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That is a gamble. Hopefully it will pay off.

Oh boy all the complications!

I think Apple is taking this "partnering" a little too far.

Perhaps that's why the iPod Touch came into being. So Apple can just use a third party device to connect to it to make it a phone. A lot eaiser IMMO.

VOIP on the iPod Touch, please?

At the 11th hour O2 snatched the UK deal with an offer that gave such a high proportion of revenues to Apple that none of its competitors could see any way of making any return on the phone, even over three years."

Usually if there is no profit, customers suffer in reduced support/services and even Apple might lose sales from lackluster partners.

Is Microsoft's hand involved in this?

I smell a Redmond rat.

MDN Take: O2 made a very smart move to land the UK iPhone exclusive.

I am not too sure of this if the report is indeed true. If O2 can't make money of iPhones, there is a danger that O2 will push customers who are interested in an iPhone away towards other cellphones. If that happens and Apple can't get out of the exclusive contract, Apple is stuck. What looks like a sweet deal for Apple now may turn out differently in the long run.

Glossy screens! How can we be talking about the O2 deal when glossy screens are shoved down our thoats! Glossy screens!

And Apple won't give Universal $1 from each iPod sale.

If Microsoft did this 40% thing even the US Department of Justice would be up in arms.

Greed is bad. I hope Apple is not getting too greedy.

No, greed is good...

@ Nice and Easy, where is the mike on Ipod touch for 2 way communication. Any VOIP device still needs a mouth piece.

The "word" today is to avoid anything from Apple that has LCD screens. Apparantly there are "issues" Apple must have gotten a new vendor or something is amiss. iPhones, iPod Touch, iPod Fatty, low res Al iMac all are suffering from defects.

Wait for Revision 2 of everything LCD above as Apple addresses these issues. Or wait for the defects to be corrected.

WooHoo!

Excellent News for us O2 users!!

Im chuffed to bits about this!

Its means I can just buy my iphone and register it on itunes and I will be connected as im currently an O2 customer.

I have no intention of changing carriers either as all my friends and family use O2.

This deal couldnt have been better for me.

This is one very happy future iphone user!!

:D.

Any VOIP device still needs a mouth piece.

See that dock connector on the bottom of the iPod Touch?

Nice place to connect it too along with any electronics necessary.

MS troll alert!! "Glossy screens! How can we be talking about the O2 deal when glossy screens are shoved down our thoats! Glossy screens!"

Give it up and buy a screen cover, if you even own a glossy screen.

PS, I think that O2 made a good deal. They get tons of publicity, sole iPhone sales and since there is no covering the cost of the phone, its all service. Once the details come out then you guys can kibitz about the details. Ok? LOL

Remember the other guys are giving away $200 phones and have to make up the cost in sales. O2 will only a reduced profit but no real additional cost. The infrastructure is already in place.

en

40%... Wow.

This sounds like hear say and heavy speculation to me. Why would any carrier enter into a money loosing deal. Seems like O2 either did the math and saw the initial demand for the Iphone in the US and said we can still make a bundle on this even while giving them (Apple ) a sizeable chunk. Or maybe O2 has some lucrative service that the rest of us don't really know about or the reporter got it wrong. This is not Apple being greedy if the CEO of the parent company of O2 comes to your doorstep bearing a pile of cash. Seems to me it would be the height of rudeness to not let the gentleman in and hear him out. SJ didn't break off his arm he offered it?

@ 40% of Revenues!!: And Apple won't give Universal $1 from each iPod sale.

Why should they? Unlike other cellphone manufacturers that let wireless providers to dictate how cellphones are supported and updated, it's Apple that updates and supports the iPhone hardware and softwares throughout their use. OTOH, Universal has nothing to do with how iPods are being used. You don't get new remixes, higher bitrate tracks and other kinds of support from Universal. Heck, one may not even have a single Universal artist in one's iPod. Why should Universal get money from the iPods?

If Microsoft did this 40% thing even the US Department of Justice would be up in arms.

Bull! As long as Microsoft does not abuse its monopoly, they can sign any contract that gives them 40% of revenues. Let's review, shall we? iPhone is newly introduced in a cellphone market that sells 1 billion units a year. iPhone is hardly a monopoly business. At the moment, it's only about 0.1% of the market. iPhone is tied to iTunes on a Mac or a PC, but even if iTunes has a big presence, it is still not a monopoly in jukebox market and you are not required to buy iPhone to use iTunes.

40% of revenue seems excessive and may prove a bad business move, but there is nothing illegal about it. O2 and Apple can sign any contract to share revenue in any way they see fit.

I gambled once. One of them Russian Internet brides.

Looked sweet-hot in the picture online. Was a bear that showed up, though.

Got off the plane, thought it was a hairy Inuit fisherman. Turns out that is what her grandfather actually was!

Man, they sure have quality makeup abilities in them former Soviet satellite states. Yessir, that is one area where they\'re certainly ahead of us.

Ate me out of house and home. Rang up over $25K in credit card charges, too. And banged my brother behind my back.

I got so tired of her that one day I drove her out into the middle of frozen Lake Weecheehachee and left her there. She is someone else\'s problem now.

So the moral of the story: Don\'t gamble. Especially with Russians.

Apple isn't forcing any of the carriers to do anything they don't want. If O2 feels they can afford to offer Apple 40% of revenues to secure exclusivity, all the power to them.

It's called capitalism people, and it's how the world works. I'm sure O2 will make plenty of money from the deal.

I see TowerTone still spouts shite. It almost makes you wish Ampar was back (well not quite).

Apple receives 100% revenue for every iPhone it sells... these things actually sell themselves so there is very little for counter help to do but take the money and they'll be doing that all day long.

This is anything but a bad business move.

Careful what you wish for, Eddie.

OMG! My screen is getting glossy. I wonder if I should have cleaned it with acetone?

You can bet your mum's life that O2 are going to make alot of money on this deal.

If not short term, they certainly will long term!

Look at it this way... Apple has spent 5 years developing the iPhone to market and invested $100s millions maybe too.

The iPhone is Apple's 1st product in a new and committed market, therefore you can guarantee Apple is going to develop more products for that market - and all the sub-markets within the main market too (e.g. iPhone Nano etc), just like they have done with the iPod.

This is a long term business Apple is developing here and you can guarantee O2 and AT&T;know this. And you can guarantee that whatever carriers who are lucky to sign up with Apple are gonna make shit loads of cash - maybe not this year, but certainly in the future when Apple has sold loads of iPhones!

These deal with Apple are investments in creating a unique selling point for the carriers.

You can also expect O2 is gonna make everyone know about this deal within tv, web, radio and printed press marketing and they are going to maximise this too!

I agree with J. If O2 loses money on every phone it is likely that they will simply push profitable phones. The deal will still be good for them because it will keep the iPhone out of the hands of competitors. That would be bad for Apple though. Apple needs to structure the deal so that everyone wins. Frankly, I'm sceptical about the 40% kickback. Seems way too high.

Profit margins are not set by some hippie ideal of fairness - they are set by market forces. Apple's profits on this deal should be set at the highest point possible without harming sales and consumer image. Anything less is a waste of effort.

There is only one iPhone. Not charging a premium on a one-of-a-kind item would be silly...

A question from someone outside the UK: does O2 have an EDGE-type network or a 3G type network?

STFU! moron

"OMG! My screen is getting glossy. I wonder if I should have cleaned it with acetone?"

Fine grit sandpaper should do the trick

Not me at 1:51

@gog

O2 have 3G and GPRS but all the major networks have 3G.

I knew that, TT. It never surprises me when others don't.

Thanks, NSFY
What's up with Eddie?

He's stuck in a small whirpool?

Whirlpool?
More like an Amana....RadarRange!

uh Ha ha hah!!

(yeah, that was shitey....)

I'm concerned that this changes Apple's incentives. If Apple just sells the phone, then it's firmly on the side of the consumer and doesn't care if they do VOIP, avoid using expensive text messaging, etc. If Apple gets 40% of the take, then they may care.

re: A question from someone outside the UK: does O2 have an EDGE-type network or a 3G type network?

----

O2 has 3G and it has recently been reported that they have been 'adding new services (e.g. edge) to their network covertly in preparation for the iPhone announcment.

This is pathetic. UK will get it before Canada? What the Hell is wrong with us?

Let's see, Apple has a commodity that is in demand and the cell operators want it and will have to pay through the nose to get it even though Apple has never paid for a single cell tower.

Universal has a commodity that is in demand and Apple wants it and there is outrage because Universal want's $1 per player before they will play ball with Apple and you can't see the similarity?

Apple is asking for kickbacks just like Universal is asking for kickbacks. Crooked contractors and crooked suppliers ask for kickbacks. Government employees and politicians ask for kickbacks.

Cell operators can't sell Apple's phones unless they hand over part of the profits and you don't think the Department of Justice would be interested? If Microsoft wanted a piece of Dell's or HP's profits the Department of Justice sure as hell would be interested.

Apple really is turning into Microsoft, albeit Microsoft with good programers and a sense of style.

This is pathetic. UK will get it before Canada? What the Hell is wrong with us?

Your carrier, maybe?

i hate all those exclusive deals, they are seriously limiting what the iPhone, and even the iPod touch, can do.

and those deals are illegal in the country where i live (and many others), i don't expect to be able to buy the iPhone soon.