O2 has confirmed unprecedented demand for the iPhone 3G, and will place the device on sale at 8.02am on 11 July in both its own and Apple's UK retail stores, which will open early on the day.
Confounding previous reports, iPhone 3G will be made available for purchase at O2, Carphone Warehouse and Apple retail stores, but will be sold to customers on a first come, first-served basis.
Demand for the revolutionary device is already at unprecedented levels, far in excess of the original iPhone: “We’ve never seen any mobile device create the excitement and demand of the iPhone 3G,” said Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2 in the UK. “We want to ensure that everyone who wants an iPhone 3G can get one so we’ll be working with Apple to continually replenish our supplies throughout the summer.”
The company also confirmed the debacle of its offer this week to existing iPhone customers, who were offered the chance to upgrade to the new model via the company's website.
"The response was so great that the online store completely sold out of iPhone 3Gs within just a few hours. Though O2 had invested several million pounds to increase the order capacity of the site (with order processing capacity increased by over 250 times its normal rate), at times the site still couldn’t process the sheer weight of demand," O2 admitted, in a press statement.
O2 also offered more details of its offer to existing iPhone customers, who can upgrade to the iPhone 3G by re-signing a new 18 month contract. They can then hand their existing 2G iPhone to a friend, family member or colleague. The new owner of a second-hand iPhone can either transfer onto an iPhone tariff if they are an existing O2 Pay Monthly or business customer by sticking in their existing O2 SIM and buying the appropriate Bolt Ons for unlimited data; or they can buy an iPhone Pay & Go SIM card from 11 July offering unlimited data and unlimited WiFi access to The Cloud and BT Openzone hotspots for 10 per month.
Wee-Fi: iPhone 3G Plans, TAP-Fi, Free Boingo Day, St. Louis-Fi
Apple boosts flash memory orders for iPhone
Swisscom confirms iPhone plan
