Apple iPhone £100 cheaper in UK
16 April 2008
Apple iPhone £100 cheaper in UK
We probably could have seen this one coming, but UK mobile operator and Apple partner O2 has cut the price of the 8GB iPhone by £100, bringing it down to a more attractive £169.
The deal is valid until June 1, and requires that customers sign up to an 18 month contract at either £35, £45 or £75 per month depending on how many minutes you want. Unlimited data is included as standard.
UK retailer Carphone Warehouse has also joined in the fray with an identical deal, although both companies are still selling the newer 16GB version of the device for £329.
The move isn't much of a surprise given that German carrier T-Mobile slashed the price of the iPhone in Germany earlier this month, further fuelling speculation of the imminent arrival of a 3G version of the device. The lack of high speed cellular connectivity has been one of the biggest criticisms of the iPhone in Europe, where 3G coverage is almost ubiquitous.
However, it's just as likely that T-Mobile and O2 are just looking to shift some units. Michael Kovacocy, European telecoms analyst at Daiwa SMBC, recently told telecoms.com that carrier may cut the iPhone price simply because of insufficient demand and the need to offer handset subsidies to move the product.
Kovacocy also said that 3G will be a definite improvement to the device, and agrees that it is destined to arrive in the not too distant future. "The key is giving a better value proposition to customers used to 3G as a minimum - 2.5G is just too hard a sell," he said.
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