The iPhone UK FAQ

There’s been so much news flying around about the iPhone I figured it was time to write a brief ‘frequently asked questions’ about yesterday’s UK launch. So here we go..

Q: When can I get an iPhone officially in the UK?
A: The official street date, as announced yesterday, is 9th November.

Q: What about the rest of the world?
A: Apart from the US, and now the UK, Apple have not officially announced any availability elsewhere. UPDATE: Germany will get the iPhone, via T-Mobile, on the same date. See here for more details.

Q: Where can I get one?
A: Apple have inked an exclusive deal with O2 and Carphone Warehouse. You’ll be able to pick one up from an Apple, O2 or Carphone Warehouse store – or from their online stores.

Q: How much is it?
A: The retail price in the UK has been set at £269 inc VAT.
Q: Can I pre-order one?
A: Not as yet, all three retail partners are offering you the chance to sign up to their mailing list though – so that’s probably the fastest way to find out when/if they’ll be taking pre-orders.

Q: How many can I buy?
A: Apple have insisted on a limit of two handsets per customer, whether it be online or in-store. Rather bizarrely they’re also refusing to accept cash in-store.

Q: Which version of the iPhone is on sale in the UK?
A: Originally when the iPhone launched in the US there was a 4Gb and 8Gb version. The 4Gb has now been discontinued, and Apple will only be offering the 8Gb version in the UK.

Q: Which network is the iPhone available on?
A: It’s exclusive to O2 in the UK. Rumours are still abound that T-Mobile and Orange have the deal for the rest of Western Europe, but this hasn’t been officially confirmed yet.

Q: Can I unlock the iPhone to work on another UK network?
A: Officially no – but unofficially it can be done. Go search Google, or seek out your friendly local iPhone hacking friend 🙂

Q: Is it 3G?
A: This version isn’t – it only supports GPRS/EDGE. Apple were seen to be inking deals with 3G chipset manufacturers a few weeks back, so it’s pretty certain they’ll bring a 3G model to the market at some point.

Q: How good is O2’s EDGE network?
A: They’ve been busy upgrading their kit to EDGE over the past few weeks – expect the best service in major urban areas, airports, etc. The phone will fall back to standard GPRS if EDGE is not available, so you’ll still be able to use data – ableit a little slower.

Q: What’s the deal with data plans?
A: When the iPhone launched in the US on AT&T, one of the major features was inclusive “unlimited” data. Apple have done the same deal with O2 in the UK, but have gone one step further by bundling “unlimited” Wifi access with hotspot provider The Cloud. This’ll give you free “unlimited” access to over 7,500 hotspots across the UK.

Q: And price plans?
A: There’s three tariffs available: £35, £45 and £55 per month. £35 gives you 200 minutes and 200 texts, £45 600 minutes and 500 texts, and the top package of £55 per month throws in 1200 minutes and 500 texts per month. O2 are a bit vague on what the charges are once you’ve used your inclusive minutes or texts – hopefully this info will become clear nearer the launch date.

Q: Can I get the iPhone on a business account?
A: Yes – unlike in the US, where AT&T insist you have a personal account for an iPhone. However, there’s a couple of catches. If you’re an existing O2 business customer, you’ll have to take out a new iPhone tariff contract – you can’t just add it to your existing package. Also, O2 are not allowing business customers to port their number to their iPhone account.

Q: Can I port my existing number to my iPhone?
A: Yes, as long as it’s a personal account – subject to an 18 month iPhone O2 contract (also see the answer to the above question re: business accounts).

Q: Can I get the iPhone on a pre-pay contract?
A: Nope, it’s post-pay (contract) only at the moment.

Q: Will the iPhone make me popular and increase my pulling power?
A: Preliminary research carried out by early iPhone adopters says yes – you will attract a large crowd in any public space if you whip out your iPhone. However bear in mind that mobile phone theft is a growing problem – and the last thing you’d want to do is have your new pride and joy pinched by some young hooligan types 🙂

Q: What’s with the quotes around “unlimited”?
A: It is unlimited, but subject to fair use – which technically means it’s limited. Don’t ask – it’s complicated and involves those nice people at the Advertising Standards Agency merrily ignoring the dictionary definition of the word and letting ISPs and telcos get away with putting a limit on unlimited.