o2

Price apparently was an object for U.K. iPhone shoppers.

The decision by U.K. carrier O2 to cut the price of the 8GB iPhone prompted shoppers to exhaust stocks of that model at O2's Web site and at Carphone Warehouse, an authorized iPhone reseller. Pocket-Lint confirmed with Carphone Warehouse that the 8GB models are kaput, and O2 told the site that while online stocks of the 8GB model are gone, retail stocks are dwindling fast.

It was only a week ago that O2 cut the price of the 8GB model from 269 British pounds ($533) to 169 British … Read more

After introducing its cell phones to North America at the 2006 CTIA show, Alcatel has remained silent on exactly when its handsets would arrive here. But this weekend Locus Telecommunications and O2 Wireless announced they were adding the Alcatel OT-E206A and the OT-ET227A Alcatel to O2's lineup. MVNO O2 is the first wireless operator in the United States to offer Alcatel handsets.

The GSM OT-E206A is a black candy bar phone. Its features are limited to text messaging, polyphonic ringtones, games, a 250-contact phone book and a 65,000-color display. The GSM OT-ET227A is equally simple. It sports a … Read more

Steep price cuts to the iPhone in Europe are a sign that carriers overestimated demand for Apple's first smartphone, according to a report.

O2, the iPhone's U.K. carrier, and T-Mobile, its German carrier, both cut the price of the iPhone by a significant margin this week, in a move seen by many as a prelude to the debut of a 3G iPhone within the next couple of months.

Before the 3G iPhone arrives, carriers will need to clear their shelves of the current EDGE model, which will look pedestrian next to the faster model. An O2 representative … Read more

Allergy season has already arrived in many places, as you might have sensed from the preponderance of red-eyed colleagues even before St. Patrick's Day arrived. And the onslaught of killer pollen might leave many wishing that they had their own oxygen supply.

O2 Innovations, however, is making this purported state of bliss a bit more accessible with the "O2B," which Chip Chick describes as a portable oxygen bar. The device still isn't cheap at $659 on Amazon, but that's still nearly half the cost of the "O2hi Personal Oxygen Machine" we saw last … Read more

U.K. phone network O2 announced today that it has partnered exclusively with online music vendor Napster to provide a la carte, over-the-air music downloads to O2 customers, direct to their mobile phones. Napster's entire 5 million-track catalog will be available for download from this weekend and includes listings from every major record label.

While many O2 customers enjoy free handsets, those who spent the 269-pound premium (about $545) to buy the O2-exclusive iPhone will not be able to use this service, however. U.K. Apple devotees will have to wait for over-the-air music downloads.

Songs will be accessed … Read more

As a longtime Led Zeppelin fan, I was excited to tune into last night's reunion show in London. Strangely, the show wasn't broadcast anywhere--not even on LedZeppelin.com. Surely somebody could have sold some advertising for such a popular event, and if the promoters objected, they could have donated the proceeds to the Ahmet Ertegun Educational Fund (where funds from ticket sales went).

Fortunately, that's what YouTube is for. Unfortunately, as quickly as fans post their videos (taken on cellphones?) on YouTube, Warner Music Group asks for them to be taken down.

This is completely incomprehensible to … Read more

Editor's note: This story initially incorrectly reported the discount that a German iPhone customer could receive by crossing the border and purchasing a unit in France. It's 250 euros.

Apple's learning fairly quickly that Europe is a very different place, especially when it comes to mobile phones.

The iPhone went on sale Wednesday through wireless carrier Orange in France, marking the third European country to carry the phone within its borders. The launch also marked the debut of the third pricing strategy for the iPhone in the three countries: France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

It appears … Read more

With Apple announcing its entry into the European cell phone market on Tuesday on the back of O2, the United Kingdom has officially rejoiced at the possibility of having the iPhone that Americans have been coveting for so long.

But amid the excitement and hype, everyone seemed to gloss over one important fact from yesterday's announcement: Apple's iPhone business model is second to none, and Steve Jobs really is smarter than the rest of the world.

The new deal with O2 highlighted two interesting points: first off, O2, much like AT&T, is more than happy to share revenue with Apple. Secondly, it displayed the naivete of O2 to actually believe that Apple will stand by it through thick and thin. Hasn't O2 watched any of the iPhone-unlocking news hitting the wire in the past few weeks? Steve Jobs doesn't care about O2; he only cares about profits. And with this new deal, Great Britain may become the best profit center Apple has ever seen.… Read more

Apple announced its first iPhone deal outside of the U.S. this morning, and might have made its second big mistake in the early days of its iPhone strategy.

The company announced an iPhone partnership Tuesday morning in London with U.K. carrier O2. CEO Steve Jobs made an appearance at the Regent Street Apple store to answer questions from the British press, who were curious as to why Apple decided to introduce the same EDGE phone that's on sale in the U.S. to the U.K. market.

Engadget's live blog reported that Jobs is still concerned … Read more