Apple Ok’s O2, Says No 3G Yet

Steve Job’s had this to say…

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with O2 to offer our revolutionary iPhone to UK customers,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “US iPhone customer satisfaction is off the charts, and we can’t wait to let UK customers get their hands on it and learn what they think of it.”

Matthew Key, CEO of O2 said..

“Our strategy at O2 is to bring our customers the best products and experiences,” said Matthew Key, CEO, O2 UK. “The iPhone is a breakthrough that is changing the way people use their mobiles forever, and we’re thrilled to have it exclusively for O2 customers in the UK.”

With that it became formal, O2 is the first provider to offer the iPhone outside of the U.S. Apple and O2 announced this in its “Mum Is No Longer The Word” event in London.

I’m not more a bit more confused in my choice whether to get an iPhone or an iPod Touch. I was holding out getting an iPhone and just get an iPod Touch instead for fear that a 3G iPhone is soon to come out. With this announcement, I’m doubting that a 3G iPhone is nearby.

In the event Steve Jobs mentioned that current 3G chips are power hogs. Therefore it will severely cut the talk-time of the iPhone to 2-3 hours. He also emphasized that WiFi is much faster than 3G.

The euro version of the iPhone will essentially be the same. What’s great about the O2 announcement though is that the plan includes free use of the Clouds 7,500 UK hotspots. That’s a lot of hotspots.

Apple is focusing on giving users access to hotspots to make up for the lack of 3G. Will that tactic work? We’ll see. As long as the transition from EDGE to WiFi is seamless I don’t see why it can’t be successful.

The O2 iPhone will be out Nov. 9, 2007

Here’s the link to the press release.

What do you think of the O2 announcement?