The iPhone was announced in the UK today an Apple press conference held in London at the Regent St. Apple store. Though there was a great deal of speculation as to what iPhone would be announced, the reality is that folks in the UK are getting the same version of the iPhone that was released earlier this year in the United States.

The most anticipated news was of course whether the UK folks would be getting their hands on v2 of the iPhone - one with 3G capabilities. The answer, as mentioned above, is no. As many expected, due to limitations caused by high battery usage of 3G chips, Apple can't yet justify a 3G version of the iPhone at this time. In the video below, taken at the event by the folks at SlashGear.com, Steve Jobs explains the logic behind the no-3G decision.

The other eagerly awaited piece of news at the event was who the carrier or carriers for the iPhone would be in the UK, another heavily speculated topic. As it turns out, the iPhone will be sold exclusively on O₂ in the UK, similar to Apple's deal with AT&T in the United States.

While the lack of 3G on the UK iPhone is no doubt a disappointment to UK consumers, there is some good news. O₂ has teamed up with a company called Cloud to provide some 7500 WiFi hot spots across the UK. Access to these hotspots will be completely free for O₂ subscribing iPhone owners. There is little doubt that US iPhone owners would like to, and may now expect to, see the same kind of service provided by AT&T.

The iPhone will go on sale in the UK on November 9th will sell for £249 (8GB). Plans will range from £35 to £55 and will all include unlimited data and access to the aforementioned WiFi hotspots. Additionally, O₂ has teamed up with Carphone Warehouse to provide approximately 1300 retail outlets where UK consumers can purchase the iPhone.

Labels: iPhone