IDG News Service (Paris Bureau) — Network operator O2 (UK) will sell Apple's iPhone in the U.K. from Nov. 9 for 269 pounds (US$538), the companies announced Tuesday, marking the start of the iPhone's move into Europe.
O2 will sell the smartphone, which plays music, connects to Wi-Fi networks and has a touch-sensitive screen and 8GB of memory, with contracts priced 35 pounds, 45 pounds or 55 pounds per month. For that price, customers will get 200 minutes of talk time, 200 text messages, and "unlimited" free data transfers. They will also have free access to a network of 7,000 Wi-Fi hot-spots, O2 said.
The company has an exclusive deal as the only U.K. operator to sell the phone, although it will also be available through Apple retail stores and through the independent Carphone Warehouse retail chain.
Apple launched the iPhone in the U.S. on June 29, exclusively with operator AT&T. The 8GB iPhone initially cost $599, but Apple cut the price to $399 on Sept. 5.
At 269 pounds, the iPhone will face stiffer competition in the U.K. than it does in the U.S. That's because prices for other smartphones are typically lower in Europe, where many operators subsidize the cost of new phones in order to attract customers. For instance, O2 customers signing a 30-pound-a-month contract for 18 months or more can get Nokia's top-of-the-range N95 smartphone with Wi-Fi, camera, music player and GPS for free.
The European iPhone is substantially unchanged from the U.S. model, which already had the capability to operate on the 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) bands used in Europe and Asia, in addition to the 850MHz and 1900MHz bands used in North America. Like the U.S. model, it has no 3G high-speed data capability, and will instead operate on O2's GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) networks.
Apple revealed a new version of the iPhone firmware, 1.1.1 on Friday with a new settings menu for international options not seen in previous versions.
Such settings will be useful as Apple moves away from English-speaking countries: Apple is widely expected to announce similar deals with operators in France and Germany over the coming weeks. France Telecom SA's mobile-and-Internet subsidiary Orange and Deutsche Telekom AG's subsidiary T-Mobile are the front-runners to sell the phone, according to research director Carolina Milanesi of Gartner.
