News

Too many oldiPhones in the UK as customers wait for new Apple model

Reports, supposedly from inside Carphone Warehouse, say that a huge discount- from £100 to zero - for the upfront fee for the iPhone - is failing to persuade worshippers to go for the current model.

Rupert Neate reports that the price cut is failing to attract new customers as they would prefer to hold out for the new model. Customers are also said to be put off by the increased length of the contract term from 18 months to 24 months.

The O2 blog reveals details of the offer. It also reveals sceptical comments such as:

"Like a number of people I think iPhone are great devices but I am still holding before committing myself to a 18 months contract, so O2 must be out of their mind to think that people would commit to a 24 months contract with a piece of hardware that will be obsolete within month with the release of 3.0 and the new iphone."

And also

"This is a joke surely? This phone is near to being superseded and you're attempting to lock potential customers into expensive 2 year contracts that they will no doubt be desperate to break out of way before the contract expires. Bad, deceitful business practice."

At least this shows potential customers are convinced the new phone will be an improvement...

In the UK, O2 and Carphone Warehouse have an exclusive. Rumours suggest that there might be a change of franchise with the launch of the new phone, with one source saying Orange is getting the magic gadget. Our attempts to get a response from Orange have so far yielded no response, sadly.

None of this actually proves that the new phone will be aimed at consumer. There are still some suggestions that the main launch (June?) may be aimed at corporate customers, through different channels.

An Orange franchise would fit well with such a new product. But such speculation remains just - guesswork.