It is believed O2 is clearing stock ahead of a new model of the iPhone
O2 has announced that the iPhone will be free on cheaper lower tariffs from 3 April.
Customers at O2, Carphone Warehouse and the Apple store, who sign up to the 24 month tariff can get the 8GB iPhone 3G for free at £35 per month and the 16GB iPhone 3G for free at £45 per month.
The 16GB is currently only available on the £75 contract and the 8GB on the £45. Customers currently spend between £59 and £159 for an iPhone on the £35 and £45 monthly tariffs.
O2 UK’s marketing director Peter Rampling said: ‘This new 24 month tariff option will meet the demand of customers who are looking for added value in exchange for committing to a longer contract.’
Mobile reported earlier this month that O2 is believed to be keen to clear its inventory of the 3G iPhones ahead of a new device.
Details of the new Apple handset planned for June or July are not known, but there has been considerable speculation that it will be a mid-range ‘Nano-style’ device, which will be cheaper by compromising either on memory, camera or screen size.
Sources claim Orange is in talks with Apple to make its next phone available on the Orange network.
Sources claim Orange is in talks with Apple to make its next mobile phone available on the Orange network as well as O2 in the UK.
O2 has notched up one million iPhone sales in the UK, and previously stated that its deal with Apple is ‘multi year and multi device’. The operator has exclusively stocked the original 2G iPhone and the more recent 3G iPhone.
Orange currently sells the iPhone in 27 countries, including France. The network clashed in the French courts over its exclusivity, which was opposed on the grounds of being anti-competitive, and is still being challenged.
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