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O2 wants high street retailers to back the “electronic Wallet” handset

After the trial by O2 of the “electronic Wallet” the mobile phone handset that you can also use as an electronic swipe-and-go travel card, credit card and even loyalty cards was such a success, we could be seeing these handsets in our high street within a few years.

Of course, the pioneer behind the “near field communication” (NFC) O2 needs major retailers to help promote and create mass market appeal to make this happen.

O2 are organising an NFC taskforce to bring together technology providers, retailers and banks to overcome the barriers to a commercial launch. Visa and Barclay card were both part of the London trial, but O2 are keen to get Mastercard and American Express on board as well, and its reported that O2 are already in negotiations with two large high street banks. But it’s the retailers that O2 really need to work on as they are the missing link if they do not want to get involved.

Source: phonesreview via independent

Prices for O2’s iPhone 3G Pay as you Go (PAYG)

Some mobile phone users do not want to commit to a contract, especially when we could be at the start of another recession. Well if these same people want the Apple iPhone 3G on Pay as You Go (PAYG), then this will soon be possible.

Today we can finally give you the details of iPhone 3G Pay and Go, O2 have revealed the UK pricing and availability. This information was expected back in July 2008.

From September 16, the iPhone 3G 16GB will be available for £399.99, and the iPhone 3G 8GB for £349.99 on Pay & Go. The reason that the PAYG iPhone 3G’s have such a high price may be to stop people buying and unlocking the iPhone for another network.

In the price users get free Wi-Fi and browsing for 12 months, after that time it will cost £10 per month.

Source: Read

Christmas 2008: Apple nano PAYG O2 iPhone

According to Phones Review Apple is about to launch a brand new device which is the nano version of the iPhone. Apparently it will be released in shops in time for Christmas 2008.

The nano version iPhone will sell in the UK for around about £150 on pay-as-you-go (PAYG) with O2 who are the mobile phone company owned by Telefonica; this is going to be the hottest product on sale this Christmas a source has revealed.

We all know how popular the first iPhone was and of course how well the iPhone 3G is doing also, but may people will ask is this going to be too expensive for the PAYG customer at £150. There will however be cut-down version with the same shape as the iPod nano music players.

One expert suggested the nano phone would have a touch wheel on the back and a very cool display on the front so that numbers would be dialled from behind, now this sounds interesting.

O2 offers ‘free’ home broadband for UK customers

Mobile operators O2 has announced a new deal that will offer customers free ‘up to’ 8mb home broadband for a year when they purchase their £20 a month mobile broadband package.
O2 were keen to point out that this new deal is the first one of its kind to “offer customers high-speed internet access inside the home and on the move” in a combined package.

The deal went live on the 1st august and the offer will stay open until the 31st October 2008, although this deal will only apply to customers who live within range of the O2 Home broadband network. For those of you who are ineligible, O2 have also lined up a discount on a chosen plan.

With a free wireless router also included in this deal, it looks like a reasonable deal, I’m not sure I will be tempted away from my current AOL package though, How many of you are interested in O2’s new offer?

Source: Read

Experiences with Apple and O2: White iPhone 3G in the UK

While the white Apple iPhone 3G was not available on the launch day in the UK and we have no idea if and when it will be coming, one user is getting upset.

On the Apple Discussions section of their site, one use claims that MOD’s keep removing posts about unhappy customers who can’t upgrade to the White iPhone 3G within the UK.

Why do the mod’s keep removing posts about unhappy customers within the UK who can’t upgrade to the White iPhone 3G?

This is a user forum Correct?

So why are we not being aloud to talk openly about our experiences with Apple and o2 over obtaining (or not obtaining, as the case maybe) this phone?

Until Apple releases something official to us existing o2 iPhone customers to confirm why we cannot get the white model, can you please stop removing these posts.

This is our only means of communicating the difficulties we are having.

No one here is saying anything detrimental towards Apple or o2; we are simply passing on information we are being told by both these parties. Information that other users should be aware of.

What has your experiences been with Apple and O2, when you try and find out about obtaining the white iPhone 3G in the UK?

Do you think they are trying to keep a lid on things or is this user just extra paranoid? Read other iPhone 3G news.

Ford’s New ECO Cars: Cut UK CO2 emissions by over 80,000 tonnes

Ford’s new range of super frugal ECOnetic models showcased at this year’s British International Motor Show is leading the company’s bid to cut UK CO2 emissions by over 80,000 tonnes.

Independent industry analysis shows that if customers continue their move into lower CO2 and higher mpg Ford models, 83,818 tonnes of CO2 a year would be avoided Read more

iPhone 3G Stock: Carphone Warehouse more than O2

We all know that the iPhone 3G stock will be very limited thanks to 22 countries crying out for more phones from Apple, although you would expect some stores to have more stock than others.

O2 holds the UK’s exclusive rights to the iPhone 3G, yet Phones Review is reporting that Some O2 stores had no new iPhone deliveries this weekend.

The funny part is some Carphone Warehouse stores did have stock delivered this weekend, and how can they get stock while the exclusive rights holders could not.

Phones Review goes on to make a claim that there could be a recall, while this is pure speculation it does seem a possibility when looking at the discussions on Apple’s forum about very bad battery life with 3G.

It could be that Apple cannot make the iPhone 3G’s to meet demand or it could be like Phones Review says:

We say there is definitely stock there, but they are holding off, WHY?

Do you believe there is more to the lack of stock and should O2 have more stock than Carphone Warehouse?

First Hand Story: O2 iPhone 3G Upgrade Fiasco

We have heard a lot of news today about O2’s systems going down and stores having to do manual connections of the new iPhone 3G, but this story from one customer shows what can be achieved when you put your foot down and demand.

Graham Sharp’s day getting an iPhone 3G - “After being 4th in the queue at their O2 Redhill store, from 7am today, told by staff that they had around 20 16gb phones, the first 3 were allowed in at 8.02am as promised, but were still in there at 9.30am with an increasingly peeved queue forming outside, no drinks offered, nothing.

I wanted to upgrade from the original iPhone bought from the same store on the first launch day but was told after a 2 hour wait, that as their (Windows based) systems were down they would only do manual paperwork connections & could not do upgrades manually.

They would only do new business, and they wouldn’t hold me or any other ‘upgraders’ a phone, but would call us when eventually they had more stock so I could drive back down there and queue up again. Customer loyalty, where?

Apple, for heavens sake sell them some Macs - So still standing now 1st in the queue in front of the locked door, I decided to make a call to O2 Customer Care on my current iPhone, after informing them of the current situation, to which they denied all knowledge, saying it must just be this store? I asked them who at O2 was going to reimburse me for my day off work and travel, parking etc.

Customer Care then spoke to the store manager on my phone and shortly after I left with my 16gb 3G iPhone around 15mins later (not actually working as they would have to call me when they put the upgrade thro’ when the system is back up and running). What a joke, not up to Apples standards by far”.

Thanks to Graham Sharp for the news about his experience with today’s iPhone 3G launch.

Angry customers after iPhone 3G at Apple and O2 stores

Today has seen more angry phone customers than in a long time and it’s down to their need for an Apple iPhone 3G, we have heard many reports first hand of customers leaving Apple and O2 stores feeling disappointed.

We knew that the iPhone 3G launching in 22 countries today would leave each country with less stock than needed, this is to the massive demand for the iPhone 3G and surely this is a good thing for Apple.

Who are these disappointed shoppers blaming for their need for an iPhone 3G not being fulfilled?

Can you really blame the stores like Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse for not having enough phones as these stores requested iPhone 3G’s and never got the amount they wanted thanks to demand.

Also could it be Apple’s fault really, they have launched in 22 countries and no matter how many iPhone 3G’s they make I cannot see them making enough to meet today’s demand.

As we reported before, O2 had 13,000 orders a second at one point on their pre-order day earlier this week, who can meet that demand?

Just like the Nintendo Wii before it, I feel Apple had an impossible task at meeting the demand for iPhone 3G and it will take some time before everyone who wants one, can go out and get the next generation iPhone easily.

Would these countries of waited for a launch date later this year so Apple could meet demand?

Carphone Warehouse not upgrading O2 iPhone owners to 3G

After the news released on O2’s website the other day we were all led to believe it will be no problem upgrading to iPhone 3G in an O2 store and even at Carphone Warehouse.

Today we have confirmation that this is not the case, a friend has just confirmed to Product Reviews that they went to their local Carphone Warehouse store just moments and had bad news.

When asking if they have iPhone 3G’s in stock, they were told they have 8 in stock and when he explained that he had a contract with O2 like everyone but also bought the first iPhone from an O2 store, he was told he cannot upgrade at Carphone Warehouse.

So in case anyone is a little confused, it looks like if you bought your first generation iPhone from Carphone Warehouse you can upgrade at both CW and O2, this was confirmed to us by customer services of both these stores.

If you bought your iPhone from O2, then according to this recent news and the staff at this CW, you can only upgrade at an O2 store.

Can anyone else confirm this has happened to him or her?

Source: Phones Review

O2 Confirm Obvious Apple iPhone 3G News

Today O2 have issued an official announcement on their website about the Apple iPhone 3G and in this statement they highlight some key points, most of these are obvious.

They have said that Carphone Warehouse and O2 stores will have limited numbers of iPhone 3G tomorrow, most people know this and we wrote an article yesterday about the demand for iPhone 3G and how launching in 22 countries on the same day will limit supply.

O2 confirmed that they will only have a few dozen iPhone 3G’s on average per store, we are also sure there will be many more than that figure wanting iPhones at each O2 or Carphone Warehouse shop.

After some O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores told customers yesterday (including myself) that they will not be upgrading existing iPhone owners, we were then able to confirm late in the day this was not the case and you WILL be able to upgrade to iPhone 3G in store.

Today this news gets more Official confirmation on O2’s website, they said, “O2 customers can only upgrade in an O2 or CPW store”.

Most of the news O2 announced confirms what we already know, but the key information you need to know is, get to a store REAL early if you want an iPhone 3G on Friday.

Via Phones Review

Confirmed: iPhone 3G upgrade at O2 and Carphone Warehouse

Earlier today I visited both my local O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores and was told from O2 that iPhone owners will not be able to upgrade on Friday and Carphone Warehouse said they did not know but thought it had to be done online or through customer services.

We heard that other O2 stores were able to upgrade existing Apple iPhone owners, so we spent time at length talking to Carphone Warehouse customer services a few moments ago and they confirmed you will be able to upgrade in store on Friday.

Although the person at Carphone Warehouse customer services said that there will be a charge for upgrading to the new iPhone 3G (this is a fee for ending the contract), that’s where it gets interesting.

It’s interesting because after ringing the O2 customer services they said that there will be no charge for upgrading and they also confirmed the ability to upgrade in store on Friday. You will have to pay for the phone if you do not go on a contract that gives a free iPhone 3G.

If your looking at getting an iPhone 3G on Friday be aware that each store will only have a few handsets and the demand will be high. The upgrade charge issue that Carphone Warehouse mentioned is a little weird, so I will be visiting an O2 store.

Carphone Warehouse blames Apple not O2 for iPhone 3G problems

Continuing on with the fun today of trying to find out how to best get our hands on an Apple iPhone 3G on July 11 and also how you can best get one, we had some interesting information from a Kent based Carphone Warehouse store.

The customer services manager at a local Kent Carphone Warehouse told me directly that it’s not their fault or even O2’s fault why they know very little about the iPhone 3G.

When asked if they will be letting existing iPhone owner’s upgrade on July 11, the member of staff said they do not know if that would be possible and did not even know their opening times until yesterday.

He went on to blame Apple for the lack of information; he said it was them who are not passing on enough information and leaving things to last minute.

While its not good them blaming Apple, can this really be true and is it Apple’s fault why systems are not in place to get upgraded to iPhone 3G in store on July 11?

I find it hard to believe all the blame is with Apple, tell us what you think and how you plan on upgrading to iPhone 3G if you own an iPhone already.

O2 shops confused on upgrading people to iPhone 3G

If you were confused over the upgrade problems the other day on O2’s website, this will be nothing compared to how confused the O2 shops are when you visit them asking questions about upgrading.

Today I decided to visit my local O2 store after trying to pre-order an upgrade for my current iPhone to the new iPhone 3G on the O2 website and hitting nothing but problems, errors and no way of upgrading.

To say the O2 shops have no idea on how existing iPhone customers should upgrade is an understatement and with different O2 stores saying different things, it gets worse.

When I asked a member of O2 staff at a Kent store about upgrading my iPhone to an iPhone 3G, they told me this could only be done online or through customer services. Then I spoke to mark at Phones Review and another O2 store in Hampshire said they got an email today saying O2 will be upgrading iPhone owners on July 11.

I then went back to my local Kent O2 store and they told me that this is not the case with them, that’s after they spoke to their manager and checked emails. So why are different O2 stores saying different things and where does this leave iPhone owners who want to upgrade.

The sales person at O2 said we should be very happy that we get to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G, as we are still in a contract and they are letting us come out early. So lets all say a big thank you to O2 for that honor and how well they are informing us to upgrade, where to do it and how good their system is at getting us upgraded.

Its two days to July 11, O2 stores and Carphone Warehouse stores are telling us they know very little at this time and they cannot upgrade us in store. Well apparently some O2 stores can, just depends which one you ask.

Update:
Confirmed, iPhone 3G upgrade will be in store

iPhone owners let down by O2 with 3G pre-orders

The first day of Apple iPhone 3G pre-orders was a couple of days ago now and what a let down that day was, even more so for anyone that owned an iPhone already.

Thousands of first generation iPhone owners including myself got a text from Apple around 8am on the first day of Pre-orders, the text said it will be a first come first serve basis, so I was there at 8.10am filling out the upgrade form.

As we stated in a previous post, you had to put your phone number in to get an upgrade code and this never came for the first couple of tries.

You were redirected to the start page even after completing the form that asked for bank details, account, address information and some other details.

What made things even worse for existing iPhone owners was the fact that new buyers were reporting to have placed orders for 8GB and 16GB iPhones, while the upgrade section was not working and taken offline.

After iPhone owners called O2, they were told the system will be up and working within a few hours and they were fixing the bug.

By the end of the day and trying at least once an hour, we were all left with a message on O2’s website that said “Due to huge demand for the iPhone 3G, we’re currently out of stock online”.

They then ask for you to come back on the 10th of July, now you tell me how this is fair to existing iPhone owners. As an iPhone owner, I feel let down by O2 and as many other users have who commented on Product Reviews.

Has Anyone Upgraded to iPhone 3G? O2 Upgrade Shop Offline

The moment the text came in at just after 8am today we tried to upgrade to iPhone 3G on O2’s upgrade shop, this was met with problems as reported earlier.

First we managed to submit our details and choose a plan, but then got redirected to the homepage and second time we tried the browser hit a connection error.

Now when you click the upgrade link for existing iPhone owners, you are met with a page as in the image above, this basically tells you the O2 upgrade shop is offline.

We would guess this has happened because of the demand for the new iPhone 3G, although we have had no official word from O2 about the upgrade shop being unavailable.

What we want to know is if anyone has managed to upgrade to iPhone 3G before the O2 website went offline, if so please let us know in the comments below. We will keep you updated as we find out what’s happening.

iPhone 3G can be ordered today with O2

The moment iPhone owners have been waiting for has happened in the UK, Just moments ago O2 has sent out emails explaining how existing iPhone owners can upgrade from today.

This is the email that was sent to my iPhone today:
iPhone 3G is here, the iPhone you’ve been waiting to early upgrade to. Order from 8am today.

As an iPhone fan, we are offering you a special, early upgrade to iPhone 3G. This offer is only available online at 02.co.uk/iPhone until 11th October 2008. Terms apply.

You can’t upgrade from your iPhone, so you’ll need to go onto your Mac or PC and log onto o2.co.uk/iPhone from 8am today. You will also need to have your account number to hand that you find on top of your online bill.

Demand is expected to be very high, so to be fair to all customers, orders will be processed on a first come, first served basis.

Initial successful orders will be delivered on 11th July by courier and will require a signature as proof of receipt.

Product Reviews was the first to break the news here about a rumour that we will get our iPhone 3G’s delivered to our home and it seems this has now become true.

Apple iPhone 3G 8GB £299.99 on O2 PAYG

On July 11 people will be queuing up outside their local O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK, just so that can get their hands on the new Apple iPhone 3G. We all know about the different price plans for their monthly contracts, but now we can give you the pricing details of the Pay and Go (PAYG) pre-paid option. As yet there are no details on the O2 website, but those guys over at Phones Review have managed to get all the price details.

Ok so the Apple iPhone 3G 8GB version will cost just £299.99, while the 16GB version will set you back £359.99. That is just £60 more for double the storage, which sounds like a great deal to me. When you purchase the latest iPhone on Pay & Go, the handset will come with 6 months of unlimited WiFi hotspot access as well as web browsing. Once you have gone through the 6 months period, it is thought that you will have to pay £10 per month for an unlimited data package.

This does seem like a great option for those who just can’t afford to sign up to an 18-month contract, it seems that O2 are doing all they can to get the sale of the new 3G Apple iPhone of to a great start. We can’t be certain how accurate these pricing details are, but once we have conformation we will let you know.

I think that having the new iPhone on O2’s Pay & Go service will be one of the best services they could provide, this will now open up the option of owning the ultimate handset to thousands more people.

iPhone 3G Delivered July 11th to your door: rumor via O2

With the release date for the 3G iPhone getting closer everyday we are getting a lot of news about Apple’s next generation phone, some of this is rumor and other news is official. Yesterday we heard about people wanting to get the iPhone 3G on it’s release day being able to visit an O2 store early. They are to open at 7AM on July 11th and a rumor that we could see early signups from July 1st.

We also reported why the new 3G iPhone is so cheap and a report on the iPhone 2 build cost compared to the first generation phone; this gave us a good insight into why the 3G versions are such a good deal.

Today we have had a tip send to Product Reviews from one of our users, in their comments they had this to say “I just spoke to o2 select call centre the guy said they will contact people interested in iPhone to get there contract set up before the 11th and then arrange for the phone to be delivered the day of the release to you door!”

Bare in mind that this is not official and just what one person has reported they found out, now if this turns out to be true it will make things a lot easier for people wanting the new iPhone. As an iPhone owner already, I have already registered my interest in the iPhone 3G and as such should be contacted by O2 nearer the release date.

Would you want your 3G iPhone delivered to your door for the release day and do you think they could guarantee that we would all get it on the day?

We have got just 15 more days to go before the iPhone 3G is released in 22 countries on July 11, so I am sure in the coming days many more rumors will come and also these will be confirmed or crushed. We will of course keep you updated daily.

iPhone 3G Release: O2 Opens 7AM and early signups

Plans are already well in swing for the iPhone 3G release and on that date, July 11 we are hearing that O2 will help people looking to get the iPhone 3G by opening their stores at 7AM. O2 are not stopping their, they are also said to be planning to give people early signups to the new 3G phone by letting users sign up for their contracts before July 11.

This information come from someone who posted information on a forum claiming that a member of O2 staff told them there is a company conference this Monday about the plans for iPhone 3G. These plans will focus on the July 11th release date and the rumor said that all O2 UK stores will let people sign up for the Apple iPhone 3G from July 1st.

If you already plan on getting a 3G iPhone then it could save you a lot of time if this rumor becomes true, being able to pop into an O2 store and get the contract signed and credit checks done. That’s got to be better than having a mad rush on July 11th in all Apple and O2 stores, I would not want to be in the middle of that.

Lets hope this comes true as then we can just visit the store on release day and pick up our iPhone 3G, then simply activate without the hassle of contacts and credit checks. We guess this plan is just waiting on stores getting registration codes, and then this years iPhone launch can be very painless indeed.

When thinking back to the original iPhone launch, that was done in the evening and was a lot more hassle than the rumored plan of a 7AM opening. Maybe O2 and Apple have learned a few things for the next generation iPhone launch.

Remember that this news is just a rumor at this time, but we will update you if it becomes official.

Source: Read