Two years ago, Britain's largest mobile phone operator O2 proudly announced that it was the exclusive distributor of the hottest new product on the marketplace: Apple's iPhone.

That exclusivity has now been broken with news that Orange and Vodafone have brokered deals to sell the handset, which is likely to mean lower prices for this most expensive of handsets in the run-up to Christmas.

If you couldn't afford the typical £1,100 that a 24-month iPhone contract including handset would set you back, that is great news

EVEN BETTER IF YOU LIKE THE PHONE

Great News as i am due a phone upgrade woth Orange shortly and i am considering an I-Phone

When is it available on Orange Mick?

Will check it out and get back to you Adrian,

But a word of warning the New i-phone 3GS is not all it's cracked up to be , now on my second within 6 weeks as they keep freezing and have to be re-booted, my youngest Daughter has the 2G and does not have any problems with it whatsoever.......

That's why there are so many up for sale on e-bay and the likes.....

02's two-year deal will expire on November 9.

Vodafone, currently second biggest player in the market, announced on Tuesday that it also has the iPhone, though this deal will only kick in early next year.

Customers will be able to register their interest in the iPhone 3G and 3GS from today, but the Christmas market advantage looks lost to Orange.

Cheers Mick

Did read that the 3Gs is still with o2 till next July so I guess it will be the 3G only as Mick said that no biggy thou

iPhone 3G and 3GS closing in on Orange UK, set for 10 November


As you probably know already O2 UK no longer claims the iPhone exclusivity and Orange is the second UK carrier to offer the device in its UK network. The latest piece of intel however has 10 November as the most probable release date.

In a quite tight-lipped manner Orange UK recently announced their agreement with Apple to offer iPhone 3G and 3GS. Plans and release date were kept a secret until today when Guardian UK made the release date public.

You may remember that in a 24-hour timeframe both Orange and Vodafone announced their agreements with Apple to offer iPhone 3G and 3GS through their networks.

So as Guardian UK puts it, Orange UK will start offering iPhone 3G and 3GS on 10 November, the exact day when the two-year O2 exclusive deal with Apple expires. Don't get too excited just yet as there won't be an iPhone price war with pricing projected to be the same as that of O2 UK. Still Orange will offer it with an "added value plan" giving users the additional benefits of some bonus accessories or pre-loaded applications.

And with the Orange / T Mobile merger in the offing then everyone, except 3G can have one.

Soon they'll be as common as muck.

Yeah, and what's so good about them beat's me ............

Had my 3GS for a few weeks now, wish Apple had an App available for making phone calls when on the move. Not half as good as my trusty old Nokia

BTW: Jailbreaked it for use on Vfe network. Only takes a few minutes if anyones interested. 2005 Audi A8 W12
1978 Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9
1986 Mercedes 420 SL 4.2