macnn/ipodnn
12/26/2007, 2:20pm, EST
Wednesday, December 26th
iPhone helps O2 lure customers of competition
Apple's iPhone is helping its UK wireless carrier partner to lure customers from competitors, according to FT.com. O2 CEO Matthew Key says about 60 percent of UK iPhone customers are new to his company, and expressed confidence in the prospect of landing an exclusive deal for Apple's second-generation iPhone with faster 3G wireless service when it ships in late 2008. Key also said he expects 200,000 iPhones to sell in the UK by early January, a number that some analysts are calling conservative.
Key insists that the iPhone is a profitable venture for O2 despite Apple's unusually high revenue-sharing agreement, and is excited about the amount of data services iPhone customers demand from his firm.
Roughly 60 percent of iPhone owners are sending or receiving more than 25MB of data per month, compared to just 1.8 percent of O2's other mobile customers on monthly contracts, according to the report.
O2's chief executive is hoping to have attracted 1 million customers by 2010, a goal that Apple's iPhone could help the company to reach.
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The for the first time, the customer is put first in the experience with the iPhone. You sign up online, through iTunes, so there is no pressure to pay more on the monthly tariff, and there is no subsidy, so the flawed logic of paying a little more a month means you get a free phone (when you more than pay the difference over the 12, or 18 months).
It's the unlimited data, decent screen, and amazing browser, that actually make it useful. While it's anecdotal, I've had a 3G phone (N80) for 18 months, paying £5 a month for 5MB of data, frightened for going over, so sticking to no more than about 8MB of data a month, while last month I used 280MB of data... whilst not having EDGE, but GPRS. It makes a difference.
Then having 1 device that does EVERYTHING I want. Where's that Starbucks... oh there! eMail, or news when I'm waiting, Christmas gift not in stock... check availability at other stores, and then Click and Collect. My iPhone has transformed my Christmas, and life more than any other device.