Mobile firm 02 to get first bite of Apple’s iPhoneMobile phone firm O2 is on the verge of agreeing to become the exclusive seller of the Apple iPhone in Britain.
It is planning to launch the phone in the run-up to Christmas.
Apple will limit iPhone’s European launch this autumn to Britain, France and Germany. It will then launch in other parts of Europe and Asia next year.
There has yet to be official confirmation of the O2 deal. A spokesman today said that O2 had “not signed a deal with Apple”. Apple also declined to comment.
The European iPhone would operate on slower 2.5 generation mobile networks, not the 3G infrastructure of companies such as Vodafone.
The handset, which was launched in the United States on Friday, comes with a built-in iPod music player and an internet browser.
The touch-screen phone is likely to cost around £400 on top of a long-term contract with the mobile operator as it will not be subsidised — standard for the British market.
