice that O2's "fair use" concept on the unlimited data plans is that of "1,400 internet pages per day". Anything more and you "break the deal as part of fair usage agreement."

Now, the measuring unit of "1,400 internet pages" is the equivalent of getting into a taxi and being told that you'll get charged not by distance and time but by the "complexity" of the drive ahead.

In other words, corporate bullpoo!

...and yes, while most of us won't browse anything close to 1,400 pages a dat, unless O2 gives out actual kb or MB data limit numbers, you may end up paying those free YouTube videos at the cost of an expensive blockbuster on BluRay!

[Dean Williams @ Sep 18th 2007 8:08AM]

As someone else rightly pointed out, save yourself some money and get either a SE K850i or even an N95 for free on a better tariff, and treat yourself to an iPod touch!

[paul @ Sep 18th 2007 8:09AM]

Pretty crap compared to the N95 8Gb, it loses in all areas bar the screen.

[Lokizilla @ Sep 18th 2007 10:07AM]

The sad thing is that although previous commenters have already proven that it's a ripoff and a half, they'll still sell loads anyway.

[Richard John @ Sep 18th 2007 11:10AM]

I doubt it, normal people don't even look at phones you have to pay for.

[Paris @ Sep 18th 2007 10:12AM]

I can't see this working in the UK. People here aren't used to spend £250 on a phone and £35 for a contract with 200 minutes. It's just plain ridiculous compared to other offers.

With a £45 /month contract you can get the same free minutes, a free phone and a free xbox360.

[Fab1Man @ Sep 18th 2007 10:43AM]

Would there be any possibility that the 1.1.1 firmware will provide European languages when it launches for US iPhones? Personally I don't think they will change every firmware for every country but then again, US customers don't have any advantage using EU support.
On the other hand, technically it should be possible to install a EU firmware on a US iPhone, am I right? Hardware is exactly the same!

[nb @ Sep 18th 2007 11:04AM]

30% geographic coverage is not that bad, when you consider (at a guess) over 90% of the UK population spends over 90% of its time in that 30% area!! I don't know what Cloud is like - eg I'm sitting in a cafe which has its own network, is Cloud available?

Overall, I don't think the total package is unreasonable and I don't feel that 3G really is that important (a technology looking for a use), but I'll wait for the first price drop anyway!

[GazzyC @ Sep 18th 2007 11:23AM]

Wow I too was very underwhelmed by this. £269 for the phone, which is a fair price for a good phone thats also an iPod, pay as you go? Apple say fuck off we want our Apple tax from O2 and making the customer pay for it! It should be the other way round with Apple paying O2! Apple are so ungrateful to O2 and its customers I guess! As for the tariff, well I had just as many texts and minutes for £15 on a '3' pay as you go tho admittedly that was a few years back and 3G was limited then! Apple can stick their fucking iPhone and me be having an iPod touch to play Doom on!

[P.F. @ Sep 18th 2007 11:52AM]

I love the iPhone, but Apple, this is dumb. REALLY DUMB!

First: UK only. The rest of us are just "landscape".

Second, except in major cities, arround europe WiFi is not that widespread nor free for everyone. I speak for the portuguese and spanish cases (that I know best), were you get a very, very decent 3G network coverage even in rural areas were WiFi is just a futuristic mirage.

Now, to pay that much money, and have such a expensive limited contract for a phone? You can get a dozen Nokias, Sonys, Motos or any PDA-like (even PALMs!) for less, with more and more capabilities! C´mon Apple, no 3G, no MMS, no videoconference and specially, no possibility of using GPS with the phone? Oh, you get Safari and iTunes!!... But you can also buy an iPod Touch for that...

IMHO, Apple got lazy and never got to know how the European phone market works... Instead of making a killer phone that could compete with Nokias´s best, it presents us with a fantastic new way of having some 2-year-old mobile tech in a pricey and crippled iPhone...

[punitnaker @ Sep 18th 2007 12:17PM]

The important thing that people chose to forget...ipod touch came out and everyone was loving it! They would be more than willing to spend £199 for an ipod touch...then buy a N95 or equivelent to do everything else!

I dont kno bout every1 else but i hate having all that rubbish in my pocket. I've had a N80 with wifi and 3G and i dont use either of those features cos its a waste of time accessing half baked internet on a small screen!

The iPhone seems like a great user experience...and thats wat u pay for! i dont mind paying the extra £70. And its that very same £70ish that people are willing to get an unlocked iPhone from the states! Is it really worth it wen it could pottentially not make it through updates etc.

£55 a month seems a lil over the top, but wen u bundle the unlimited data charges, the fact that u can use Cloud for wifi, it doesnt seem a rubbish deal!

I've been waiting for the iPhone since Jan...9th November, I know where i'll be :d!!

[Bizk1d1 @ Sep 18th 2007 12:07PM]

Yeh this really annoyed me. Im coming to the end of my contract and was seriously debating on getting an iphone, until today!

£35 a month and you only get 200 mins and 200 txts, what a rip! Apple go on about there great texting experience, whats the point im hardly gona be able to use it as much as id like since im only getting 200 txts! Its really annoyed me.

I thought apple were better than this.

18 month contract, are you having a giggle? i aint paying 18 x £35 PLUS the amount for the phone. the UK does free phones now £270 phones.

And okay just get a different phone, thing is, i wanted the iphone, to experience something of the future.

Shame, apple and o2 have just lost a customer, and probably thousands more!

[William @ Sep 18th 2007 1:20PM]

Just look at the way how Apple.com/UK talks about "pervasive EDGE". Im tempted to call the ASA about that claim! Looks like a stretch too far in discribing the service to me! ..especially when they said themselves they expect 30% coverage by launch. PERVASIVE; whatever.

[theChipmunk @ Sep 18th 2007 2:01PM]

I live in Northern Ireland, in the countryside and I use a Toshiba G900. Great phone/PDA. It uses 3G and HSDPA. Now, just to reiterate, I live in the remote countryside in a nation that has under two million people and always seems to get tech about a year after the mainland (or more), but...

...To lose my 3G signal, I have to go underground or down to sealevel at cliffs (i.e. at the Giant's Causeway)! EDGE, however...well...my phone's NEVER found an EDGE connection...

30% coverage is crap. I wonder is that just Britain (Scotland, Wales, England)? Considering that every two-bit £30 handset has 3G, why the hell does a £260+ handset that is supposed to be 'the future' not have it?

I'll give Apple the fact that the American network isn't as advanced as ours (Correct me if I'm wrong) and it probably made sense over there, but here, as stated above, we have excellent 3G coverage and no EDGE, so it would kinda make sense to get 3G in there pronto.

I say get a Sony Ericsson K series. :-D

theChipmunk

[Gary @ Sep 18th 2007 3:50PM]

theChipmunk, you got it right. We on this wee country are screwed with O2's supposed EDGE wonder format. I checked the cloud wifi site about possible coverage. Nothing within 20 miles of Belfast, anywhere beyond that theres no chance.

I've been waiting on the iPhone release here for months, ready to pounce on it as soon as it was available, but EDGE has halted that in it's steps. and the £270/£35+ contract costs have just slapped anyone who wanted one in the face.

Really finding it hard to justify buying one. Even finding it hard to import one now, with impending update early next year i'm sure

[theChipmunk @ Sep 18th 2007 3:55PM]

The only WiFi hotspots around the North Coast are unsecured home networks and a few public ones for schools. Oh, and Starbucks...

AFAIK we don't even have an Apple store. Now, I said we were small, but we're not that small!

theChipmunk

[Brumbo @ Sep 18th 2007 2:19PM]

FYI, 30% of geographical coverage means:

Greater London+Home counties commuter belt
Greater Manchester
Birmingham+Wolvo+West Mids
Glasgow
Cardiff
Newcastle/Gateshead etc

[Andrew Brough @ Sep 18th 2007 2:42PM]

As much as it hurts that this is not a 16 GIG 3G phone can I or indeed will I wait for v2 in the new year. Probably not - damn you Apple I'm hooked