Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile – the UK’s four largest mobile phone operators – have all announced that they will be carrying the upcoming Apple iPhone 4 in the UK.
The mobile service providers will join high street retailers Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4u in selling the newest version of the iconic iPhone when it goes on sale on June 24.
Orange and T-Mobile released statements earlier this week confirming that they will be stocking the device. Orange customers can register their interest at orange.co.uk/iPhone4.
O2, which was the first iPhone retailer in the UK, has announced a limited time “special upgrade deal” for existing pay monthly customers (see O2.co.uk/iphonelatest), while Vodafone has invited users to register online at vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/iphone-4 for updates “on pricing and tariff plans”.
Details regarding UK pricing of the handset are yet to be released by Apple, but some industry experts believe the smarpthone will retail at around the same price as in the US – $199 (£135) for the 16GB model and $299 (£202) for the 32GB version on a two-year contract.
The iPhone 4 was officially announced by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs earlier this week in the US.
The device comes with a new stainless steel and glass design, a touchscreen display that boasts the highest resolution ever seen on a mobile phone, with roughly four times as much detail as the iPhone 3GS, a 5mp camera with LED flash and video recording capability, and a front-facing VGA (640 x 480) camera that can be used to make video calls.
Other new features include a lightening fast processor, Apple’s ebook application (iBooks), improved battery life and a three-axis gyroscope for gaming. At less than 10mm thick, the device is also the thinnest smartphone to date.
