Vodaphone UK To Also Take a Slice of the iPhone Pie?
iPhone users and future iPhone users rejoiced earlier this week, as O2 announced it has finally (and officially) lost exclusivity of the Apple iPhone handset. In the next breath, Orange UK announced it would be bringing the handset to it's product line, starting this fall. In fact, it reckons it will start selling the iPhone 3G in the UK and Ireland next month.
But just when you thought that two carriers wasn't enough, and not one to miss an opportunity, Vodaphone UK have today also announced that they too have signed a deal with Apple to carry the handset:
From the press release:
Vodafone and Apple today confirmed that they have reached agreement to bring iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to the UK and Ireland in early 2010.Beginning today, Vodafone UK and Vodafone Ireland customers can register their interest in iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS at www.vodafone.co.uk/iphone and www.vodafone.ie/iphone respectively. Pricing, tariffs and availability information will be announced locally in the future.
So what does this mean for all of us loyal O2 customers? Well, not much really. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but I'm afraid to say you're no longer "cool" by owning an iPhone. Just think, if Orange and Vodaphone do manage to get the actual handset price down, you could see everyone in your street with an iPhone by January 2010.
There's no doubting this will be good for competition, but don't get your hopes up too high. There's still that little thing called price-fixing, and I think we'll see Apple fix the pricing on these handsets. Period.