10k iPhones day 1

Carphone Warehouse, Europe's biggest independent mobile phone retailer, claims it is expecting to sell up to 10,000 iPhones when the device goes on sale in Great Britain next week. The iPhone will be sold through O2 UK and be made available through retail outlets like Carphone Warehouse (alongside Apple retail outlets and the online Apple store) starting November 9th at 6PM local time. Darren Gardner, head of wireless UK at Carphone Warehouse, told Reuters that with around 800 stores across the country "We will hope to represent a big share of what is sold." The device will be available for £269 without any rebates or subsidy and will be offered with three separate plans: £35, £45 and £55 per month.

Each of the three plans will offer free data traffic along with access to a network of 7,500 WiFi hotspots, while users will billed for their calls and messages. "We are coming to the UK and wanted to pick the best carrier and that is O2," Apple's Jobs said at a news conference announcing the iPhone's shipment in the United Kingdom.

Unlocked iPhones are already sold through various channels in Europe. A firm is reportedly selling unlocked iPhones in France for the price of 999 euros. The manager of the store selling the phone has claimed that the offer is "entirely legal" and is provided with a France-compliant warranty. "He said, however, that it is highly inadvisable to perform an update via the iTunes software, at risk of (breaking) the iPhone." The store, Leclerc of Frouard, which operates franchises, has gotten the batch of iPhones via an unnamed American wholesaler.

by MacNN Staff