Vodafone to provide iPhone
It looks unlikely that there will be an iPhone Christmas Price war, where it was revealed that Vodafone has won the rights to sell the Smartphone, but not during the lucrative festive period.
Vodafone is to go head-to-head with O2 and Orange to win iPhone customers after becoming the third mobile company to clinch a deal to sell the iPhone in the UK.
It was also recently announced that Apple had broken off its exclusive contract with O2 to allow rival companies to also sell the smartphone.
Hopes for an iPhone price war were dampened when it emerged that Vodafone’s deal with Apple bans it from selling the iPhone before early 2010 – missing the Christmas trading period.
A statement went on to say that “Vodafone and Apple today confirmed that they have reached agreement to bring iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to the UK and Ireland in early 2010.”
Analysts said the restriction on the Vodafone iPhone deal, would have come as a blow to the group. Vodafone had recently confessed that losing out on the initial to Orange to sell the Smartphone had dented business.
The combined iPod music player, internet surfer and mobile phone was initially sold only by O2 in the UK under a two-year exclusive contract. But Apple has recently moved to open the gadget to several operators across the countries it sells to in a bid to secure maximum sales.
It is expected that Vodafone and O2 will seek to undercut O2 and offer the phone at a substantial discount — if only for a honeymoon period.
The gadget triggered mass-market hype when it launched in the UK in 2007 — but came with a £269 price tag and then had to sign up for a contract that cost between £35 and £55 a month for at least 18 months, putting the cost of a handset and contract at potentially more than £1,000 over 18 months.
The iPhone, which is sold in Apple and O2 stores and in Carphone Warehouse, , is available free on some contracts but customers are still required to “lock-in” for 18 or 24 months.
