Live Coverage of the ongoing Apple Special Event being held at the Regent Street Apple Store in London.
- Steve Jobs on stage, announces that O2 is the chosen carrier of the iPhone in the UK
- UK 8GB iPhone price, £269 inc VAT, goes on sale November 9th
- Showing off UK ads for the iPhone, same as US ones but with a UK accent
- Steve: "We got the carrier that most feels like home, and that is O2"
- Matthew Key, O2 UK CEO: "I've seen hundreds of devices every year, and within a few minutes of playing with the iPhone I knew it as a breakthrough product."
- O2 partnered with Carphone Warehouse to deliver the iPhone through 1300 retail points
- Unlimited data with plans worth £35, £45 and £55
- EDGE and GPRS, no 3G
- Visual voicemail
- O2 created an agreement with Cloud Wi-Fi provider
- Q&A Session
- Why not 3G networks?
- Steve: "The 3G chipsets are real power hogs. Handset battery life cuts power to 2-3 hours." Yeah yeah, we've heard it before. "Our phone has a talk time of 8 hours and that's really important when you want to use your phone for internet and music. 3G needs to get back up to 5+ hours, something we think well see later next year. ... WiFi is way faster than any 3G network. Energy efficient EDGE with better, faster WiFi. That's why we chose it."
- Q: 7,000 hotspots in the UK... but are they free?
- Matthew: "Cloud is the WiFi provider, and yes, it's free." Steve goes on to again tout the advantages of WiFi. Matthew nodding head vigorously, "It's a lot faster."
- Q: What about iTunes activation?
- Steve: "Yes, iTunes will work in the UK like it does in the US, allowing you to select your plan and then activate your phone. Of course, it also allows you to update your phone."
- Q: What's the contract length, and does unlimited usage truly mean unlimited?
- Matthew: "18 months contract. There is a limit: 1,400 internet pages per day would break the deal as part of fair usage agreement."
- Q: What's the revenue sharing from data and device sales between Apple and O2?
- Steve: "Unfortunately, we're not going to go into that, but good question!"
- Q: Is unlocking a concern?
- Steve: "It's a constant cat and mouse game -- we have the same thing with the iPod with music." Steve looks at Matthew, "Are we the cat or mouse?" 'We have to stay one step ahead of them."
- Q: To Matthew, what do you have to do to get your network ready for the iPhone?
- "We're investing in EDGE. As many people have noticed, hey I have EDGE! By launch we'll be north of 30% and build from there."
- Q: Were you aware that the iPod touch was coming out when you were negotiating the iPhone deal?
- Matthew: "One of the great things about working with Apple is they are always moving forward." Yes, and one of the great things about O2 is how it dodges questions.
Steve: "Well, one's a phone, and one's not. The iPod touch is training wheels for the iPhone." - Q: How many [iPhones] do you hope to ship before Christmas?
- Matthew: "80% of high end customers from other networks would be willing to switch carriers based on their data." But he won't discuss specific sales numbers.
- Q: What are your plans for iPhone launch in Europe, and your reaction to upsetting other carriers who feel played-off in terms of not getting this deal?
- Steve: "We said we'd be in a few countries in Europe and we still plan to do that. As to the carriers, we took the approach to see who would be the best fit -- it's like going out on a few dates before getting married. So yeah, we have a few upset girlfriends out there."
- Q: Can you be more specific about other European countries?
- "We're here to talk about O2 UK, and that's all we're willing to talk about today."
- Q: Have you thought about opening the iPhone to 3rd parties?
- Steve: "Yes, we've already done that with Web 2.0. We're looking at more intimate apps. But people hold their phones to a higher standard than their PC. The more open you are, the less predictable."
- Q: £900 for 18 months on up to £1260. Any assurance you won't slash the price by 1/3rd?
- Steve: "I don't think that's going to happen. But this is technology so you never know. We have no plans to change the pricing, but we guarantee it will change in the future just like all technology products. We're working on the next iPhone and the next one after that. That's what our customers expect."
- Q: Do you feel a 2 megapixel would be a concern to European customers?
- Steve: "No, the camera is great. More megapixels don't make a better camera, the iPhone is actually a great camera especially, with great lighting."
- Q: Unlimited data packages: will those go to other contracts as well?
- Matthew: "On 1st October we'll be rolling those out for all out customers."
- Steve: "It's the future"
- That's a wrap.