iPhone interest in UK increases fourfold with advent of 3G model

[AppleInsider]

Though it will come as little surprise to those following the iPhone story, Apple's exclusive wireless provider in the UK said this week that regional interest in the new iPhone 3G is nearly four times that of the original model.

The Telegraph reveals that Telefónica's O2 has seen over 130,000 people pre-register on its website to receive more information on the new Apple handset since the device was announcement last Monday.

By comparison, it took nearly two months from the time the original iPhone was announced in the UK before the British carrier received just 35,000 similar requests from consumers.

Ronan Dunne, O2 UK chief executive, has said that the £269 price of the original iPhone had been "an issue for some segments of the market", but added that those who did buy into the touch-screen handset wound up spending an average 30 percent more a year on their mobile bills.

This time around, O2 will be charging just £99 for the 8GB iPhone and £159 for the 16GB model with 18-month contracts, but is also offering incentives to existing iPhone owners by which they could get either model for free when they agree to sign up for one of the carrier's pricer tariffs.

Last year, a hefty portion of British wireless customers also said their interest in the original iPhone was soured due to Apple's decision to forgo 3G wireless technology in favor of supporting only the slower 2.5G flavor.

Unlike in the US where 3G networks have only recently begun to take form, Europe is known for the widespread deployment of the speedier standard, and thus the original iPhone was often seen as running on yesteryear technology.

Apple has said that its own test show the iPhone 3G to be nearly 2.5 times faster in internet application usage than the 2.5G model, or almost as fast as using Wi-Fi.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[brainfragment]

We've had 3G networks up and running for years here in Australia. The previous iPhone was way behind for our networks

[Bageljoey]

Interest is one thing.
I am waiting to see sales. And whether Apple can keep up with the pent up initial demand as well as predicting and supplying the proper build rate after.

The July 11 date is worldwide, isn't it? That is going to be a headache!

[NanoAkron]

Apple really has to stop thinking like a US-only company if it wants to garner worldwide support.

However, I do recognise that much of the last year was probably an investment in testing the waters and developing new technologies.

Let's see where they go from here.

[ic1male]

I'm more interested on seeing what the features/price will be of the Pay as you Go version.

[aegisdesign]

I would guess they've got lots of enquiries because they've announced PAYG but not told us how expensive it will be.

But apart from that they've hit the tipping point. It's now good enough for the UK and about the same price as other people's phones. Before it was far from either of those.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by ic1male

I'm more interested on seeing what the features/price will be of the Pay as you Go version.

I am under the impression that there will not be prepaid option for the 3G iPhone in the US. Perhaps you pay an unsubsidized price for it, they may offer it; but the $199 price appears to be for a 24 month contract only.

[mbaynham]

Originally Posted by ic1male

I'm more interested on seeing what the features/price will be of the Pay as you Go version.

im the same as you mate, thats all im waiting out on. i think i can do with out a 32gb model, i just wont bother putting all my music on it. it will be interesting to see how the pricing will go. as soon as i know i will decide

[merdhead]

Originally Posted by brainfragment

We've had 3G networks up and running for years here in Australia. The previous iPhone was way behind for our networks

Yeah, Australia's great, rah, rah.

But here's the reality: They're bloody awful. If you're lucky you get 3G in the cities, but outside of that only with Telstra (which is monstrously expensive) do you get anything but GPRS. That's right, 60Kbps at best. No EDGE. It's really awful and an embarrassment.

Telstra is the monopoly phone company distorting pricing all over the place. Their pricing will make your eyes water.

[IQatEdo]

Originally Posted by brainfragment

We've had 3G networks up and running for years here in Australia. The previous iPhone was way behind for our networks

By far the most comprehensive 3G network in Australia is operated by a company called Telstra, using the old CDMA infrastructure and called NextG. They were spun off the original government run monopoly, Telecom. However, a senior manager once said that the iPhone was not something that they were prepared to support and sure enough, no Telstra on the list of companies that will be running it out. Their loss but also a loss to those who need the greater coverage. Does anyone have a link to an original report?

Telstra needs a kick up its corporate backside.

All the best.

[Hutcho]

The reason people didn't show interest has very little to do with the price. It is because the original one came out without 3G, which therefore made it old technology.

I simply can't see why there is speculation over the poor performance in Europe. Like I say, no multimedia high end phone is going to be adopted here without 3G. Just wait until the 11th of July - sales will far surpass that of the last iPhone.

[abrooks]

Originally Posted by ic1male

I'm more interested on seeing what the features/price will be of the Pay as you Go version.

My estimate would be £300 to £350, comes with a sim card and is sim locked.

Just a guess but O2 doesn't want these things unlocked.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I am under the impression that there will be prepaid option for the 3G iPhone in the US. Perhaps you pay an unsubsidized price for it, they may offer it; but the $199 price appears to be for a 24 month contract only.

In Italy they announced it as €499 = £400 = $768 which is a bit steep IMHO considering an 18 month contract on O2 costs you £639 and up

But apart from the handset price it'd be nice to know what O2 will charge for PAYG inc data and their 'iphone bolt on'. If they do normal PAYG text/voice as they do with other handsets and a £7.50 iPhone bolt-on inc data as and when you need it, I'm in, even possibly at £400. I'd prefer £250-ish though.

[aaarrrgggh]

I wonder how much is driven purely by price, features, and hype respectively. Browsing speed is generally only slightly slower with EDGE than the T3 at work over wifi on the first gen units (which is still a better web browsing experience than any of the 3G phones I have tried.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by aaarrrgggh

I wonder how much is driven purely by price, features, and hype respectively. Browsing speed is generally only slightly slower with EDGE than the T3 at work over wifi on the first gen units (which is still a better web browsing experience than any of the 3G phones I have tried.

But we don't really have an EDGE network in the UK. We've got GPRS and HSDPA or better 3G and not much in-between. We skipped on EDGE when we implemented 3G almost a decade or so ago.

edit: sorry - 6 years ago isn't really 'almost a decade'. 6 years ago was when three.co.uk launched their 3G only service.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

In Italy they announced it as €499 = £400 = $768 which is a bit steep IMHO considering an 18 month contract on O2 costs you £639 and up

But apart from the handset price it'd be nice to know what O2 will charge for PAYG inc data and their 'iphone bolt on'. If they do normal PAYG text/voice as they do with other handsets and a £7.50 iPhone bolt-on inc data as and when you need it, I'm in, even possibly at £400. I'd prefer £250-ish though.

Those prices seem a bit high. I wonder if we can correctly extrapolate how much it will be in the US unsubsidized by removing VAT and other taxes.

Oops, I made a mistake with my post.

"I am under the impression that there will not be prepaid option for the 3G iPhone in the US. Perhaps you pay an unsubsidized price for it, they may offer it; but the $199 price appears to be for a 24 month contract only."

[nothowie]

I was reading yesterday that one of the carriers in Australia has stopped taking "reservations" for
the iphone since the number of people have signed up already exceed the amount of the initial allocation to Australia.

July 11th is turning out to be another day like 6/29/07, but only 10 times greater! Last year is
turning out to be just good practice for the real thing this year!

[IQatEdo]

Originally Posted by nothowie

I was reading yesterday that one of the carriers in Australia has stopped taking "reservations" for
the iphone since the number of people have signed up already exceed the amount of the initial allocation to Australia.

July 11th is turning out to be another day like 6/29/07, but only 10 times greater! Last year is
turning out to be just good practice for the real thing this year!

The reservations were to secure one of the earliest units into supply. They (Optus) closed the offer within days of opening it although precisely how long it was open I do not know.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by nothowie

I was reading yesterday that one of the carriers in Australia has stopped taking "reservations" for
the iphone since the number of people have signed up already exceed the amount of the initial allocation to Australia.

July 11th is turning out to be another day like 6/29/07, but only 10 times greater! Last year is
turning out to be just good practice for the real thing this year!

Apple Stores are a good sign that there is a market for Apple products. I'm curious to see how much is given to the iPhone and iPod verses the Mac line in non-US stores. It may indicate how serious Apple is to increasing the Mac user base outside the US.

• http://gallery.mac.com/ny.lon#100034...lack&view=grid

[Mr Underhill]

Of course interest needs to turn into sales, but it would also be nice to see what the breakdown of pay-as-you-go V contract. Certainly people who i have mentioned the 3G iPhone to only seem to get tuned in as soon as you mention pay-as-you-go.

[Ireland]

iPhone interest begins in the EU; you mean

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by Mr Underhill

Of course interest needs to turn into sales, but it would also be nice to see what the breakdown of pay-as-you-go V contract. Certainly people who i have mentioned the 3G iPhone to only seem to get tuned in as soon as you mention pay-as-you-go.

No Pay as you go plan for iPhone here either.

[Shaun, UK]

Like a lot of people I was put off the original iPhone by the O2 pricing plans. I'm really looking forward to the PAYG version and if they price it right this thing will fly off the shelves.

I know it's not relevant but since we have some Aussie's online... that new Sydney store looks gorgeous!

[iVlad]

I really hate how Apple rushed and made 5 year contract with ATT. Now Apple can't even sell unlocked iPhone to anyone.

[min_t]

Originally Posted by iVlad

I really hate how Apple rushed and made 5 year contract with ATT. Now Apple can't even sell unlocked iPhone to anyone.

Do you really think Apple had a choice. Remember, it had to work with the 2 axis of evil that are the telcos. It's quite plausible that in order for them to get the iPhones with unlimited data plans, they had to swallow a little taste of vomit ala AT&T 5-year deal.

[joehoyle]

"Unlike in the US where 3G networks have only recently begun to take form, Europe is known for the widespread deployment of the speedier standard, and thus the original iPhone was often seen as running on yesteryear technology."

"widespread deployment of the speedier standard"?? Has anybody seen the O2 3G Coverage for the UK? it is a joke, Orange or Vadafone have good 3G coverage in the UK, O2 is terrible. Only some of the larger cities have O2 3G

Check out : http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/map.asp you will see what I mean

[lantzn]

Originally Posted by min_t

Do you really think Apple had a choice. Remember, it had to work with the 2 axis of evil that are the telcos. It's quite plausible that in order for them to get the iPhones with unlimited data plans, they had to swallow a little taste of vomit ala AT&T 5-year deal.

That's right and if you'll recall Verizon was approached as first choice and declined Apple's offer for the iPhone. Now I'm sure Verizon is going to feel the error of their ways. I say make it so because I've always hated how they treated us Mac users over the years and I can't stand how they cripple the phones they carry. I left them for a private carry years ago who backbone off of AT&T network. I moved over to AT&T last year in anticipation of the 3G iPhone and will be buying 2 of them next month.

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by joehoyle

"Unlike in the US where 3G networks have only recently begun to take form, Europe is known for the widespread deployment of the speedier standard, and thus the original iPhone was often seen as running on yesteryear technology."

"widespread deployment of the speedier standard"?? Has anybody seen the O2 3G Coverage for the UK? it is a joke, Orange or Vadafone have good 3G coverage in the UK, O2 is terrible. Only some of the larger cities have O2 3G

Check out : http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/map.asp you will see what I mean

Surprisingly, we have it. We're about 20 miles to Glasgow and 30 to Edinburgh so by all accounts I'm in the country...rather surprising.

Like others I'm tempted by PAYG. However I won't be going near it if it's dearer than £300. I'm curious about the free wifi/data etc. What's going to happen there? No point in having it on PAYG if you have to pay O2's extortionate data rates.

[Hutcho]

Apple would have NEVER gone with Verizon. This is all just speculation. Had they gone with them, they would have had to develop the phone to use the Verizons CDMA network, one that the rest of the world simply doesn't use.

The iPhone will never come to Verizon, and was never going to be on Verizon.

[DimMok]

Quite frankly...Im thinking this is getting crazy. I mean come on 10 bucks more...and I have no 3G coverage in Northern Wisconsin....forget about it.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by DimMok

Quite frankly...Im thinking this is getting crazy. I mean come on 10 bucks more...and I have no 3G coverage in Northern Wisconsin....forget about it.

There will be plenty of cheap 2G iPhones that are contractually free come Mid July that will have also the v2.0 firmware.

[MacBookBen]

Originally Posted by joehoyle

"Unlike in the US where 3G networks have only recently begun to take form, Europe is known for the widespread deployment of the speedier standard, and thus the original iPhone was often seen as running on yesteryear technology."

"widespread deployment of the speedier standard"?? Has anybody seen the O2 3G Coverage for the UK? it is a joke, Orange or Vadafone have good 3G coverage in the UK, O2 is terrible. Only some of the larger cities have O2 3G

Check out : http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/map.asp you will see what I mean

Great coverage for me too in PR5, so i'm happy.

[retroneo]

Originally Posted by merdhead

But here's the reality: They're bloody awful. If you're lucky you get 3G in the cities, but outside of that only with Telstra (which is monstrously expensive) do you get anything but GPRS. That's right, 60Kbps at best. No EDGE. It's really awful and an embarrassment.

Telstra is the monopoly phone company distorting pricing all over the place. Their pricing will make your eyes water.

Well before the end of the year, two more carriers will have 95% (Vodafone) and 96% (Optus) population 3G coverage. The coverage footprints of each of these two 3G networks is larger than their GSM networks. By the end of next year, Optus will have expanded their network to 98% population coverage.

The iPhone won't work with much of this expanded coverage as large areas are 900MHz.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by retroneo

The iPhone won't work with much of this expanded coverage as large areas are 900MHz.

The iPhone has 900MHz in it's quad-band GSM chip. Do these outskirts have the UTMS Operating Band VIII, 900MHz range for 3G?

[nvidia2008]

I was speaking to the O2 guys at a recent recruitment fair here in London. They were hiring radio engineers, for a variety of their projects. He did reiterate the 100,000+ number for registered interest in the iPhone 3G. He was pretty psyched about it, not in a marketing way, but in a genuine tech/geeky kind of way.

We had a bit of a good laugh about the naysayers that say the iPhone 3G is not going to do well in the UK, etc. etc. Let's hope history doesn't prove us wrong.

[nvidia2008]

Originally Posted by nothowie

I was reading yesterday that one of the carriers in Australia has stopped taking "reservations" for
the iphone since the number of people have signed up already exceed the amount of the initial allocation to Australia.

July 11th is turning out to be another day like 6/29/07, but only 10 times greater! Last year is
turning out to be just good practice for the real thing this year!

Yeah I think within the whole month of July, everywhere around the world would have maxed out however much Apple is able to ship in that month. Demand is going to be bloody intense for July and August.

[nvidia2008]

Originally Posted by maleficent

Surprisingly, we have it. We're about 20 miles to Glasgow and 30 to Edinburgh so by all accounts I'm in the country...rather surprising.

Like others I'm tempted by PAYG. However I won't be going near it if it's dearer than £300. I'm curious about the free wifi/data etc. What's going to happen there? No point in having it on PAYG if you have to pay O2's extortionate data rates.

I seriously doubt PAYG is going to be in excess of £199 for the 8GB model. However, as you mention, the data rates may be another story altogether.

[nvidia2008]

We must all buy an iPhone here in the UK and her colonies around the world! For Queen and Country!!!

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by nvidia2008

We had a bit of a good laugh about the naysayers that say the iPhone 3G is not going to do well in the UK, etc. etc. Let's hope history doesn't prove us wrong.

There are naysayers still with the iPhone 3G here? Really? I was a pretty harsh critic of the original but they've fixed most of the criticisms I and most other people had with the original.

[BusinessEd]

Remember when everyone was speculating on the number of containers containing millions of electric devices that were reaching U.S. ports regularly since March? It was generally assumed that these were the new IPhones and they were being warehoused around the country. It was also agreed by many that this indicated an early distribution, perhaps on the very day that Steve announced the new 3G phone over a week ago. Then we were told that it wasn't going to happen until July. I have never seen anyone follow up on this disconnect. What were in these containers and if they were the iphones why the delay and if they were not, then what are they? Or were the pundits, with their manifest invoices and shipping dates, just blowing smoke at us.
Lastly, why hasn't anyone discussed this before or have I missed it. Too many geeks and not enough Business people?