Monday 9 July 2007

The iPhone battle in UK - Did O2 hit the jackpot?


The furore for iPhone never seems to die. And even before people start queuing in the UK stores, rumours and speculations 'elevates' the status of this much awaited phone. The latest buzz being, O2 will be exclusively selling Apple’s iconic iPhone, this Christmas.

Does it mean that the big players like Vodafone and T-mobile lost the deal? Well there is no support to second the thought, but with print heavyweights such as The Times and The Guardian making statements about O2's so called achievements, it seems like Apple already made its mind.

However, with Apple and O2 refusing to comment (and neither did any other operator reveal the status-quo), its difficult to validate the statement. According to sources, at the same time negotiations are still going on about who can sell the iPhone, once O2’s exclusivity contract expires - Carphone Warehouse being one of the strong contender.

If O2 intends to make it big, it has to make some network changes as well, to take full advantage of the handset. Since, EDGE - the type of data connection used by the iPhone, is only operated by carrier Orange in the UK. However, industry experts say that unlike the move to 3G, the change would be a relatively simple software upgrade rather than a full hardware roll-out.

The launch of iPhone will be a crucial marker of the sales chart in the UK market, as here phones are normally free with a new contract. The UK iPhone is expected to be made available at around 300 pounds (speculations again!)

Seems like the stage is all set... Mobi will keep you tuned!

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