Rumor: iPhones in the UK

Maybe O2 was simply the available GSM service carrier for the phone. No contract needed to roam.

"Interesting because O2 doesn't have an EDGE network in the UK. As far as I know the only operator in the UK to have a EDGE network is Orange."

I believe that O2's "iMode" service is actually just EDGE rebranded to a new name.

I just came back from London and O2 was the carrier that I used while I was there

I live in the UK but happen to have a US credit card and US SSN. So I was able to purchase an iPhone. I have it with me right now. Over the last few days it has registered itself onto Vodafone and O2 networks. It has been able to download data via each of them. It always refers to it as 'Edge' on the phone, but it could also be GPRS.

So I'd be pretty certain that that iPhone is a similar US registered one.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I don't intend to use this for making many calls. It's all about testing websites for which WiFi works very nicely.

I'm with all the people who are pointing to roaming. I was in the UK in June with my Cingular Razr and it was roaming on O2. If I went there now with my iPhone, it too would roam on O2.
It means nothing... It's not news until the contract is signed.

It's probably an american one owned by an american that is abroad in Britain. O2 is probably the British carrier that AT&T have a contract with for internationally travelling phones

Oh dear God, that post was a bit messy, hit the Enter key too quickly!

* The phone IS STILL locked to AT&T

* When the phones goes BACK to the US it will switch back to AT&T since that is the default network.

Look in a standard phones 'Network Management' settings, It lists networks that the phone should go to if it can't find the SIMs default.

You do realise when a mobile phone enters a different country, usually it will connect to a local phone service?
I'm on O2-UK, so when I would enter the US, my phone would switch to the AT&T Network (it's even listed on the phones settings as 'cingual'), same if I go to spain, my phone will switch to one of the local networks to get service.

So this iPhone, has been brought from the US to the UK, the phone has been told to switch the the O2 network as AT&T have a service agreement with them - this allows the phone to work in the UK, but you still have to pay AT&T's international rates and you cannot put a local O2 SIM card in there, as the phone is STILL locked to the O2 Network - once the phone leaves the UK and goes back to spain, the phone will look for a local network, will see that AT&T is in service in this area and switch back to it's default network.

I agree that it would be ludicrous for Apple to attempt to launch the iPhone in Europe without 3G - after the huge crash at the start of this century caused by the networks paying billions simply for the required spectrum, then finding they had precious little money to spend on actual infrastructure, the networks have recovered - and over the past few years we have seen 3G coverage become almost as good as 2.5G.

3 UK in particular, the first 3G network in the UK (having no 2G network of its own) has expanded their coverage to the point where 3G data is available in most urban areas. An open, 3G iPhone, with 3's X-Series group of addon plans, would be perfect, in my opinion. X-Series offers a gigabyte of mobile data, pseudo-VoIP, instant messaging and streaming video via Orb or a Slingbox, on compatible phones - currently limited to a small subset of S60 and UIQ Symbian devices. The iPhone, with its high-resolution screen and Safari web browser would at first appear to be a perfect match for such a plan. Regrettably, the iPhone is a closed platform and a 2.75G device. You could still use all of the iPhone's functions in the UK, but here at least, the networks are more focused on implementing full 3G rather than what is essentially a stepping stone to a better technology they have already spend so much on and fairly far along in rolling it out.

I can see why Apple hasn't built 3G into the iPhone for the US market - I understand that good GSM coverage is difficult in many urbanised areas - let alone any sort of 3G coverage!

However I can only hope that releasing the iPhone without 3G is simply a way for Apple to get the device out into a large market quickly - and that Apple is already working on a 3G device for those of us living in areas where 3G coverage is already beginning to become as ubiquitous as GSM coverage!

Sam

"Enough with the iPhone already. I really don't care who is gonna carry the service overseas...."

Well Mike - some of us reading this blog *are* overseas - and I certainly care about who's going to be bringing the iPhone to the UK.

The iPhone is a huge deal for Apple - hence the reporting of it here on the blog. Got some better Apple news to report? I'm sure they'd appreciate you sending them some tips.

-L