Some pretty big iPhone news to share with y’all this morning: the iPhone will no longer be exclusive to O2 over in the UK, becoming available on Orange “later this year.” So for all of you in the U.S. who one day hope to see the iPhone on a different wireless provider (like, say, Verizon Wireless, differences between CDMA and GSM notwithstanding), well, you now have a precedent.
While both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS will be available on Orange, no details (price, subscription fees, etc.) have been released yet. It will, however, be available at Orange shops, its Web site, and “selected High Street partners.” I’m not sure what the big electronics stores are in the UK, but a High Street vendor in the U.S. would be someone like Best Buy or the former Circuit City. (On a side note, man do I miss not having a Circuit City to go to, especially given my ongoing boycott of Best Buy.)
In fact, people interested in an Orange iPhone can go to a special Web site to be placed on a mailing list. Presumably you sign up and then Orange e-mails you the details as they develop.
Another thing I don’t know: how Orange and O2 compare. I only know O2 because it used to be Arsenal’s kit sponsor; I have no idea what Orange is all about. Is one perceivably “better” than the other? Is one’s mobile Internet more reliable than the other? Do they work well outside of London? I know here in the northeast United States (well, the greater New York City area), that Verizon Wireless has far and away the best reception, but then you have to put up with VZW’s sorta limited selection of phones. So do you want a fun phone, or do you want to be able to hear the person on the other end of the line? (Or maybe the actual phone part is secondary to you, and all you’re really concerned with is Apps, mobile Internet access, etc.) Any info here would be appreciated.
Let the rumor mill begin!
Orange is certainly the better service in my opinion, 02 has a well deserved reputation for bad customer service, and were clearly exploiting there exclusive contract with apple to charge what they wanted. Onn the other side, Orange has a solid reputation for good service, although not as popular in mainstream.
Both have there own perks, 02 with advanced ticket orders to their events, & Orange with the 2-4-1 offer every wedneday for the cinema.
Personally I think Orange will attract more satisfied customers than 02 given time. I would certainly jump ship to orange should they make it possible.
Orange’s unlimited data is 500mb…. enough said.
Tmobile are said to offer the iPhone too.
Random Wild-Assed Guess: “selected High Street partners” probably means Carphone Warehouse (the main high street multi-network mobile phone retail vendor).
This’ll be interesting. O2 were threatening to charge an extra pound of flesh for iPhone tethering in the UK — competition from Orange will hopefully make them change their mind.
Ah yes, the Carphone Warehouse. That’s where Steven Merchant worked in Extras.
“So for all of you in the U.S. who one day hope to see the iPhone on a different wireless provider [...] you now have a precedent.”
There are prior precedents of the iPhone being distributed through multiple carriers – e.g. in France.
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029453,49303757,00.htm
helpful cnet uk article that compares 3g coverage
if the price is the same or lower I will probably switch as for me the 02 signal is poor where I live
do they work well outside of london
hahah
that is such a yank thing to say