O2 is poised to tweak prices on the 3G iPhone in May, ahead of what is believed to be a new Apple mobile phone in June or, most likely, July, Mobile can exclusively reveal.
The 3G iPhone (pictured) will be free on its £35 and £45 per month tariffs from May. The 16GB version is currently only free on the £75 per month contract, while the 8GB handset is free only on the £75 and £45 per month deals.
Customers currently spend between £59 and £159 for an iPhone on the £35 and £45 monthly tariffs.
O2 is believed to be keen to clear its inventory of the 3G iPhones ahead of the new device.
Details of the new Apple handset planned for June or July are not known, but there has been considerable speculation that it will be a mid-range ‘Nano-style’ device, which will be cheaper by compromising either on memory, camera or screen size.
Sources claim Orange is in talks with Apple to make its next mobile phone available on the Orange network as well as O2 in the UK.
O2 has notched up one million iPhone sales in the UK, and previously stated that its deal with Apple is ‘multi year and multi device’. The operator has exclusively stocked the original 2G iPhone and the more recent 3G iPhone.
Orange currently sells the iPhone in 27 countries, including France. The network clashed in the French courts over its exclusivity, which was opposed on the grounds of being anti-competitive, and is still being challenged.