The iPhone
So..after all the speculation, the iPhone was launched yesterday in Apple’s flagship store in Regents St, London. The rumours were confirmed when O2 was unveiled as the network provider to have an exclusive deal with Apple. First time buyers will have to pay £269 to obtain the handset while tying themselves into a 18 month deal with 02.
Although I am very excited by the iPhone and the rave reviews it has received across the water in the US, I don’t think I’ll be queuing with my flask and blanket in the days leading up to the launch on November 9 and my reasoning is as follows;
- I once vowed never to buy a first iteration of anything again. This was after I purchased a Nokia 6280 when it first hit the market and worked my way through 3 models in 6 months as they were littered with bugs. Vista is another classic example of where first time buyers are unwittingly beta testers as they expose vulnerabilities and incompetencies in the software.
- £269 is a hell of alot to pay for a handset when you are also chained to an 18 month contract. Network operators normally have to lure and coax you with free top of the range handsets so they can have you by the proverbials for a year and a half. 02 are blatantly playing on the hype and sticking their arm in when they can. When paying that amount of money for the handset, you should have a no strings pay-as-you-go tariff, never mind an 18 month contract!
- As US early birds discovered to their expense, when the hype dies down, chances are Apple will slash the initial cost to ensure momentum continues through the Christmas sales and if not, there will almost definitely be a cut for the January sales.
- On a technical level, I can’t justify parting with that amount of cash for a phone that I know will be covered in scratches within a month. I just know it won’t scream cutting edge when it looks like that old glass coffee table underneath your old bike in the garage.
But then again, by all reports it is one sexy piece of kit….
