O2 Wins rights to Apple’s iPhone for the U.K
5 July 2007 by axxxr
The phone, which should be on sale in time for Christmas, is expected to prove a key weapon in enabling O2 to win and retain customers in one of Europe’s fiercest mobile markets. It is understood that negotiations are continuing with mobile phone retailers including Carphone Warehouse over an agreement to sell the iPhone in their stores after a period of exclusivity with O2.Shares of O2 ’s owner, Telefónica, of Spain, are expected to surge today on the back of the news. The deal will come as a bitter disappointment to Vodafone, which had been tipped as the front-runner for the deal. Arun Sarin, Vodafone’s chief executive, had been pushing hard to secure a deal for the iPhone, which has been at the centre of one of the most fiercely contested mobile battles since the £22.5 billion auction of 3G rights. However, as negotiations reached a climax, he is thought to have decided that the commercial terms on offer were not viable. Apple’s agreement with O2 is thought to include a continuing share of the revenues generated by each iPhone customer. O2 ’s network will also have to be specially configured to accommodate the Apple handset. The lure of the Apple brand is expected to lead thousands of UK mobile customers to ditch their existing contracts and switch to the iPhone provider. source:timesonline  Comments On 10 Jul 13:54 Sensibleone wrote Why would Apple want to offer an exclusive deal to one provider? It doesn't seem to make good business sense. Come to that, why would anyone want an Iphone? We already have European phones with far more features. The only thing it does well is the fast interface. I wouldn't give up my features to trade down to an Iphone. This is hype On 6 Jul 18:11 Rajjy wrote Scratch that.... The Register reported 30mins ago that "UK deal not past the round-of-golf stage" and "The idea that any UK network operator has agreed a launch date, and retail price, for the iPhone is pure fantasy". http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/06/iphone_not_coming_to_uk/ On 6 Jul 17:03 Rajjy wrote Now its official. On 6 Jul 11:15 laffen wrote Financial Times on July 6th: Winners and losers as Apple calls shots on the iPhone "But O2 is confident of finalising the iPhone deal after months of negotiations with Apple" "O2 declined to comment beyond a statement that it 'has not signed a dealwith Apple'" www.ft.com/cms/s/195439ae-2b5b-11dc-85f9-000b5df10621.html On 6 Jul 09:38 Rajjy wrote This is bullshit!! O2 haven't won the rights (yet). Everyone is still in negotiations. Esato back to posting rumours as their Top Stories again!!! On 5 Jul 19:28 joe wrote i phone is not totally made by apple. its so many other companies who worked hard to make the i phone a reality. companies like samsung, intel, texes instruments made the major parts and many other small companies helped them. wat a shame apple. but how cares i love the phone and the concept. On 5 Jul 19:08 zx wrote ha ha wat a joke. my ipod is no match to my se w900 audio quality. se still rules with audio quality and camera. On 5 Jul 19:01 DoctorMantis wrote @luigi190: iPods (and by extension the iPhone) trounces the "Walkman" phones on sound quality, playlist management, PC-mobile integration, and accessory availability. And physics dictates that tiny phone-embedded cameras can only be "better" up to a very limited point. On 5 Jul 18:49 mobileidiot wrote so will there be a sim free version at launch? On 5 Jul 18:03 luigi190 wrote hmmm, i think the w960 will be just as good and have a better camera On 5 Jul 16:24 O2 wrote WOOOHHOO!! I got it On 5 Jul 12:57 wtf wrote axxxr, I think your keenness to post stuff on the front page overclouds your judgement, either that or you're unable to distinguish between fact and rumour. O2 haven't won anything until either Apple or themselves come out with a statement and it becomes official. Might be more appropriate for you to put 'reported to have won'. Something to think about. On 5 Jul 12:47 Someone wrote O2 have said they havent signed any contracts so this is false news! On 5 Jul 12:46 NSE wrote best bit about O2, is very little branding and ITS UNLOCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On 5 Jul 12:39 philipClark wrote yep i will ditch orange for this i think |
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