orange uk posts

Update: Orange has announced pricing for the iPhone, in a dizzying matrix of subscription & pay-as-you-go plans (Monkey, Dolphin, Canary, Racoon & Camel? Really?) matched with varying purchase costs. All plans include free unlimited WiFi access; wireless data is 250MB/mo on the PAYG plans and 'unlimited' (meaning 750MB/mo) on the subscription plans. Tethering is only available on the subscription plans.

The wait for a new carrier for the iPhone in the UK appears to be nearly over. The Times Online out of the UK says Orange will add Apple's thrice-super phone to its stable on November 10, one day after O2's exclusivity for the device ends.

Orange announced in late September that it would be carrying the iPhone, though it only said then that it would have the phone later in the year. At least 200,000 people may want to circle the date on their calendars, since at least that many have reportedly pre-registered to buy the phone on the new carrier, despite not knowing how much the phone will cost nor how much the monthly plans will run them.

November 10 may be a bittersweet day for Vodafone. While it has announced its own deal to sell the iPhone in the UK starting in 2010, pent up demand from people who want the device but don't want O2 as a carrier may be lost to the new Orange option. Vodafone reports interim results on November 10, though it'll likely face as many questions about the phone it doesn't yet have as it will about its own numbers.

O2 will still carry the iPhone, though it's also got its mind on the Palm Pre, which it began offering as a UK-exclusive last week.

[via TimesOnline]

Vodafone has announced that they will start selling the iPhone 3G and 3GS in the UK and Ireland in early 2010. This comes just one day after Orange UK revealed its plans to offer the iPhone. Up to this point, O2 has had exclusive rights to the iPhone in the UK. No information on pricing is available at this time.

[Via Engadget]

In yet another "so logical it's gonna happen" rumors-come-true, O2 will no longer enjoy the exclusivity it has enjoyed for two years and Orange UK will begin offering the latest 2 versions of the iPhone "later this year," according to the BBC. O2 will continue selling the iPhone (along with the Palm Pre) and there isn't expected to be much price difference between the two. All of this is occurring while Orange makes plans to merge its network with T-Mobile, which would make it the UK's largest mobile service provider.

Here's to competition -- now if we could get some of that sweet choice in the US of A. If you are an Orange customer or potential Orange customer wanting an iPhone, they have a page for you here.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

[via BBC and Engadget]