Hands-on with the O2 iPhone
By Conrad Quilty-Harper 
posted Sep 18th 2007 6:22AM
posted Sep 18th 2007 6:22AM
O2 iPhone on the left, unlocked US iPhone on the right (running on T-Mobile's UK network). Note that the O2 iPhone doesn't show the EDGE logo, but the unlocked phone on T-Mobile does. You can probably guess at what we're getting at here: O2's EDGE coverage sucks.
UPDATE: Turns out the iPhone doesn't show the EDGE icon if WiFi is turned on. O2's EDGE coverage is still awful though.
UPDATE: Turns out the iPhone doesn't show the EDGE icon if WiFi is turned on. O2's EDGE coverage is still awful though.
Pop-up quick access to currently playing tunes.
European keyboard support.
Visual voicemail, on the O2 iPhone.
Send me one?
By UK law don't carriers have to unlock phones, they can charge a small fee (310-£20) but they still have to unlock them, right?
Yeah, think you still have to pay your contract though. Thats one damn expensive unlocked iPhone if you want to do that.
I think your right about that. However, have you ever tride to get the unlock codes. I did once and it was going to cost me about £60 and take forever, in the end I just went down the local indoor market to a chap with more laptops than PCworld who did some stuff with leads and things with lights and unlocked it for £10, I felt like a cold war spy or somthing.
By buying the iphone in a store, you have not signed up to a contract with O2 until you sign onto itunes and choose there. So there is no contract to pay out though?
You can unlock it without paying the contract. You are perfectly within your rights to do that in the UK. However, you'll need to use iUnlock/SimFree or pay the dodgy bloke at the market a tenner to do it for you. If it won't run with my pay as you go O2 sim out the box, I'll be heading that route.
rather than trying to get apple or o2 to unlock it. do it yourself for free!!
Or just don't be a sheep and DON'T buy into the hype - for a phone that isn't even 3G thats one expensive phone. Funny that O2 got the deal, seeing how their 02 XDA product line these days could be mistaken for a iphone clone.
Or get a China Clone: http://www.mp4nation.com/products/index.php?PID=cellphones
alpha, think of what engadet is and the people who read it. everyone here has at some point bought some piece of crap technology that was overpriced because they just plain wanted it. my earliest experience with this was probably $200 for a gameboy colour because it was a pokemon edition. I was 10. so who cares if someone wants to spend a few hundred on a cell phone. I am not buying the iphone because I love my w810i. NOT because I hate the iphone. dont want it? don't buy it. want it? buy it and be happy while leaving us non-iphone owners the fuck alone.
Apple missed a big beat by not announcing it in Italy first, the highest growing market and best tech. 100 per cent EDGE coverage (not mentioning the broad UMTS and HSPDA)
lol! I think Germany, UK and France beat Italy for tech, profits and 3G coverage - EDGE is very old tech.
Well.. There's no UMTS and HSDPA support in iPhone anyway.
@Chrisphillers: Italy and Spain are HUGE mobile market in Europe, with Italy with highest penetration around (132!!!) so what are you talking about?
http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?p=11622
In Italy we have very big worldwide carriers (ever heard of TIM?), maybe it's a problem of money, surely not a technology problem LOL!
Infact, there are more mobile per person in ireland than any other country.
What an anti-climax! I've just discovered the new Blackberry Curve 8320 with WiFi... I think that's going to be my next phone after my P990i
iPhone: Too expensive, too long contract, too expensive tarriffs, and finally EDGE!?!?! JEEZ JOBS!
hooray for you!!!
Keep your day-job, mate. :)
Am I alone in thinking that there's just no way, lovely or not, that i could put £900 into a handheld device.
and that's before call costs etc..
eh?
£35 a month, 18 months, plus the £269
(am i being silly here? that is what was announced no?)
The £35 a month includes 200 minutes, 200 texts, and unlimited EDGE and Wifi data
I think my tarrif is already £35 per month with O2, so incremental cost is "only" £370. I have no idea how messages and minutes that buys me though. :$
However, this does seem somewhat expensive compared to my Vodafone 3G (HSPDA) USB modem I use with my laptop that's £25 per month for "unlimited" data.
for those that don't understand how to arrive at such price:
about 900 or so is where you end up if you take unlocked cost for, say, n95 then see that you could get it for free with a similar contract and then add the extra you have to pay to get an iphone(before the contract even starts).
this way iphone is ridiculously expensive for what it is.
Oops, £270 not £370!
Yes, you are paying 900 pounds for a device that costs Apple 200(ish) dollars to make. Go figure!
Why can't I think of a business plan that makes me 800% profit!!!!
are these on display for normal customers to view/play with? im thinking of popping in n my way home from work tonight, does anyone know if the touches are on display yet too?
Apple Store re-opens at 4pm, but as of half an hour ago they seemed to have cleared away the demo iPhones. I reckon they won’t be out in store until release on Nov 9th (although I’ll be back in there at 4pm, just in case :) )
Eeek!! ... Look at those prices.
even as a pretty hardcore fanboy I for 1 will not stump up for this. What a crap deal.
on another note: its very refreshing to read the comments when mainly filled by UK readers - lost more fabulous use of 'inappropriate' language, vitriol (?) etc - I LOVE it.
I'm a huge Apple fan but this is going to be a flop in the UK. I'll be getting a Nokia and ipod touch. 30% coverage for EDGE and no 3G... what planet does Jobs think we come from?!
You get £60 cashack if you use Quidco with Carphone Warehouse!
Holy crap, I wont be buying this.
o2 currently do a deal for a Nokia N95, with GPS and Wifi for free, for £30 a month, with 1000 texts and 500 minutes. Why the holy rap would I get a iPohone when it doesnt even have 3g, and costs me £270?
That settles it - I'm getting an iPod Touch 16 gig for the same price, most of the same features, and no need to sign up for an 18 month contract at ridiculous prices.
Apple will fail with iPhone in Europe if this is the way it thinks it can do business.
Got to agree with you here. I need an iPhone fix but it's not going to be from the iPhone.. the iTouch will get rid of the urge and i'll stick with my Nokia N73 for the duration of its contract.
It'd be SO painful watching 2 new versions of the iPhone released during your 18 month contract.
I also have to agree. The lack of 3G is a major disappointment. The battery drain claim is interesting as my N70 or K800i outlast the V3, T610 and other phones I had before them.
I will be getting a Touch, but I am bitter that it's calendar has been crippled to give the iPhone an artificial advantage.
Why no 3G or HSDPA?
30% Edge coverage in the UK? Of course it's only 30% because we passed the inferior Edge and moved straight to UTMS. There is something like 80% UTMS coverage in the UK.
Apple are stupid not to update the iJesus with a radio appropriate to the European market.
I will stick with my Tosh G900 thanks.
It's the same in Australia, our only carrier with EDGE (everyone else has moved to 3G/HSDPA) is going absolutely nuts with HSDPA.
We have the largest HSDPA network in the world too. It would be absolutely INSANE for Apple to even consider an EDGE phone in Australia.
off-topic, but I had no idea what a "Tosh G900" was. Then I realized that that's probably the Euro name for the Softbank X01T - http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/product/xseries/toshiba/x01t/index.html . "High-spec Windows Keitai" indeed- good choice.
It's actually around 90% on some of the neworks - 3.5G at that too.
EDGE? And only 30% EDGE?!?!? Awful, simply AWFUL.
Cant be bothered with it now, overprice for a non 3g phone, £269 for phone £35 for 200 minutes and 200 text is rubbish as well, I pay that now and have a nokia n93i on vodafone and get 600 minutes and 250 text. Would have maybe got the phone if it was 3g and 16gb. Think I will get a nokia E90 and an ipod touch or classic. Sorry Steve, bring your Iphone back once its 16gb and 3g, it would be like taking a step back for me to move to EDGE. Cant see this one selling out in the uk, just buy an ipod and a good phone. 02 suck, what a rip off for £35 200 mins my arse.
Where did you get this 200minutes and texts info from? I saw the different price points, but not the plans. I'm on O2 at the moment and have been for years. I don't expect to have to pay full price for that phone...
http://shop.o2.co.uk/maintenance-consumer.html
200 mins for £35
600 mins for £45
1200 mins for £55 I think
The site has gone down again.
Still picking myself up off the floor, what a bummer, so so so gutted, a complete shitty deal for the UK, not getting one now.
"Still picking myself up off the floor, what a bummer, so so so gutted..."
Relax dude. It's a phone!
As soon as I new the iPhone wouldn't have at least 3G I lost all interest. I will stick with my superb HTC Tytn II instead.
Its a shame a deal couldn't have been done with the 3 network in the UK.
Sooo glad i got my Nokia N95 back in February rather than waiting..
HSDPA, Picture Messaging, 5MP Camera.. :)
They said that the unlimited data package will be availible to all customers from Oct 1st, does that include free Wifi at Cloud hotspots?
Wait for the 16GB 3G/3.5G version. This 2.5g iPhone is way too expensive. Also the new Nokia N95 8GB will be available soon, and again probably a lot cheaper.
Yup, that'll be great. What would be nice is if O2 actually started investing in a proper 3G network.
I hope Apple aren't going to regret their 5 year exclusivity deal...
The carrier select will be for roaming only.
Correct - perhaps it would be a good idea to divulge why to those outside of Europe:
The cell-phone operators in Europe are weird animals with special rate-contracts for roaming customers with differing rates in different regions.
This means that although you may be able to use multiple networks in one country (say E-Plus and O2 and T-Mobile whilst in Germany), only one of those will have a good roaming rate. The others will charge you a kidney and your first born per call. As such it is a good idea to set which carrier you prefer whilst roaming.
My guess would be new contacts will get unlimited data plans on 3G/EDGE/GPRS. Us current users will get shafted, naturally for the duration of our contracts :)
wifi would more than likely be linked to the iPhone... a similar tie as the Nintendo DS was (or is?!) to specific wifi hotspots in the UK.
I like O2. Not the cheapest but by a distance the best signal in my area.
I like the iPhone hardware. The cameras not great, but apart from that it's a neat bit of kit.
However. I'm not buying an overpriced (you can get the N95 free here on a mid priced contract), crippled by design (no 3g?!), DRM infested (on my SE I can swap tracks with friends and even use whatever track I want as a ring tone without paying extra(!) phone.
user selection options for carrier: this is probably to select the best (or cheapest) network when roaming in another country.
"and rather oddly, user selection options for carrier (we thought this was an exclusive?)"
In Europe, while roaming you can select different carriers of the specific country..helps not just in cost but also in selecting strong signal..
I type in www.engadget.com, and this Apple site keeps popping up darn it!
Anyone else having this problem?
How long before we know whether an 1.1.1 iPhone can be unlocked with the existing software solutions ????
I'm on O2 and none of the phones that I have had have been locked so I think that this one would not be.
Have you just crawled out from under a rock? The handset is sold locked up to O2-UK and activated when signing up for a contract through iTunes. If you expect to be able to pop another SIM into this (without the joys of 3rd party apps) you should just jog on.
Is there Russian language support?
Please tell me if there is a german gui with firmware 1.1.1
could you not just buy the phone and then use the sim unlock before activating? hence no need to be stuck to the o2 contract.
Engadget, you idiots, get it right!!!
1) The "E" symbol only appears when you're NOT on WiFi. The UK phone on the left is linked with the WiFi of the Apple Store you're in, which means Edge is not required. You should know this!!!
2) The carrier select menu is already in the older firmware models, it's in my software unlocked 1.0.2 US version. It's a roaming feature, not a network non-exclusivity feature. Again, you should know this!!!
Sheesh. Way to go, accurate reporting...
It will be very annoying buying the iPhone and signed up to an 18month contract and then come February or whenever it is the iPhone2 will come out and you can't swap to the new one until your current contract ends.
Well, I know all the people have been blaming the edge. However, as the first US design Phone(so far by the info, iPhone is the first us design phone) all others are imported. iPhone is a perfect US phone industry mark stone. America spend awful a lot money to build his facilities after WWII,(including landlines, water pipe, rail service), everything are still running perfectly over the past 50 years. Most US residents are comfortable with the way they are. Calling from a landline or using dial up internet connection is perfectly normal. Over 70% of the mobile phone users are still using 2G phone, simply making a call and text. nothing else, video call? NOOO.
And here we go, NOW, it is way to expensive to switch hardwares for government and companies. They rather improve or use those existing hardwares or services (like landlines and edge network.)
iPhone fits perfectly of the 80% US user!! (hit me if i am wrong :))
Motorola is American - they design awful phones.
@Vincent
Have you not heard of Motorola? They only turn over $40billion a year (which is double Apple's turnover.)
So, what your getting at is 'if it ain't broke, dont fix it'?
Well, it ain't broke, but its certainly not optimized.
The iphone would be a killer for me if
a) You could buy itunes off the store whilst your out and about
b) 3G to allow reasonable download speeds for said itunes purchases, as well as other generic downloads
c) It was sold at a price point comparible to a phone, NOT a pda, or had proper PDA features.
d) Apple changing the code every 5mins to patch the loopholes - If Microsoft did this as a 'generic update', there would be uproar.
e) Locked to itunes - Id call that a monopoly.
I'm sure the Apple fanboys will flame me to the max, but thats whats stopping me from getting a iphone. That and my 3G, GPS, 8GB HDD, 5" VGA touchscreen T-Mobile Ameo.
"...iPhone is a perfect US phone industry mark stone...[snip]
...iPhone fits perfectly of the 80% US user!! (hit me if i am wrong :))"
I agree with you on these two points, but how are they relevant to the iPhone in the UK? This is Europe, the market is very different.
So say I hypothetically bought an iPhone is the US could I use it with O2 here? Is it the same phone?
Probably not as the phone will be provided with the SIM card for the sale area's network (i.e. AT&T for USA and O2 for UK).
However, if you bought a phone in the States and put in a O2 sim card it would be interesting to see if it would activate.
While you're at it, could you check whether the keyboard is multilangual, as in you can activate say English and German at the same time? If so, please try thumbing in something like
"Milk and cheese, Milch und Käse"
and tell us what happens
WTF: 02 iPhone costs 269 pounds (535 USD) while an unlocked US iPhone will cost 200 pounds (399USD). I suspect by Jan or Feb, Jobs will drop the price by 100 pounds. In the mean time, why wouldn't someone from the UK buy an iPhone in the US when they travel across the pond and unlock it ?
Anyone have a clue if the new option for turning off EDGE roaming will solve the issue with massive international data roaming bills you guys in the US have been getting?
If you have a Quidco account (http://www.quidco.com/), then the iPhone should only cost you £209 when purchasing through Carphone Warehouse. You could then use the free sim unlocking software to put it on any network.
That price is horrible!
Hmmmm next phone for me will definately NOT be an iPhone!
Theres always iPod Touch though :)
fools, the O2 iphone is connected to wifi, when ur connected to wifi the edge logo is overidden as the iphone will connect to the net using wifi. I'm using O2 with my unlocked iphone and the egde icons shows all the time,coz the iphone takes gprs as edge.
Languages:
English (UK)
German
French
Japanese
Dutch
Italian
Spanish
Portugese
Or are there more languages if you scroll down?
The languages says Scandinavia, and asian markets except Japan will have to wait..
EDGE?? They could AT LEAST have made a UTMS model.
I think I'll stick with my N95. It cost me
ARGH! Comment got cut off.
... it cost me less than £200 on a £27 per month contract, and I get unlimited data on HSDPA!
anyone know what the EDGE coverage is like for Vodafone in the UK? could i not just buy the iphone, unlock it, and slip my Voda sim inside?
iPhone is a complete no-deal for me now .... £269 + £35 contract min for 18 mnths on a phone missing so many features like mms, ability to send files to another phone via bluetooth (i mean...this has been possible on phones i have bought for about 4 years), custom ringtones WITHOUT faffing with 3rd party software. Slow Data traffic.
Yes its pretty .... but too expensive and too limited right now....until apple learn to loosen the reigns on this one i'm staying away.
3.5g iPhone with 32Gb storage and a little more freedom is the 1st iphone i want
good luck, Samsung 32Gb ssd costs over £200
Hmmm, not really an accurate comparison.
The £269 includes all taxes, and UK sales tax is 17.5%. The $399 is excluding taxes, although obviously in many places that's only around 8.5%. in other words, when you adjust for taxes:
iPhone US - £200 + taxes
iPhone UK - £228.90 + taxes
That's actually not bad, considering how many companies just convert the $ symbol into £ and effectively charge us double. You can't blame Apple for the fact that taxes are higher in UK.
So, if I get an unlocked US iPhone, would that still work with the free Wifi Cloud deal and work OK on O2 with visual voicemail?
I'm already on O2 but I could buy the phone from the US by itself without a contract for less...
You could maybe even buy the phone in the US and then activate it on O2 with iTunes when you come back from your trip. You would legally have a cheaper iPhone with a regular activation.
I don't know if it is possible, but it seems it would be. So people will basically all shop for the cheapest iPhones in Europe and then activate them in their own country with iTunes...
Unless, of course, you prefer an unlocked version...
Must.....Resist...Jobs reality distortion field!
I want the iPhone, I need the iPhone.....
Nooooo!
some thoughts:
1. in order to have the carrier subsidize the phone, you have to leave to the carrier the biggest share of the "content pie", which Apple didn't want to, because they have been in the music and video services for years very profitably and don't want the iPhone owners to buy music from, let's say, the Vodafone online music service (however it is called)
2. in order to have the carrier subsidize the phone you have to open the phone to the "craplets" carrier usually like to install such as: pre-configured bookmarks, one key "carrier mobile internet portal access", stupid "corporate identity" matching icons (Vodafone Live red and white stuff). Steve will never accept it (and I agree because it would turn a wonderfully designed phone in a "sheep in the herd" anonymous device.
3. in order to allow point 1. and 2. you have to provide carriers an SDK, which Apple is relentlessly opposing.
4. stuff like 3+ megapixel cameras require know how and strong deals, because they are in the realm of "cutting edge" tech. So there are patents, research and deals to strike. You cannot shop for such tech by some vendor in Taiwan... You have to do this "in house" (see Sony) or through long and established deals (see Nokia, Samsung)
5. UMTS is very good but still way to expensive. Carriers made huge investments in this domain (some of them) and I don't think they will easily settle for "unlimited data plans" (here, I might be wrong, maybe some operators already do that, but I am unaware of any)
6. UMTS is only useful for data transfer and internet surfing, video calls have proven to be a feature nobody wants (except maybe a 0.001%)
7. Steve said, during All things Digital, that he envied the ability of Bill Gates' Microsoft to strike deals and work with many partners. Apple has still LENGHTS to go in this field. If you have only one device, and not a cutting edge (eh eh) one, and you sell your own content, why do you need to "piss all carriers off"? You just start an unnecessary commercial war, from which you are not in a position to benefit.
This is my opinion, based on the facts I know :-)
Will I buy the iPhone?
Dunno. In Switzerland carriers currently offer most of the phones for free only with a 24 months contract. I only sign for 12 months ones, so I am used paying the phone for the priviledge to change it once a year. If they ask me to sign for 24 + pay I'll never sign :-) It goes against my "philosophy".
Re point 5, T-Mobile UK offers unlimited 3G data for £7.50 per month. Thats not expensive if you ask me.
Plus on 4 I would say that a 2MP camera is rather dated, and found even on cheap phones these days. I expected 3MP from the iPhone at a minimum.
the reason for network selection is when roaming. so you can force it to use an operator thats got a better deal with your home network. etc.
ie staying on 02 when in ireland rather than it flicking to meteor etc.
Interesting to see European keyboard support. Wonder if the screenshot shows the whole list, or if you can scroll down to more locales, like Swedish? That would make the world of difference for us, giving us a full iPhone experience (buying off the shelf in UK and doing the SIM unlock)
dont for get the $399 for the us one is excluding sales tax
so its more like $440ish. i think £269 is a fairish translastion
what with shipping and import taxes etc.
mind you it all ships straight from china anyway.
the bugger is we are all used to getting smartphones for free or next to nothing. apple cant do that or ipod sales would be buggered - why buy an ipod when the iphone is free.
Definately feels horribly underwhelming... I think I'm one of the only people that are slightly happy at the announcement. Sure the plans are shocking but the "Free" Wifi Access on The Cloud is a god send. The whole of 'the Square mile' in London is covered by their Wifi access points. I'm just going to be tethered to that all day with Wifi at home as well!
Not a bad turn of events. But I'd like more than 8GB and no 3G is far from an inspired decision for the European market.
I wopnder if there is a fair usage policy on bandwidth as there is on number of web pages. I'm looking forward to streaming movies from home onto my iPhone!
That is all...
Just do what ive done.
Change your address at the bank has to a US one, ie where a friend over there lives. If you know someone in OR even better as you can get it tax free.
Then order one from the apple shop, they will send it to you friends address & then get you friend to send it over here.
Unlock it for free & you have your iPhone.
Also if you sign up to apple.com you get $30 off your order & postage to you friends is free.
So your paying $169 online
& maybe $50 to send it over here.
Cheaper than over here (UK) & you get it a month before it comes out.
France is waiting for it !
@Matteo
in the UK we have 3G AND 3.5G. AND on T-mobile and '3' you can get nearly unlimited data accounts for UKP20 per month!
it's only £5 for the unmetered data on the '3' network
LOL. I am with o2. My last contact renewal was a 12 month £35 contract and I got a o2 xda exec (VGA, UMTS, WiFi etc.) for £50. What is this joke?
My next renewal is next month. Probably will reduce my tariff to £30 and get the superior N95 (GPS, HSDPA, WiFi, 5Mp Camera) for free.
Enjoy your expensive EDGE data tariff (o2 is one of the worst and expensive mobile data provider) and your expensive but outdated phone Apple fanboys.
Yeah 'cause Apple make AMD processors, the WFR-20 radio, techno-art, MX-B02 Bluetooth speakers, Lifebook U1010... get over it.
No 3G (Edge....Booogaloo!)
Dear Mr Jobs This is not America. We have some of the best 3G phones on earth here for half that price. My money will go on something else. Plus I was on O2 before and they were crap!
I was tempted by the iphone but this is a step backward for me if I get one.
No Thanks.
I am a little disappointed, been waiting to upgrade my orange phone + contract since june... This, truly, is the shitty end of the stick.
Anyone got any idea who has best EDGE coverage in Manchester?
Probs gonna go for T-Mobile with reasonable call costs + web n walk, plus free phone which i can then sell on eBay to cover the cost of the iPhone (either US import or UK). i recommend everyone do the same...
Visual voicemail isn't worth the cost; just get the thing unlocked.
I posted this about half an hour ago, but for some reason it didn't get posted.
Anyhwho... I am currently on a contract phone with 02 via Carphone Warehouse. My phone was due for an upgrade earlier this month and I currently pay £30 per month.
I contacted Carphone Warehouse to find out if there would be any upgrade deals for existing customers. The sales rep told me that I could expect to get the iPhone for free because I am already on a medium to high banding contract phone. :)
Apple seem to have got away with this kind of rip-off in the USA, but I can't imagine people in the UK signing up for such a bad deal. People in the UK love their mobiles and will see the iphone as a downgrade. No 3G is more of a no-no here than the US. Add to that the huge costs and a 18 month contract, no mms or video cam. I mean how's a school kid going to afford that and then not be able to send upskirt shots to his dirty friends? I know the iphones OS and design is the best anywhere, but it's offering limited services at a premium. I'd have expected more from Apple to make the iphone more appealing in the UK, like mms, 16GB, better contracts or even 3G. It seems apple will be relegated to a niche product bought by apple diehards and people wanting to show-off. I can see the release of the iphone actually boosting sales of the ipod touch! And I thought the iphone would kill the appeal of the ipod touch!
A disappointing launch to say the least, but it answers my question. No, I will not be buying an iphone.
I don't suppose the 'Cloud' wi-fi deal covers the ipod touch does it?
I hope the iPhone2 will answer most of the current defects, this version is just b*ll*cks rather than the dogs b*ll*cks (there's some vintage English vitriol for you).
Apple seems so arrogant, this seems to have been it's major problem throughout it's existence. It's release of this iphone seems arrogant and I wonder if Apple will trip up this time...