iPhone to be apple of eye within weeks

CONSUMERS here can finally get to see what all the fuss has been about when Apple’s new iPhone — which combines mobile phone, mobile internet and an iPod — officially hits the Irish market in a few weeks.

O2 Ireland yesterday announced that it will be the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in Ireland, just as it is in the British market.

The eagerly awaited phones will go on sale in Ireland on March 14 and will be available at O2 retail stores and Carphone Warehouse shops nationwide. It will only be available to bill-pay customers.

New O2 customers will also be able to purchase the product online at O2’s Irish website. However, they will not be able to purchase it online from Carphone Warehouse for the foreseeable future.

There will be two versions of the new product — an 8GB model retailing at €399 and a 16GB model selling for €499 — with both working with either a PC or a Mac. O2 has also announced three iPhone tariffs — starting at €45, all of which will include anytime minutes, texts and a 1GB data bundle.

O2 is offering Irish customers 175, 350, and 700 minutes in their €45, €65 and €100 tariffs respectively, which includes 100, 150 or 200 texts.

However, by comparison Irish customers will be disappointed as they appear worse off than their British counterparts.

For almost the same price in Britain, O2 offers customers packages of 600, 1,200 or 3,000 minutes plus 500 texts and puts no limit on data use.

The iPhone, which went on sale in Britain in November last year, has also gone on sale in France (where Orange is its network carrier) and Germany (where T-Mobile has the network rights).

Ireland is the joint-fourth country in Europe, along with Austria, where the iPhone is being launched.

O2 Ireland chief executive Danuta Gray said yesterday that the inclusion of the iPhone in the company’s product portfolio should see it further increase its number of bill-pay customers here over the coming year.

“The iPhone is changing the way people use their mobiles forever and we’re thrilled to offer it to our customers in Ireland. Our strategy here continues to be to bring our customers the very best innovations and experiences in mobile communications,” she said.

O2 said yesterday that it has been the fastest selling product launched in its stores in the British market and has significantly upped footfall in O2 stores there.