Click through this story to see the goods. Steve is apparently on the ground and TC writer Mike Butcher is ready. Mike is in line and ready to roll. They’re fussing about Wi-Fi at the Apple Store so it looks like we’re using SMS and Twitter to get the job done.
In honor of our friends over the pond, I’d like to offer one free 8GB iPhone — already unlocked by our own team here in New York — to a random commenter on this thread. To enter simply comment in this thread and enter your real email address (it won’t appear on the site anywhere). Tell us how bummed you are that Europe isn’t getting a 16GB 3G iPhone with automatic translator and a crisps packet. We’ll close entries at midnight EDT tonight and pick one winner at random — hopefully someone in the UK or Europe who can take advantage of the weak dollar and can get themselves a nice new, unlocked iPhone. Chip chip cheerio and all that. If your comment doesn’t appear immediately, wait a few minutes. Our caching system sometimes gets a little screwy. Just don’t enter more than two times in a row and you’ll be fine.
UPDATE – As you see I’ve abandoned the live-blogging platform tonight. Looks like our updates are coming a bit more slowly. Just read this thread for full info.
10:06 am – Have just kicked up almighty storm with apple about wifi. May have to live twitter this for my US editors.
10:14 am – Tight small crowd.
10:23 am – Mike has just gone off air but Engadget is reporting that Apple is selling the iPhone in the UK under O2 for 269 English pounds or about $542 US. No 3G as we had predicted and unlimited EDGE data plans will be available. Engadget.
10:27 am – carphone warehouse sales points. confirmed. Wifi deal with The Cloud for free WiFi roaming. 8GB version for 269 quid.
10:34 am – Wireless ITMS also available next month in UK.
I think you mean 10am BST not GMT – UK is currently in British Summer Time – would hate you to miss it and be 1hr late.
Looks like your live coverage has been slightly ruined by Apple’s restrictions on Wi-Fi – only 1 brief, delayed update so far. I’m refreshing Engadget’s coverage which is good and up to the minute so far: http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/18/live-from-apples-mum-is-no-longer-the-word-event-in-london/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yETCLqtSVCg
Pimp out your iphone with all the cool mods!
This really works and allows for all sorts of cool applications to be installed!
Enjoy
It´s big mistake: in europe early adopters uses 3G and will not be happpy with EDGE/GPRS
What sucks about the iPhone is not so much the 8GB versus 16GB – I can’t even fill 8GB and have a PDA with as little as 500MBs (on a memory chip though, so it’s expandable), but it’s the lack of UMTS.
Unlike the US, UMTS is usable and installed wide-spread. I live in a small 8000-people-town, and I can use UMTS with my phone.
I’m looking forward to using the EDGE network, though. It’s better than nothing. :)
I don’t need one. But still I want one. Curious, yet not unfamiliar sensation.
It’s a real bummer that they wont release the 16gb version. i really would like to find out how it works and stuff but it is still not released in the Netherlands so i have to wait.
greats
Chim chimmeree and all that. I’d love an unlocked iPhone two months before anyone else over here.
non-3G phone in europe is a bummer but not totally unexpected. Funny how Steve evaded some questions during the conference
I think this could be a hard sell in the UK. We’re used to highly subsidised handsets (often free on a contract) and the geek crowd will miss 3G. We don’t know the details of the monthly tariff yet but I note that the traditional UK “unlimited unless you go over some arbitrary limit” data package is retained. A minimum cost of £35/month is expensive unless there’s a heck of a lot of inclusive minutes and texts.
All in all, I want one for the wow factor but my rational brain tells me my N95 was a better purchase.
Q: “Have you thought about opening the iPhone to 3rd parties?”
Steve: “Yes, we’ve already done that with Web 2.0. Also, these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
3G is not really necessary if the phone supports wifi, I will be quite happy with EDGE + WIFI and longer battery life, I am not sure why everybody complains about lack of 3G.
I can’t wait to see the iPhone coming to France, although I’m not really ready to switch carriers. After all Bouygues as an EDGE network already. Guess I will have to win an unlocked phone in this thread :)
So it’s not 3G and it’s on O2. That doesn’t give me a lot of confidence in the release, I’m guessing it’s going to be worse than the AT&T rollout. O2 customer service is a bit notorious. I also don’t have any O2 reception in my house. So it’s going to be an unlocked iPhone for me or nothing I think, I wanted it on Orange.
UK can be happy with this annoucement.
We, in france, will not have unlimited data plan…. Orange sucks :(
I’m actually pretty surprised at how close the price is to the US. If you remove the VAT component–that’s solely down to the government–it works out at £229 = $457, a premium of $58 (£30), which is about what I paid for my Treo 650 when that was released.
And to have something so tightly integrated with the Mac OS is worth the premium over other smartphones that may have 3G, and other missing ‘features’.
Can’t even say I’m bothered about the 2MP camera or lack of MMS, as I’ve barely used the camera on my Treo, and never sent an MMS in my life.
And have to say that free Cloud is really sweet, as that’s got pretty good coverage where I live.
All in all, put my name down!
8gb is very easy to fill up, especially if you store video.
Well, Apple always ends up leaving the people in Asia behind for a long time after. Still no hints of iphone here!
The data tariffs charged in Ireland are crazy so I’m not sure how effectively the iPhone could be used here. Before we can get proliferation of mobile applications (on whatever device) this will have to be tackled. The operators here seem to think that they can charge whatever they want.
So sad, why they do not release a 3G iphone.
Edge is not really cover right here.
But i want an iphone :)))
I just think it is very typical that the iPhone has increased dramatically from the USA to the UK, and now there is not even 3G.. useless!! and to make things worse it is not only 8gb.. i could fill that in about 5 min. Why doesnt Apple think these things through properly. It shows when they had to refund $100 in the USA.
Now im wondering if i should really buy an iPhone or will they stiff me on price and never pay me back once the price decreases in about 2 months!!
Not so sure about how the data side of this will work here in Ireland. Vodafone in particular have been mucking about their data plans recently. And although 3 have nicer price plans they don’t have the market share yet.
Well, I don’t wanna be the guy who always complains that he never wins anything, but it’s true! I really really want one (even if it doesn’t have 16gb :) )!
I was really hoping for 3G to hit over in the UK. I think that was the only hope we had of seeing 3G in this current version of the iPhone… and the only chance we had of seeing the iPhone on a useful technology because EDGE frankly sucks.
Considering the complaints Apple got about the lack of 3G I’m surprised that months after the initial release in the US that Apple aren’t giving Europe a 3G version. I hope that o2 will be able to subsidise the cost of the iPhone too. Never paid full price for a phone on a contract myself and I never will. Especially not for a phone missing so many features. I think my N95 will do my quite nicely. Especially as Nokia are now copying Apple!
Shame, the lack of 3G and only 8GB is the deal-breaker for me (any everyone else by the looks of it). Oh well, it’s made me feel happier about my decision to get a iPod Touch.
Don’t let that stop you CrunchGear from giving me the unlocked iPhone prize though!!! I want it! I want it! I want it!!
Gutted about the lack of 3G – and I’m told that the keyboard is unusable. I’d love to be proven wrong!
no 16gb, thats crap. 8gb can be filled up so easily especially with videos
Hi guys,
Sign me up for the free iPhone. It’s the only way I will ever be able to afford one, so here’s hoping.
The lack of 3G is disappointing, but expected. I don’t think it’s going to stop too many people handing their hard-earned money over to Mr Jobs though.
I think the Touch is going to have more of an effect on sales – why pay so much for a non 3G phone that has wifi / iPod features when you can keep your existing phone AND have the cool niftyness of the Touch?
Apple know what they are doing though, so we’ll just have to wait and see what transpires…
I think it will be a long time, while we will get some iPhones here in Latvia!
So it would be nice to get one:)
I’m confused personally about how we get to buy them once its released. From what I understand of the retail situation in america, you could get them contract free from an apple store and somehow sign up with at&t later. It would be a shame if we aren’t offered the same flexibility. Especially in light of all the recent unlocking work thats been going on.
For sure I’m bummed we’re not getting a 16GB 3G iPhone with automatic translator and a crisps packet (especially the crisps!), but you know a free unlocked 8GB iPhone would certainly cheer me the hell up, I may even be able to take a break from looking at pictures of the damn thing on the countless tech blogs I’m subscribed to and actually do some work for the first time six months! Maybe…
I think that Apple would have a global winner with iPhone if they would only pack in it all of the current standard features of advanced mobile phones – UMTS support, high-res camera, also GPS etc. More so because they obviously want their iPhones to be all-in-one (well, at least iPod and iPhone in one :).
On the other hand I have to admit that iPhone’s user interface is great (unfortunately I have not had a chance to test it live till now) and that will probably still attract lots of customers. But the lack of other advanced features could stop the rest of us to shell out outrageous amount of money (especially compared to the slashed price of iPhone in US), meaning iPhone will very likely not be such huge success in Europe compared with US (althoguh Apple will nevertheless sell lots of iPhones here in Europe and will grab substantial market share :).
No 3G and only 8GB.
And whats with the price difference £269 from O2. Thats yet another example of the US/UK price gouging as £269.00 = $536.057, and Apple advertise the iPhone in the US at $399 (a £68.77 increase). We know! shipping costs and exchange rates!. But surely international firms should be aiming to please their whole customer base by setting a standard price (taking into account numbers, shipping and exchange rate) not pissing off the non US customers.
I was hoping to Iphone when enter EU market, do some adding features such as 3G and flash in iPhone , but in every case i’m gonna get ( some how ) iPhone soon.
carriers in japan are now building up 3.5g networks. i simply hope iphone will skip even 3g and adopt 3.5g when becoming available here, but i can easily suppose apple will not release it in this country any soon at all, which is so sad.
Thanks to the Tech crunch blog for putting me on to you guys. Am really gutted about the new ipods ridiculously high rip off price vs the usa, am bummed about no 3g (I switched 3g off on my vario 2 to save battery) and am really upset about the lack of an inflatable steve jobs to be bundled with the iphone so I can bask in his presence wherever I please.
I’m really upset that we didn’t get the upgraded hard-drive and 3G speeds, normally we’re used to being penalised in costs when compared with the US market so I was quite looking forward to having the extra features to compensate but it turns out that this isn’t the case :(
EDGE isn’t bad but it just seems like a shame to have such a sexy device held back by data speeds that are less than up to date. This is going to be an expensive device but it doesn’t make me want one any less!
Some pics of Steve Jobs on stage over at Scoopt (Breaking News section)
It sucks to live in one of the last places to get it. By the time it gets here, the US will probably have the 16GB one with 3G.
If Apple were to announce a 16GB iPhone model, I don’t think it would go down well in the US, having a price drop 2 months after release stirred a lot of people up already.
I think it’s a conspiracy against the Welsh… O2 coverage there is between poor and none… I know ‘cos I was there!
I’m an American ex-pat in London and was thinking about getting one in the states next time I’m back, unlocking it, and using it here. Even if I subscribe to an iPhone plan on O2, I wonder if visual voicemail and free wi-fi still apply to an unlocked US handset.
Awww, if London is getting such 2nd hand offer, what are other european countries getting? It looks like only iPod Touch for at insane prices for another year or so :(
Wow what a craze! People will do anything for an iPhone. Think of the power you hold! I don’t understand the ‘must have now’ attitude. There will be bugs, there will be updates. Wait a year and you get a better phone for a lot less.
Considering how weak the dollar is at the moment, the price the iPhone is being released at is just a rip-off!
Sounds like O2 are going to struggle to make money off it though:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/17/mobilephones.apple
To tell the truth, I am posting this to enter the competition :-)
Lots of people were expecting an announcement for the rest of Europe too, or at least an estimated time of when it will be available.
Guess we just have to keep waiting or get the iPod touch instead.
At least it is very probable that we will get the 3G version in Spain, but not until 2008.
Expensive, but the free wifi from the cloud is pretty attractive – they cover almost all of the financial heart of London…
Do you think I’d be able to buy a $399 iphone in the US, and activate it with iTunes/O2 in the UK…?
Maybe I should stick to unlocks…or freebies…?
Maybe I’ll remind you that I still have a large flip phone from motorola. The thing is a ‘beast’ and refuses to send text messages. No camera, no gadgets, etc etc. My favorite part about the phone is if you touch it, it appears to buzz as if a few springs are loose inside. I think it’s time for a new phone.
All the reasons while I am pissed of not having an iPhone as a French fellow :
- Europe is always getting the new cool stuff late
- No unlimited data plan
- Orange are ripping customers off (I know what I’m talking about, I used to be a sales assistant at France Telecom :p)
- But overall : I am living in Australia !!! Nobody is talking about the iPhone in Australia yet, and even if it comes out here one day, there will be no unlimited data plan (there isn’t even any unlimited ADSL/Broadband internet plan here…), and the network is crap… At least, we have the sun :)