Thursday, November 8, 2007

Queues have started to form today outside the London Apple store for the launch of the iPhone. The phone launches tomorrow at 6.02 p.m. UTC exclusively onto the O2 network amid controversy. The iPhone was launched five months ago in the United States and is set to launch in the United Kingdom and Germany tomorrow.

Many people have braved the poor weather and have set up camp in the street in a bid to be the first of many thousands to buy the product on the first day of it’s release in the UK. Apple have already sold 1.4 million of the units in the US, some of which have already been imported into the UK un-officially. The cost of the device is set as £269 on a minimum £35 per month contract and will be sold at The Carphone Warehouse, O2 and Apple Stores across the UK.

The iPhone has a touch screen display and can act as a phone, text device, web browser, music player and email client all in one. The launch of the product onto one phone network only has caused controversy internationally and has led to many people using free and paid methods of unlocking the phone to be able to use it on other networks even though it voids the warranty. Apple replied to this move by releasing software patches that, when installed, will prevent functionality of the phone.