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Apple to Partner with O2 for iPhone UK? Orange in France?

Devil's Refugee said:
O2....nightmare
No 3G.....nightmare

Just how is Apple supposed to break the UK market with this kind of strategy ?!

:(
Click to expand...

What is specifically wrong with 02, apart from customer services experiences which are probably typical of all of them. 02 have a decent network coverage, the best in mine and my friends experience
 
If the iPhone in Europe has no 3G, it is an utter waste of time for Apple to bring it here. I will not buy an iPhone unless it has 3G.
 
PMSL

I've just phoned O2 customer services to 'register an interest'

"Hello, I'd like to know if I can register interest in the Apple iPhone"

"What ? Never heard of it. Apple Eye ?!"

"No, the iPhone....I believe O2 have secured exclusive rights to supple the iPhone in the UK"

"I'm sorry....eye-what ??"
 
Devil's Refugee said:
O2....nightmare
No 3G.....nightmare

Just how is Apple supposed to break the UK market with this kind of strategy ?!

:(
Click to expand...

Indeed - when other phones launched now - and at the time will be running over 3.6 mbps HSDPA 3G and possibly 7.2 - how can Apple compete at a paltry 0.4 mbps of the GPRS network
 
Devil's Refugee said:
PMSL

I've just phoned O2 customer services to 'register an interest'

"Hello, I'd like to know if I can register interest in the Apple iPhone"

"What ? Never heard of it. Apple Eye ?!"

"No, the iPhone....I believe O2 have secured exclusive rights to supple the iPhone in the UK"

"I'm sorry....eye-what ??"
Click to expand...

It is not even offical confirmed yet so you can't expect some call centre lacky to know about it, unless of course they have seen it in the news or on here.
 
xUKHCx said:
Good point we are currently comparing it to the phones and market now but in November there will be lots of new phones available, therefore 3G is a definite must.
Click to expand...

We have 3.6mbps enable HSDPA phones available here and now - today even. Nokia N95, Samsung U700 etc.

So even 4/5 months ahead of the iphone launching its out of date
 
emotion said:
Yes. It's HSDPA you really need though, that's what everyone else will have come November.


That is so Apple. They bring out a great product, but they f/// up somewhere else. Everything is going HSDPA and they stick to EDGE? Might work great in the US, but wifi spots are not everywhere, most certainly not there where i would use the net on a phone.

Seems like they really don't see how different some markets are.

Kinda like the thing with the MacBook Pro
Click to expand...
 
phatspider said:
We have 3.6mbps enable HSDPA phones available here and now - today even. Nokia N95, Samsung U700 etc.

So even 4/5 months ahead of the iphone launching its out of date
Click to expand...

What is was saying is that HSDPA phones will be availble on most current phones on the market so the iPhone will look very dated by that time in this regard.
 
O2 UK does not lock contract phones

I dont know if anyone has mentioned this before, but in my experience (been with O2 in the UK for just under 4 years), they never lock phones to their network. I can get a free phone on contract and immediately go put another SIM in their and it'll work. No need to bother with getting it unlocked etc. Even the O2 XDAs dont come locked.

I think this applies to their pay as you go phones as well but i'm not sure. Never tried one before. But if this is an O2 policy and the iPhone comes out on O2 then chances are it'll be unlocked. Making it so much easier for us to put in a local SIM when we go travelling somewhere...
 
If you look at the teardown pics, there's definitely space in there for more hardware, like a 3G chip. I'm really hoping there's a revision model out for the European launch, otherwise I'll be waiting for the 3G model.
Early adopters will be stung badly.
 
georgeoommen said:
I dont know if anyone has mentioned this before, but in my experience (been with O2 in the UK for just under 4 years), they never lock phones to their network. I can get a free phone on contract and immediately go put another SIM in their and it'll work. No need to bother with getting it unlocked etc. Even the O2 XDAs dont come locked.

I think this applies to their pay as you go phones as well but i'm not sure. Never tried one before. But if this is an O2 policy and the iPhone comes out on O2 then chances are it'll be unlocked. Making it so much easier for us to put in a local SIM when we go travelling somewhere...
Click to expand...

That has been my experience as well but it may well change for the iphone, who knows. At least they wont change the bloody interface (orange and voda are extremely bad at this)
 
Is 3G coverage in the UK good in all places, not just cities? Looking at the carriers coverage maps it looks like it's just the cities that can get video calling etc., and I can't imagine these are out of date.
 
Someone on another forum made a comment about the iPhone not being able to handle MMS ??

Surely not. If it were true, then having no 3G, no personalised ringtone functionality and no MMS would kill the iPhone in Europe, especially the UK.

Apple really needs to do more research into the market across here.
 
Devil's Refugee said:
If you look at the teardown pics, there's definitely space in there for more hardware, like a 3G chip. I'm really hoping there's a revision model out for the European launch, otherwise I'll be waiting for the 3G model.
Early adopters will be stung badly.
Click to expand...

I doubt there will be a revision, just (hopefully) updated hardware. I couldn't see iPhone 2.0 within 6 months.
 
According to this Guardian article adding EDGE capability is quite easy.

From The Guardian

The other operators, however, say that upgrading to the new high-speed data service needed for the iPhone is not expensive, as it is merely a software upgrade; it does not need a full-scale refit of existing wireless networks, unlike the switch to 3G, which has cost the industry billions of pounds.
Click to expand...

So it may well be likely that we get a very similar deal here as we do in the US.

I've been on o2 for 7 years, I think the coverage is very good now (far better then it was 5 years ago) and the customer service reasonable. I was scared that it'd be on Carphone Warehouse's own 'virtual' network (whose name I've forgotten, i think it was called 'Fresh')
 
Originally Posted by georgeoommen
I dont know if anyone has mentioned this before, but in my experience (been with O2 in the UK for just under 4 years), they never lock phones to their network. I can get a free phone on contract and immediately go put another SIM in their and it'll work. No need to bother with getting it unlocked etc. Even the O2 XDAs dont come locked.

I think this applies to their pay as you go phones as well but i'm not sure. Never tried one before. But if this is an O2 policy and the iPhone comes out on O2 then chances are it'll be unlocked. Making it so much easier for us to put in a local SIM when we go travelling somewhere...
Click to expand...

It'll be locked. They did it with AT&T, why not here. If it's a prerequisite for the deal, O2 could not release it unlocked. Where's the exclusivity when you could buy one on a PAYG in theory and then lob in a decent carrier's SIM (like Vodafone....you listening Apple ?!)
 
Devil's Refugee said:
Someone on another forum made a comment about the iPhone not being able to handle MMS ??

Surely not. If it were true, then having no 3G, no personalised ringtone functionality and no MMS would kill the iPhone in Europe, especially the UK.

Apple really needs to do more research into the market across here.
Click to expand...

At this stage it does not do MMS. CAn easily be added by apple via softare update but that relies on apple adding it which is not guaranteed.

Devil's Refugee said:
It'll be locked. They did it with AT&T, why not here. If it's a prerequisite for the deal, O2 could not release it unlocked. Where's the exclusivity when you could buy one on a PAYG in theory and then lob in a decent carrier's SIM (like Vodafone....you listening Apple ?!)
Click to expand...

I'm sure apple don't care about the lock it is really the phones company decision if the lock is there to protect their exclusivity.
 
Manic Mouse said:
In Northern Ireland the coverage from O2 is excellent, I nearly always have full bars no matter where I go. I've never had dropped calls and customer service has always been a pleasant experience for me. I've had no problems with O2 for the three years I've been with them.

Seems milage varies, eh?
Click to expand...

Yes it seems to.

My girlfriend is Irish, from Drogheda, and she has an o2 sim card for when she's back in Ireland because it works so well there.
She also has a UK o2 phone and says the 2 aren't even comparable.

My point was more that I had been on o2 in London, experienced terrible service, reception etc..

Now the population of the UK stand at about 61 million with 9-10 million (officially) living in London, and as many as 17 million during work hours.

The way I see it, effectively passing bad service onto a quarter of an entire population in order to ensure coverage in rural areas is practically suicide. (Not saying NI is rural here! My sister lives out in Suffolk and everyone there is on o2 or Vodaphone cos they have good coverage)
 
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