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

Where I live I can get Vodafone (my current provider), Orange, T-Mobile and 3 service 100%. The only provider that I cannot get is O2. If they go with O2 then I will not be getting an iPhone.

It is not the internet connectivity as I have a WiFi connection at home it is the basic calls and SMS that I need. I still live with my parents (house prices here are stupidly expensive) and as such I only give out my mobile number to my mates and anyone else that needs it. Even work only have my mobile number. If I cannot get a signal at home then the iPhone is a no go.

I have just in the last few minutes checked the O2 coverage website and they say that I should get a low but useable signal here. I can but only if I stand at the end of my driveway (not much use if I am in the house). I have also just done a manual operator search on my current phone and the only provider that does not come up as available is O2.

I await further news with much anticipation.
 
i see that amazon.co.uk are listing it as out Dec 1st at £329 8gig and £279 4gig

no mention of a contract! maybe it will without in UK? wishful thinking?:eek:
 
UPDATE: A well placed tbites source at a rival network with no interest in spinning the story tells us the iPhone has "definitely" gone to 02 in the UK. What everyone is not sure about yet is if this is just going to be the US / 2.5G version, or which operator will get the license for the 3G version of the iPhone which is due to appear at the end of this year/beginning of next. What is also puzzling some industry observers is why 02 wants the iPhone when it is already the leading UK network, and is therefore not in as much need of an extra 500,000 customers (as were attracted to AT&T in the US). The plot thickens...

http://tbites.com/2007/07/iphone-goes-to-02in-uk

Mike is reliable
 
Project said:
What is also puzzling some industry observers is why 02 wants the iPhone when it is already the leading UK network, and is therefore not in as much need of an extra 500,000 customers (as were attracted to AT&T in the US).
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well if they are in the lead; they would want to maintain that lead...wouldnt want nasty Voda or Orange getting those 500,000 extra customers...strange they go for such a high placed deal as they already paying £5m a year for 'The O2' dome thing...i hope they sort their customer service out and the difference between O2 online and O2 stores! the online store is just nasty!
 
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=abO7i.hUUOps&refer=uk

July 5 (Bloomberg) -- Telefonica SA's O2 wireless unit said it hasn't signed a deal with Apple Inc. to be the exclusive U.K. network partner for the iPhone mobile device.

``No deal has been signed with Apple,'' O2 spokesman David Nicholas said today by telephone from London. ``We don't comment on rumor or speculation.''

The response comes after the Financial Times, citing people close to the talks, reported that O2 is close to a deal to be the exclusive network provider for the iPhone in the U.K. The O2 deal is a blow to Newbury, England-based Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile operator, which was seen as the frontrunner for the contract, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Click to expand...
 
JFreak said:
Who cares? The thing has a full-featured email client. MMS was born as a big flop.
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As someone who is working for a Finnish telco I can assure you it's not (in Finland atleast). Quite a large segment of Finnish consumers use MMS. Many more use MMS than use email with their mobile phones.
 
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dog299 said:
...strange they go for such a high placed deal as they already paying £5m a year for 'The O2' dome thing..
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The dome and their 3G network are basically fixed costs, costs that would remain even if Vodafone scooped the iphone and took half of our customers.

O2 couldn't afford to lose the deal even more than Vodafone couldn't afford to lose it and caved in to all of Apple's demands, including an £35 entry level voice + unlimited data plan :D

There will be a joint iphone/o2 arena launch on Thursday November 29th, including A-list entertainment and free drinks - cost of entry: one prepaid iphone purchase (£279 or £329), you get to go home with your iphone, everyone else has to wait until the following day, all units will sell out over the weekend, adding to the frenzied hype and priming demand for another huge shipment just before Christmas, sold through Tesco as part of 02's existing deal as the carrier behind Tesco Mobile.
 
O2 currently charge £3 per MB for data! :(

That's the price of a pint. What would you rather have: some lame YouTube clip on your crappy 3.5" screen or a lovely cold pint? (or 1/2 pint if you're in London/Edinburgh/Bristol)
 
SayCheese said:
Is that sarcasm really necessary? I know that I am just one customer compared with thousands of others but I am only expressing a personal opinion.

Surely we are all allowed to express an opinon???
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Maybe it was sarcasm, but I would take it as a serious suggestion. If you really will not buy an iPhone if it doesn't have 3G, or perhaps on an EDGE network, then why not tell them? Who knows, if they get enough feedback it might influence their decision. If they really cannot produce a 3G version in time for the initial UK launch then I would MUCH rather they went with Orange who have an EDGE network. Forcing UK iPhone users to use a network that only allows then to get GPRS data is ridiculous.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/
 
You've gotta laugh at that Amazon advert.
Cingular's EDGE network
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?? LOL

And as for the 2 "reviews"..pmsl

Guaranteed the price and spec will change, as will the release date. I wouldn't bother pre-ordering, especially if it's sold exclusively through one network via contract only.
 
ruutiveijari said:
As someone who is working for a Finnish telco I can assure you it's not (in Finland atleast). Quite a large segment of Finnish consumers use MMS. Many more use MMS than use email with their mobile phones.
Click to expand...

Once everyone who matters buys an iPhone (relatively) nobody will be using crippled formats, but will be using real email with real attachments and be able to view it on their phone, laptop, desktop, and even remote server.

For those still complaining about EDGE, remember it was adopted because it is the most widely available network (at least in the USA), and the data rate is practically "faster than a modem". It has been widely adopted by government users here and now by Apple. The current handset hardware is EDGE. You guys will get your iPhones faster with an EDGE delivery provider. That IS what you care about, isn't it?

Rocketman
 
Rocketman said:
Once everyone who matters buys an iPhone (relatively) nobody will be using crippled formats, but will be using real email with real attachments and be able to view it on their phone, laptop, desktop, and even remote server.

Rocketman
Click to expand...

Well, that won't happen. MMS is here to stay and serves a useful purpose. Also, the service providers like MMS messages because they are a revenue earner.
 
bilbo--baggins said:
Maybe it was sarcasm, but I would take it as a serious suggestion. If you really will not buy an iPhone if it doesn't have 3G, or perhaps on an EDGE network, then why not tell them? Who knows, if they get enough feedback it might influence their decision. If they really cannot produce a 3G version in time for the initial UK launch then I would MUCH rather they went with Orange who have an EDGE network. Forcing UK iPhone users to use a network that only allows then to get GPRS data is ridiculous.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/
Click to expand...

Good suggestion, however the reason that I won't get an iPhone on the O2 network is because I cannot get a signal at home. Not even a hint of a signal in the house so I cannot make or recieve a call. I don't really care if it is Edge/3G/GPRS. I'm not in that much of a hurry to use the internet that I can't wait an extra few seconds.

I will email Apple and ask them not to go with O2. I will see what they say, if anything.
 
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