14 DAY TRIAL // Besides being an ordinary summer day, July 11 will also be the best day of the year for lots of iPhone fans, as the new iPhone 3G is set to be released on this date in 23 markets around the world. While in the US AT&T is offering the iPhone 3G starting 8 AM, local time, on the other side of the Atlantic, in the UK, users will be able to get the new iPhone as early as 7 AM (local time).
According to iLounge, the new iPhone will be offered, like in the US, on a "first come - first served" basis. The bad news is that no one will be able to buy more than one iPhone, as it was the case with the first-generation one.
As all the other carriers that have announced the iPhone 3G availability, O2 is offering Apple's new handset for several prices:
- the 8GB iPhone 3G is free with a monthly plan of ?45 or ?75 ($89 and $149 respectively), or it can be bought for ?99 ($197) if you opt for paying ?30 or ?35 per month ($60 and $70 respectively).
- the 16GB iPhone 3G is free only with the ?75 monthly plan. The handset will cost ?59 ($117) with a ?45 per month plan, or ?159 ($316) with the ?30 and ?35 plans.
All the plans require an O2 contract agreement for at least 18 months and include: unlimited data transfers, unlimited Wi-Fi access (where available), visual voice mail, plus "reduced roaming rates".
In line with AT&T, O2 will be offering the iPhone 3G free of contract too, on Pay & Go, later this year. The carrier doesn't mention the handset's price in this case, but it's rumored to be of around ?350 ($700) for the 8GB version and ?400 ($800) for the 16GB one.
In the end, if you live in the UK and an iPhone 3G is all you want this year when it comes to mobile devices, prepare for an early-in-the-morning awakening on July 11, to make sure you're among the first Brits to own a new, speedy and white (or black) iPhone.