Apple iPhone on UK Orange, T-mobile, Three, Virgin, Tesco Mobile, BT Mobile, Asda Mobile and Vodafone Networks?
As an o2 customer every year I swear I’ll leave my o2 contract for another network to lower my bills and ever year o2 convince me to stay, offering lower bills and a better monthly deal.
Every year my phone bills go up, and up and up.
This year has been no exception and I finally swore to myself that I’d leave o2 on November 11th when my Mobile Phone contract expired.
Then what happened? o2 are awarded an exclusive contract for iPhone, the new and exciting product Apple are about to release in the UK.
What is the problem? Apparently iPhone is exclusive to the o2 network, which means I’ll have to stick with o2, waiting 2 days after its launch to switch onto an iPhone tariff, exclusive to o2.
Last night Justina and I were walking along Witham high street, and I spotted the following in the window of our only mobile phone store in the centre of town:
(next to the £469 price it says ‘Any Network’)
So, lets get this right…. the above shows iPhone on a contract with Orange for £169 or £469 for the phone on any Pay As You Go network. Whats that all about then?
In this Youtube Video Steve Jobs explains (rather amusingly) the exclusive relationship with o2.
On the 02 website it says that “iPhone 8GB will be available to buy at £269 only on O2” (no mention of Pay As You Go).
Carphone Warehouse is selling iPhone, only on the o2 network.
The UK Apple Site shows the iPhone and links through to o2 for news on the iPhone tariffs.
MacMinute lists o2 as the exclusive wireless UK carriage for the iPhone
And a little old shop in Witham high street, opened a few years ago (under a former name) by the legend that is minor celebrity Jeremy Spake claims to offer the iPhone on any UK Network?
Am I missing something here? Are other networks going to be offering up the iPhone? I should go in the shop and find out……
Hais
Interesting, I’ve never seen those advertisements before. I always assumed the iPhone was going to be exclusive to O2, the fact that it would be available on pay-as-you-go on O2 seems a little bit of a hack when likened to the Apple-AT&T
monopolyrelationship (hell I even blogged about it).Jonathan Furness
Doubt it.
Surely the other networks will need to support an Edge data network, just like 02 are building right now.
Of course you could use the phone on any of the networks (if unlocked) but you’d still be limited by not being able to access a data network.
Mine’s on order, and will stomach the tariffs offered by 02 despite the VERY competitive deal that I have running at the moment. Sigh.
Mark Lapsley
orange is a french company and they have been give the contrat over there so this may be away around of them offering it on there network overe here
iPhone
They are unlocked ones! In a sense they are second hand as someone has had to unlock them
Virgin Customer
Well, in response to Jonathan’s post earlier, T-Mobile, Virgin support EDGE, and Orange was actually the first operator over here to support it. In fact, O2 are lagging by still building theirs – so that’s an odd choice for Apple!
It certainly means that, when unlocked, iPhones will work just as well on operators other than O2.
Oange Customer
I’m an Ornage customer. I decided recently that I would migrate to o2 purely in order to get my hands on an iPhone. So, I rang Orange to check when my contract was due to end and was asked why I was leaving Orange. I gave them nowhere to go when I announced that I was leaving for love of the iPhone and therefore had no choice but to move to o2. The guy at Orange then casually mentioned that Orange would be offering the iPhone as a contract phone from late October 08 onwards. I was so baffled that I asked him to repeat the statement. And he did. Told me to ring nearer the date for more accurate prices on different contracts. So…..
Martin Popham
WOW!! Great news. I am in the exact same situation. i use a Mac for business and NEED the Iphone more than want it, though i DO want it too!! I just rang orange to say i would be leaving soon. The lady i spoke to told me that the Iphone IS COMING TO ORANGE SOON, but she couldn’t give me a date. PLEEEASE, its so unfair that this is only available on O2 who i hate, the coverage is useless.
Dog Behaviourist
I have asked Orange this question again, this time a woman in the disconnections team said “i don’t know anything about that and i would not advise you to wait because i don’t think Orange will get it for a long long time”.
NOW I AM CONFUSED!! I seem to get a different answer each time i ring. I REALLY WANT the Iphone but on ORANGE, not O2. Having said that, if i don’t feel more certain Orange will get it soon, i may just dive into an O2 contract which i know will have me kicking myself soon after when Orange DO end up getting it!
Any tips on what to do? Any more updates from anyone, or any news i have missed?
Gary
Like Dog Behaviourist, I really want an iphone on an orange contract, I’d happily go to O2, but where I live in west wales does not get a signal for O2 but has a great signal for orange. Does anyone know any more about orange getting iphone? I’ve just for a mac book pro and love it, and now I want this great technology on my phone instead of windows ‘bloody’ mobile.