TechSmec.com

The iPhone will launch in the UK on November 9 after an exclusive deal was announced today with O2.

O2 has signed a multi-year deal with Apple to carry the iPhone - the exact length is unknown - in exchange for 40% of iPhone revenue.

The iPhone will be sold direct by O2 and Apple, as well as by the Carphone Warehouse.

There were few surprises in the announcement. Some had predicted that Apple would not dare to release anything less than a 3G version, but they were disappointed. The European iPhone will be resolutely EDGE based, lumping us Brits with the same 2.5G version as our unlucky US cousins. However, in an attempt to soften the blow Apple announced that all iPhone users will get free WiFi access via The Cloud.  Expect to see iPhone users clustering around coffee shops like flies.

The UK iPhone will be the 8GB version costing £269 for the handset. The minimum term contract will be 18 months and on the cheapest price plan that means shelling out nearly £1000 over the lifetime of the contract.

“We are coming to the UK and we wanted to pick the best carrier for the product,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaking in Apple’s flagship UK store in Regents Street, London. “The one that we felt most comfortable working with is O2. We had a lot of choices to make regarding networks across Europe, and I think we made the right ones. A lot of it was about finding partners that fitted with Apple ethos.”

Source: SmartPhoneReviewer.com