[Ben]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/13/iphone_orange_t_mobile/

The days of O2's exclusive hold on the iPhone are probably numbered - T-Mobile has told us it's in talks with Apple about ranging the iPhone 3G in the next few months.

The deals being discussed only include the iPhone 3G, and O2's exclusive on the 3GS seems to be secure. But even this represents a major shift in how Apple markets the iPhone, which currently relies on network exclusives to get a decent subsidy; giving that up shows either greater confidence or reflected disappointment in how O2 has priced up the latest offering.

T-Mobile has been telling callers that the company is in talks with Apple about ranging the iPhone 3G, and Orange is also rumoured to have plans regarding Apple's last-version handset. That would leave O2 to explain to users why the 3GS is better; doing Apple's marketing for it.

...
This would be a big step in the right direction :D Lets have us some competition!

[chaslam]

http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/07/15/apple-to-break-o2-iphone-exclusivity-in-the-uk-but-not-for-the-3gs/


Mobile reports that Apple will begin offering the iPhone 3G to wireless carriers Orange and T-Mobile in the UK later this year, while retaining exclusivity for the new iPhone 3GS for longtime partner O2.
The move is set for as early as September and will end Apple's two year exclusive deal with O2.

Crucially, the manufacturer will continue to give O2 exclusivity for the new, faster 3GS version, but will grant distribution of the older 3G handset to another network.

Orange and T-Mobile are known to have already begun pitching for the handset. T-Mobile's call centres have also started telling customers it may stock the iPhone.

O2 is reportedly "furious" about the move and fears that new entrants to the iPhone market will undercut its prices for the older iPhone 3G.

T-Mobile and Orange both have existing relationships with Apple, as they offer the iPhone in a number of other countries.

Please please please let this be true so the iphone can get away from this silly monopoly its in and start to actually have some competitive prices on it! At the moment its simply o2 hiking the price up. When Apple announced that the 3G was going down in price, o2 refused to budge. Lets hope this scares them into budging in price!

[Ben]

Merged ;)

Yup, hoping to see 3G's on other networks very soon! Quite glad about the 3GS still being O2-only, given that we've all only just bought 'em :D

[solo12002]

so what about vodafone and this site then?

http://portal.beta.vodafone.com/HelpWidget/images/vodafone_demo_final_v2.1.swf

[Ben]

I guess at the moment they're targeting unlockers and O2 customers looking for a homepage. Pretty weak. I think they probably also want to keep the dream alive that they'll get the iPhone some day :)

Hopefully the iPhone 3G will be available on all networks before too much longer.

[Hands0n]

I am still having a great deal of trouble getting my head around the very notion of selling an obsoleted product through the other mobile operators.

[solo12002]

" selling an obsoleted product"

For you it is for others it may not be, and if the price is right why would they want to spend loads more on the 3GS?

For me the thing that held the iphone back on o2 apart from the lack of a full 3G network was the price, if they droped it to £100 pounds on PAYG I think ppl out there would snap it up.

A it syands the price is to dear no matter what iphone you go for and at £500 for the 3GS on PAYG, I look elsewere to get a new mobile, for me its to dear

[Ben]

The thing is, I'm not convinced Apple can manufacture the iPhone 3G 8GB cheaply enough to satisfy the mid-range market. T-Mobile, Orange et al will need some significant subsidy me thinks.

[Hands0n]

" selling an obsoleted product"

For you it is for others it may not be, and if the price is right why would they want to spend loads more on the 3GS?

For sure, there is plenty of life left in the iPhone 3G as long as the OS X does not get too bloated and outstrip the 3G hardware's capabilities. But the 3GS effectively obsoletes the 3G. And I have to wonder if, even at the lower price, that people would go for the earlier iPhone.

Or is the iPhone 3G destined to become the budget model that has been widely speculated?