iPhone 4 UK Pricing Revealed

Apple today announced UK pricing for its iPhone 4, and the black version of the handset is now available for pre-order on the company’s website. The 16GB model will cost £499, and the 32GB model costs £599. The white version is not currently available for pre-order.

British network operators have not officially announced pricing tariffs for the Apple handset, but Vodafone’s tariffs were briefly leaked on the operator’s website yesterday. According to the leak, Vodafone customers signing up for a two-year contract at £45 per month will be entitled to a free 16GB iPhone and, with a £60 per month contract, the 32GB model will also be free.

However, customers signing up to the more standard £25-a-month tariff on a two-year contract will have to buy their iPhones for £189 or £280 respectively. Vodafone has denied the accuracy of the leak, describing the leaked page as a “test website”.

All UK operators on board

Last week, network operator 3 completed the list of major UK mobile operators that will offer Apple’s iPhone 4 after it launches on 24 June. The iPhone 4 will also be available from Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U.

Apple boss Steve Jobs launched the iPhone 4 on 7 June at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. New features include a larger battery, a thinner body, a proprietary A4 processor under the hood, a front-facing camera for video conferencing, and a 5-megapixel camera paired with a rear illuminated sensor.

“This is beyond doubt one of the most precise, beautiful things we’ve ever done,” said Jobs at the event, describing the device as “the biggest leap since the original iPhone”.

Apple is expecting strong sales of the device, particularly after its iPad tablet sold more than 2 million units in the 60 days following its launch. Latest estimates from Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall show Apple selling 10 million iPads worldwide by the end of 2010.

Networks struggle under bandwidth strain

However, it seems that UK network operators could be struggling under the strain caused by the increasing use of smartphones. Last week O2 announced it was scrapping its “all-you-can-eat” unlimited data plan, in order to better manage the effects of bandwidth-hungry smartphones that are threatening to overwhelm its network.

O2’s smartphone tariffs will now range from £25 per month, for 500MB of data, to £60 per month for 1GB. (Prices are for 2-year contracts). New and upgrading customers will continue to receive unlimited data as a promotion until 1 October, but from that date they will have to buy additional data “bolt ons”.

Upset users are reportedly planning a protest, called O2 Data Day, scheduled for 24 June (when iPhone 4 is due to launch). Apparently, organisers are encouraging O2 customers to consume all of their mobile data allowance on that day, to show how angry they are at the change.

“The general feeling on the whole matter is that O2 have been both hasty and unthoughtful in their decision to introduce a cap onto their data plans,” said Arron Hirst, one of the main backers of the protest, speaking to TNW UK. “While customers understand the network is buckling under the amount of users using data on the network, it begs the question why O2 can’t simply upgrade their networks to counterbalance demand.”