Morning:
13°c
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
British Apple fans finally got their hands on the iPhone - but would they be better off with a trip to France?
Last updated at 13:22pm on 10.11.07Technology fans queued in cold and rain yesterday to get their hands on the new must-have Christmas gadget - the £269 Apple iPhone.
At Apple's store in Central London hundreds of customers surged in at the launch time of 6.02pm, reflecting the link with phone network 02.
They ignored expert advice to wait for the phone's launch in France later this month, where the package will be cheaper.
Scroll down for more...
Red hot item: A woman smiles as she poses with her new iPhone
First in the London queue were friends Graham Gilbert and Nik Fletcher, who had brought sleeping bags and supplies for their 34-hour wait.
Brandishing his boxed iPhone, 21-year-old Mr Fletcher, from Petersfield in Hampshire, said: "I am going for a pint and then I am getting the hell out of this city."
Asked if it had been worth the wait, he replied: "I don't know yet but the box looks pretty."
Scroll down for more...
First in line: Carphone Warehouse's chief executive Charles Dunstone, centre, with his store's first iPhone customer Mip Phillips
North London architecture student Tom Jasinski, 20, who had queued for 26 hours, said: "It is a great piece of hardware. It is a great thing and I love it."
The iPhone, hailed by Apple founder Steve Jobs as "revolutionary", comes with a host of features including a touch screen, camera, music and video player and wireless internet capability.
While experts admitted it was "drop dead gorgeous" they attacked Apple for forcing buyers into an 18-month contract with 02 at £35 to £55 a month.
With almost every other phone, customers pay line rental but get the phone free.
Jonathan Morris of What Mobile magazine said: "People who don't want to be tied to contracts can simply wait until the iPhone comes out in France. Under French law there has to be an unlocked version so people would be able to bring it back buy a Sim card and use it like any other phone."
Even so the iPhone, which is available only at Apple, 02 and Carphone Warehouse stores, is expected to be sold out by the end of tomorrow.
Gadget mad: Graham Gilbert began queueing at 8.30am yesterday
New owners must register their new iPhone via computer.
The 8GB device combines a touch-sensitive mobile phone handset with a built-in iPod media player and a wireless Internet browser.
Its mobile phone will run only on the O2 network, with owners signing an 18-month contract on a tariff of £35, £45 or £55 per month.
About 250,000 of the 1.4m iPhones already sold in the US are thought to have been unlocked so they can run on any mobile phone network.
Scroll down for more...
Diehard fans settle down for a rainy night
Unlocked iPhones were offered on the eBay website at up to double the official UK retail price, and there are reports that hackers have developed software to unlock iPhones sold in the UK after tonight.
Sales of the must-have gadgets were limited tonight to just two per customer.
An electronic lock on the phones means they cannot be used on any networks other than those chosen by Apple.
But in France, the law says consumers should be able to use the iPhone on the network of their choice and that the locks should be removed.
Queues grow outside Apple's Regent Street store
This means Britons could buy an unlocked iPhone in France and choose a cheaper network.
Orange - which is the chosen network operator in France - is working with Apple to try to solve the problem before the iPhone is launched there on November 29.
Apple has said it will stick with Orange, but more announcements are expected next week.
The 8GB device combines a touch-sensitive mobile phone handset with a built-in iPod media player and a wireless internet browser.
The iPhone is tipped to be the biggest selling Christmas technology gift - despite some criticism of its £269 price tag.
Nik Fletcher was among the fans braving the rain last night as they waited, equipped with sleeping bags, food and chairs.
Nik, from Petersfield in Hampshire said: "People talk about the cult of Mac.
"They have a cult and there is a very loyal following."
Scroll down for more...
iPhone: The vital statistics
The 21-year-old, who works for an Apple Mac development company, said he had already seen the iPhone while in the US.
"I thought it was just the sleekest, easy to use mobile phone I have ever seen," he said.
"It offers this really easy to use, simple, stylish way to make phone calls - so why not."
The iPhone is already up for sale on eBay.co.uk for more than double its official £269 price tag.
Commenting on the launch, Carphone Warehouse CEO Charles Dunstone said: "It is a really important day not just for Apple but actually for the phone industry.
Scroll down for more...
Carphone Warehouse chairman Charles Dunstone with the new iPhone
"I think it will move people's perceptions of what a mobile phone is a long way forward."
He predicted that tomorrow would be the busiest day ever at Carphone Warehouse stores, saying: "It will be the best day we have ever had and our best weekend."
Sales of the iPhone will initially be limited to two products per person.
The iPhone made its US debut in June, where it shifted 1.4 million units within 74 days.
Apple vice president of iPod and iPhone product marketing Greg Joswiak shrugged off reports that hackers would try to unlock the iPhone from the O2 network, saying: "I think the hacking goes just as a testament to how much people desire this."
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, earlier said he wanted 10 million iPhones to be sold globally during 2008.
The new Apple iPhone is a mobile, iPod and is able to search the internet
What the new iPhone offers:
• The iPhone was launched in the US on June 29.
• The iPhone's features include a camera, an MP3 and video player, mobile phone, and internet services such as email, text messaging, web browsing, visual voicemail, and wireless connectivity.
• The iPhone has up to eight hours of talk-time.
• It has six hours of internet use.
• It has seven hours of video playback time.
• The iPhone has a 3.5-inch scratch-resistant screen.
• The iPhone can only be bought in Apple, O2, or Carphone Warehouse stores or on their websites.
• Sales will be limited to two per person.
• The 8GB version costs from £269 in the UK.
• In US stores, the iPhone sells for approximately 399 US dollars (£190).
Reader views (8)
I agree with Rick - I bought one in the states and unlocked it to use here on my network of choice (didn't see why I should commit to such an expensive contract), yes - it looks nice and shiny and its quite radically different than other phones on the market but all in all its pretty disappointing. No picture messages, you can't send texts to more than one person (and can't forward sent messages either - so you have to retype the whole flipping lot), rubbish web browsing capabilities... its not that special really. The best thing about it has been everyone going 'oooh is that an iPhone? Can I have a look at it?' - but now everyone will have one!
- Z, London
I bought an Iphone in the USA and have been hugely disappointed with it. In particular web browsing is painfully slow - old technology has been used.
My advice is to wait for 6 - 12 months until the really slick models become available.
- Rick, Washington DC
Welcome to the social, Europe!
- Lrd, USA
This is a historic event in the history of the telephone. Nobody but Apple can build such a powerful phone for such a low price. It will send all other cell and telemakers back to the drawing boards for decades to come. Apple has the deepest talent of all phone makers and the company itself was founded on phone tricks, so it's good to see that after 30 years Apple is coming back to their true roots.
People that want the most for their money will buy the iPhone every time. Congrats to the buyers waiting in line for this historic event, this is the biggest moment in 20 years for the "phone" in Europe... it will send shock waves though Europe for years to come.
- S11, London
I wholeheartedly agree with Eric Murphy and his comments. All phones will have the same technology within 12/18 months why not just wait until your upgrade comes through? Then your Ipod like phone will come for free. For a company whose followers are forever bleating about Microsoft's restrictive trade practices why are they insisting on the packages being bought with the phone? Even to the point where you have to send the phone off to them in order to renew the battery. (yep you cannot buy a battery except through them) and of course that costs a minimum of £60.00. Harks back to the dark old days of pay as you go when you had to use up your time within a specified time frame then they would literally take away the unspent airtime and there was nothing you could do about it (except of course buy more time).
- Ray, London, England
My Dad always used to say that fools and their money are soon parted... This is probably the most apt example I have ever seen.
- Nick, London
I seem to remember that the fans in New York also camped out in the rain.
- John Lewin, London, UK
I think these must be the stupidest people on the planet. Apple is just a company; the iphone is just a phone. Some people just want to be ripped off, it seems.
- Eric Murphy, London, UK
