Do you think in the UK come iPhone launch, we will have the same mess up?

[nickhutson]

Not that it was apple's fault, but do you think we will have activation going wrong? Stock running out within 10 minutes, and no more phones for weeks?

Or, do you think O2 have learnt their lessons from previous launches?

 

[iSimx]

I think part of the problem was due to the easypay system, but I believe they will be changing that soon.

plus, being an iphone 3g user, I still don't understand how this is going to work. Will I have to wait till the end of the contract before I can get the new iphone (IF there is a new iphone). Of course you can pay the rest of the contract immediately and then get the upgrade however who would be stupid enough to do that? it's an 18 month contract with o2. But I'm sure many will be in this situation so how will Apple sell as many when they launch...

 

[bigscotal]

You would have thought the huge amount of pre-release interest that was registered for the 3G via the O2 site, that they should have had at least an inkling that it was going to be a frenzied launch. However, even with that knowledge, they still made an utter mess of it.

Whether the next launch ends up the same or not probably depends on whether they offer a decent in-contract upgrade to the "new" handset for those that that were first time iPhone owners last July.

If there is a decent upgrade option, then I can see the exact same scenario happening al over again.......

 

[matttye]

Last year was a disaster. I gave up trying to get a 3G after the order page died after my 5th or 6th attempt at submitting the form. Never did get one, still using my 2G!

Sod contracts anyway, I'm going to wait for it to be released as PAYG...hopefully it won't take like 6 months again :\

 

[t0mat0]

They couldn't handle the spikes of interest / activity on their site. They know how they eventually fixed it previously at least.

- there's a lot more people interested in the iPhone
- there's a lot more people believing/ knowing that a new model is coming out

O2 staff i've talkedto so far are denying any possibility of a new handset or hardware update. They had the same problem last year - they couldn't officially say anything and were seeing lots of customers just walk out annoyed With O2 not being more helpful.
With them denying/ saying there hasn't. Sen any training or news about training for a new handset it doesn't bode too great. Especially for the upgrade route of those who got a 18 month contract for a 3G.
Can you upgrade early? Maybe not.
Can you pass the old contract and phone to a family member? Maybe not.
Can you get an early chance to get one when they come out? We'll see

 

[MacBoobsPro]

I spoke to an Apple rep and the upgrade process (if you can call it that) is basically... When your contract runs out. Sign up for a new contract with the new phone and you get to keep your old phone.

 

[BergerFan]

I spoke to an Apple rep and the upgrade process (if you can call it that) is basically... When your contract runs out. Sign up for a new contract with the new phone and you get to keep your old phone.

That's what I did last October with my 1st gen iPhone. Not via O2 though, they were useless. I did it in 10 mins over the phone, through Carphone warehouse.

 

[spookme]

Used to work for O2

As someone who reads this site with interest and having seen this post I thought it was about time I registered!

I actually used to work for O2 and was within the retail store.

My understanding of the last iPhone launch and the supply issue came down mainly to the fact that the first ver of the iPhone didn't sell as well for O2 as they would have liked, it proved to be somewhat more difficult than they had suggested to Apple when setting out their initial exclusiverty agreement.

When the 3G phone came along, Apple were very careful in allocating stock to O2 and the UK, not wanting to flood the market, but also from a business point of view wanting to make sure that demand was higher than supply.

Having been in the store on launch day I have to confess it was very frustrating to see so many people outside wanting the device when we knew instore that we would not be able to meet the impending demand.

I'm not here to defend O2 by any stretch of the imagination so please don't think that I am.

Regarding the possible new phone. Even now whilst I still have contacts within O2 I am unable to get any confirmation of a new phone or when it could or would be. To the point that I actually had to inform them correctly about 3.0 software and the dates for release. (which I might add was found by me through this great site)

So, my advice is Don't speak to the store staff. O2 keep them very badly informed about the iPhone, they dont give them a great deal if information until the very last min. This way the staff are not lying to you when they say they dont know.

My advice would be to keep using this site for all the latest news. IF I do hear anything through my channels I will happily post it as I no longer have ties to O2 and as farr as I am concerned "they can go swing"

Hope that help

 

[limesmoothie]

Hope there is a decent upgrade deal for us existing 3g-ers. I would be so miffed if I was tied in until Dec 09, whilst others had their hands on the shiny new model.......

 

[arkitect]

Hope there is a decent upgrade deal for us existing 3g-ers. I would be so miffed if I was tied in until Dec 09, whilst others had their hands on the shiny new model.......

Oh fer goodness sakes… it is called willpower…

When the 3G was released did I cry my eyes out being "stuck" with my horrible "old" 1st Gen? Did it suddenly stop working?
Nope.
This time round I probably will be upgrading since my 18 month contract expires sometime in May.

If you so badly want to upgrade then pay the early upgrade penalty. If not… bide your time and get the next release.

 

[Aurial]

Hope there is a decent upgrade deal for us existing 3g-ers. I would be so miffed if I was tied in until Dec 09, whilst others had their hands on the shiny new model.......

I'd be jealous, not miffed. After all, why should they offer us an early upgrade? You don't get one when you buy any other phone do you?

Don't get me wrong, I'd happily accept one if they offered, but I can't see how any of us can blame O2 if they don't let us upgrade early. We did all sign a contract saying we couldn't upgrade for another 18 months after all.

I'll probably get it on PAYG when it's released. If I paid for the early upgrade then I'd be in exactly the same situation next June/July too. This way when my 18 months expires in January I'll be eligable for the 2010 version when it comes out.

 

[limesmoothie]

Oh fer goodness sakes… it is called willpower…

When the 3G was released did I cry my eyes out being "stuck" with my horrible "old" 1st Gen? Did it suddenly stop working?
Nope.
This time round I probably will be upgrading since my 18 month contract expires sometime in May.

If you so badly want to upgrade then pay the early upgrade penalty. If not… bide your time and get the next release.

If I had will power, I wouldn't have purchased a MacBook the week before payday....

If there's no deal on the upgrade this time, I wouldn't lose any sleep. I appreciate those who bought the first model in 2007 got no subsidy and paid through the nose.

I would NEVER pay an early termination fee...that's good money I could be spending on something else. I do long for a slightly better camera in the phone, though - that is all.

 

[sparkyms]

I'd be jealous, not miffed. After all, why should they offer us an early upgrade? You don't get one when you buy any other phone do you?

Don't get me wrong, I'd happily accept one if they offered, but I can't see how any of us can blame O2 if they don't let us upgrade early. We did all sign a contract saying we couldn't upgrade for another 18 months after all.

I'll probably get it on PAYG when it's released. If I paid for the early upgrade then I'd be in exactly the same situation next June/July too. This way when my 18 months expires in January I'll be eligable for the 2010 version when it comes out.

I will probably do this too if offered.. I forget when PAYG came out with the 3G.