UK iPhone news..

[Durzel]

Nice spot, have ordered... Amazon don't charge pre-orders until they're dispatched anyway so no harm done.

Not entirely sure how Amazon can sell it like that - wheres the contract details?

[SadikP]

I dont think there is a contract, this maybe the phone only price

[Durzel]

There's no chance in Hell that's an unlocked price.

[SadikP]

Your probably right, well I'v ordered a couple, lets see what happens

[Durzel]

It appears it's no longer available to buy on Amazon, don't know if this means they're out of "stock" (allocation?) or whether they realise they can't sell it "as is". Surely Amazon wouldn't have allocation numbers this far in advance of release?

[kapowaz]

Amazon offering the iPhone for sale via their site is probably analogous to Apple selling the iPhone directly through their own online store; the handset itself still needs 'activation' to AT&T's network before you can use it as a phone. Also given the number of network-level modifications made in order to support things like visual voicemail, it's highly unlikely that you could use the phone properly on an unsupported network, even after 'unlocking' it.

It's worth remembering that the subsidised handset business model for mobile operators has been in practice in the US for some time too, yet the iPhone was still sold unsubsidised there. Those of you thinking it's more likely to be free on higher tariffs might want to prepare yourselves for the shock when that doesn't happen. Remember that the iPhone also incorporates the latest, state of the art iPod, and you don't get that for free. Other phones might offer similar specs in terms of a checklist, but none of them have the user experience that the iPhone has. If user experience doesn't matter to you but price does, then you are probably better off with something from Nokia or Sony Ericsson.

[Tarffie]

Nothing new here, Amazon are always trying to guess release dates and prices before they are announced in an attempt to get a few early orders in.

[Aaron]

What is the data rate of EDGE vs GPRS vs Wifi? from my understanding relative to wifi speed the difference between EDGE and GPRS is not that significant, i.e. wifi is not great and EDGE is poor (I'm referring to the iphone performance not the theoretical data rate)

In order of slowest to fastest:

GPRS = 40kbps
EDGE = 237kbps
UMTS = 384kbps
HSPDA = 3.6Mbps (soon to be 7.2Mbps)
802.11g WiFi = 54Mbps

Since only Orange have an EDGE network in the UK (and not a very good one either), it looks like UK users could be stuck downloading at slower than dial-up speeds!

[kapowaz]

At the moment it sounds as though there are unanswered questions we need to know before we can make any sort of reasonable guess about how good the non-wifi datarates will be. Allegedly the reason there is no 3G in the iPhone (in the US) is because the chipsets used to provide that functionality are too power-hungry and made a big impact on the battery life. But then it supports EDGE in the US, and people were complaining about that being slow (the one biggest criticism of the iPhone appears to surround that). It wouldn't make much sense to bill it as a 'breakthrough internet communication device' when it's limited to sub-modem speeds outside of wifi coverage.

I guess it's still a case of 'watch this space'...

[Durzel]

My order on Amazon hasn't been cancelled yet, despite the fact they are no longer offering it to buy.

Strange.

[Spud1]

This is really bad news for me, i'm a bit gutted tbh

I read that Vodafone were winning the bidding wars, and certain things like the CEO being friends with Steve Jobs had everyone (me included) convinced Voda would get the iPhone..but now 02 have it??? I guess apple only looked at the money, and ignored the fact that 02 have a shoddy network and generally (depends who you get through to) shoddy support. Voda or 3 would have been a much better choice for all concerned.

The only way I can get one now is if they are available separately, and can be unlocked and modified to work on a different network..theres no way in hell you will catch me on 02 again, even if it means I don't get my iPhone for a few years.

Thought the iPhone would be the first one to tempt me away from nokia in years, but looks like i'll be on another nokia when my contracts up for renewal.

[master811]

I always thought was that the reason 3G wasn't supported originally was because 3G coverage in the US isn't anywhere near as much as EDGE is, of course if they expect to sell an EDGE only phone in Europe, then Apple haven't got a clue about how mobile usage is used outside of the US, as I would only buy one if it i had 3G and supported HSDPA, anything less makes it pointless.

I also don't like the "it can only be used with one carrier sim card thing", that would also stop me from buying one if it was the same here.

[Stoo]

3G is a bit stuffed in the US at the moment because they've blocked all importing of anything with qualcomm 3G chips in.. which is pretty much everyone..

[TheAnimus]

In my mind this is no smart phone.

It can't handle push email well, it can't even text in an easy too use fassion.

It can't be developed, safaria is about as much of a platform, as i am a belly dancer, i can sort of do it, but compared to whats available you'd have to be nuts to think it made sense.

Its an Ipod, that you can make calls on.

As such it has very little battery life.

[master811]

Oh the other problem I have with it is it doesn't even do MMS. Come on Apple, if you're gonna make a phone, at least include the basics!!!

[Cloudane]

Generally I like Apple's stuff, not through any form of fashionability or fanboyism - I've always liked their stuff, long before the iPod craze where all the Brand Victims and Fashion Victims started buying them for the label.

It'll be a huge hit with exactly that brand victim crowd, but unfortunately it has far too many shortcomings for me. Though I'd certainly consider the 2nd gen version if they addressed them.

Lacking in 3G is absolutely diabolical. I guess in the USA it isn't really a priority and hasn't caught on much. Heck it hasn't caught on *massively* here, but it certainly has amongst the geek crowd, those who would've wanted the iPhone for any reason other than the Apple brand... and when just about every new phone on the market is 3G, this is a huge backwards step and seems nonsensical.

The other rumours I've heard, not sure if all are true but also put me off:
* No bluetooth audio profile (for headsets). Ironically, full-size Macs do have it... how stupid.
* Ridiculous price, even by Apple's standards
* No flash (or was it Java) in the browser - even my little Nokia has both?

I mean come on. No bluetooth audio, no 3G... they should've just equipped it with Wifi instead, dropped the price and called it a Newton - would've been much better! Still, Apple is a fashion brand now and phones are the In Thing, so I guess from a pure marketing point of view it doesn't really matter... I'm just bitter that Apple didn't stay a geek brand hehe.