iPhone 3G Turns Orange In October!
There had been rumours swirling around for a little while now, but we think that all of the pieces fit into place only too perfectly to sit on this bombshell…
We have word from a very, very credible source on the inside that the iPhone 3G will be available on Orange in the UK, possibly as soon as October.
We know. It sounds a bit hard to believe, but in light of recent events it seems a great deal more likely than not. Let us weigh up the evidence for the iPhone 3G’s October emancipation…
- o2 did win out in the UK, but don’t forget that Orange snagged the iPhone 3G in France, and T-Mobile in Germany. It is also freely available on the Optus, Telstra and Vodafone networks in Australia. So allegiance to a single network as far as Europe is concerned could easily be temporary.
- The possibility of o2/Apple exclusivity being a limited time offer due to lackluster sales of the first iPhone in the UK. Apple playing so nice and o2 giving phones out for free is a far cry from £269 for an 8GB a year ago, there had to be a catch to them delivering arguably the best value iPhone 3G deals in the world. Three months for o2 as the sole vendor, then all bets are off? Apple wants to sell as many phones as possible, an exclusive carrier is not in their best interests.
- With Apple capturing casual consumer interest through o2’s morning launches and queues round the block, then who better than Orange to pair with when it comes to tackling that more elusive discerning corporate user?
Or is it just an Omio fever dream? Do you think there’s something here, or are we making a few too many leaps of faith in our thinking? Let us know in the forums!
OMG - That’s HUGE news!!!
Personally I’d love to see o2 get a little competition, let’s see a price war! Definitely great news for consumers…
WANT. I’m far, far too lazy to change providers. This way I can stay with my beloved Orange and get an iPhone.
[...] to the mobile fans at Omio, they’ve had “word from a very, very credible source on the inside that the iPhone 3G will be [...]
If this does happen - i’d say its likely to hit Voda UK too - given that they already sell it in 21 markets globally
I’m all for it being available through all networks
None of the Apple UK product shots have had the o2 network tag on it.. nor does any of the product information in the box.. It’s always “the carrier” or generic words to that effect. I’ve always assumed that o2’s exclusivity wouldn’t be eternal, following other phone launches “only on o2 [initially]“, and wouldn’t be at all surprised if Orange start getting the phone, and, to be honest, why not Vodafone too? The same arguments can be made about them being on other European networks / more elusive corporate (or individuals for that matter). And while i’m on to it, what makes any body think that Orange (in France) will keep exclusivity of the iPhone there?? Their sales of the first iphone were pretty miserable, and SFR has a solid network. Above all, I don’t see why Apple benefits from this exclusive network stuff anymore now that they don’t get kick-backs from the montly contract.. so why on earth not?
It’s very true,
Apple are not benifiting from an exclusivity deal with the carrier other than i’m assuming the one-off deal with O2. I reckon O2 have bought out the rights to sell the phone exclusivily for however many months/years, and maybe if this is true, it’s their contract coming to an end with Apple. I don’t know whether Apple want to renew with 02 as it’s not in their interest financially, to do so. It would explain if this “credible source” is correct about the avaliability on Orange.
I was discussing this the other day, but came to the conclusion that O2 would hold on for as long as possible and put in more money where necessary. I thought it would at LEAST be a few years before loosing the exclusivity.
I’d personally like to see the iPhone come out on other networks.
I’m stuck on 02 PAYG at the moment and it’s crap for the iPhone. On their contracts I would end up spending approx £540 a year, which I, at the moment don’t want to boxed into getting.
Let the price war commense…
[...] the weekend, El Reg alerted me to a blog post at Omio which reckons Orange will be the next iPhone provider in the UK. The original iPhone was only [...]
[...] Pig, a fairly reputable tech news website in the UK, published the claims of the website Omio who have spoken with a “very, very credible source on the inside that the iPhone 3G will be [...]
this is great
the iphone and apple will get much more money this way bringing the iphone 3g on many different networks now i can get one 
wow this is amazing if its true i will deffinatly be buying one i hope you hear this APPLE!