Infinite Loop / The Apple Ecosystem

O2 may let users pick iPhone plans in advance to cut lines

Users looking to buy the iPhone 3G in the UK may be able to complete credit …

UK carrier O2 has already been pimping the iPhone 3G pretty hard following the announcement of the device, and has allowed customers to preregister their interest in getting their hands on the new iPhone when it arrives. Interest in the device seems to be fairly high, leading some people to worry that high demand and the new activation procedure will lead to long lines. But, according to one MacRumors forum post, O2 may have come up with a solution to long launch lines: allowing users to set up their contracts before the new iPhone launches.

The program is expected to debut on July 1 and will let customers interested in the iPhone 3G set up their contracts before the actual launch day. Basically, customers will visit a store, pick a plan, and get all the credit checks and paperwork out of the way. The contracts won't actually be activated until the user buys an iPhone and gives the salesperson his or her registration code, though. With all of the tedious stuff out of the way, buying the new iPhone should take significantly less time, hopefully leading to O2 moving more iPhones on launch day.

The representative also said that each O2 store will be receiving 5,000 iPhone 3G units for the launch. If true, I doubt any store will sell out (unless they can sell an iPhone 3G every few seconds). The MacRumors poster says that O2 will be very strict about requiring contracts with each iPhone 3G that is purchased, so UK buyers looking to unlock the new device may have a bit of a hard time.

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