iPhone 3G price cut may herald successor handset

Stephen Withers
Monday, 16 March 2009 04:10

Your IT - Mobility

Expectations that a new iPhone will appear midyear have been boosted by a report that iPhone 3G prices are set to fall in the UK.

Last April, UK mobile carrier O2 slashed £100 from the price of the original iPhone with 8G of memory. Then in June, Apple announced the iPhone 3G.

Now Telegraph.co.uk tells us that unidentified sources say O2 is preparing the offer the 8G iPhone 3G at no upfront cost on a wider range of plans.

According to the article, the iPhone is sold that way with £44 and £73 monthly contracts, but costs £97 upfront on a £34 contract.

That, the Telegraph says, will change in May when the eight-gig iPhone G3 will start being given away with the £34 contract.

And where the 16G model is now only free on the £73 contract, you'll be able to pick one up for £0 upfront on the £44 plan.

The move - which has yet to be confirmed by O2 - is said to be aimed at clearing iPhone stocks ahead of a new model.

Apple is pre-announcing the iPhone 3.0 software this week. News of that event spurred expectations that a new iPhone would debut at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference.