New iPhone 3GS goes on UK pre-order
Mobiles.co.uk beats all the other providers to the punch
The new iPhone 3GS is set to be delivered into the hands of UK users on the day of release after an online retailer began pre-orders.
Mobiles.co.uk is offering the phone on O2 contracts (obviously) from free for the 16GB version (on a 24 month tariff) to £274.23 for the 32GB iPhone 3GS on an 18 month deal.
The site has also promised that the phones will be dispatched on 18 June, but we assume that means they'll arrive bright and early the next day, as Apple won't let early iPhone 3GS's slip into the hands of consumers.
No rivals as yet
The Carphone Warehouse has said that it will be offering pre-orders as well, although it hasn't managed to do so at the time of publishing.
Not that it will matter in the grand scheme of online retailing, as The Carphone Warehouse actually owns Mobiles.co.uk anyway.
However, those of you that aren't comfortable using a third party retailer to pre-order will be slightly disappointed as O2 has confirmed to TechRadar that it won't be offering the iPhone 3GS on pre-order:
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"Due to the short turnaround between announcement and the actual devices being on sale, we won't be offering any pre-order capability."
So expect long queues and tired eyes on the 19 June outside O2 stores up and down the country, although it will surely only be those that haven't currently got the iPhone 3G as upgrading is out of the question.
Via Pocket-lint and Mobiles.co.uk
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.