Tuesday, September 18, 2012

iPhone 5 release date: when will you get it?

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iPhone 5 release date: when will you get it?

iPhone 5: when will you get it?

The new iPhone 5 has been launched, but that's only half the story - you want to know when and where you can get your iPaws all over the handset.

Well, the iPhone 5 launch date has been set for September 21, and pre-ordering begins on September 14.

We've spoken to all the networks to find out which will be stocking the new iPhone, and if it will feature any fancy new features we may not have seen.

Update: The networks have announced their first wave of iPhone 5 tariffs now pre-orders are up an running - which one takes your fancy?

EE, Orange and T-Mobile

EE happily announced: "EE will launch an exclusive 4G LTE version of the new iPhone when the EE customer brand launches in the coming weeks, giving customers five times faster network speeds than on 3G.

"Our Orange and T-Mobile customers will also be able to get hold of the iPhone 5 with the biggest and best network and the fastest possible 3G network speeds."

Update: Orange and T-Mobile have announced their tariffs for the iPhone 5, but we're yet to see any information regarding the 4G EE plans - expected to be announced closer to the time the network goes online.

If you fancy getting in on the 4G action, EE will make it easy for you to upgrade your iPhone 5 plan from Orange or T-Mobile without an additional charge - as long as you pick a tariff at an equivalent or higher price.

The T-Mobile and Orange tariffs both start at £36 per month (on a 24 month contract), both offering unlimited texts, with T-Mobile's "Full Monty" giving you 2000 minutes and unlimited data, while Orange's "The Works" flips is around with unlimited calls and 1GB of data - T-Mobile wins this battle in our eyes.

Of course you will have to shell out for the handset as well at this price: £109 for 16GB, 219 for 32GB or £269 at 64GB.

If you're a little more flush then both networks offer £41, £46 and £51/£61 per month tariffs, which reduces the cost of the handset upfront and gives you more allowances.

Vodafone

Surprise, surprise Vodafone will be stocking the iPhone 5 in all its capacity (16GB, 32GB, 64GB) and colour (black and white) options - shocker we know - and interestingly the big red has it available on 12 and 24 month pay monthly plans.

In terms of 24 month contracts, its "flagship" (and most expensive) tariff is the £47 per month Red Data plan, giving you a free 16GB iPhone 5, unlimited calls and texts, plus 2GB of internet, which Vodafone has confirmed will cover you for Facetime over 3G.

You can pay as little as £33 per month over two years, but that will only get you 600 minutes, unlimited texts and a paltry 500MB of data, plus you'll need to shell out £149 for the 16GB iPhone 5.

There's also a 24 month plan for £25 per month, but this doesn't include Facetime over 3G in the 100MB of internet you get, plus you will need to fork out big money for the handset.

Opt for a 12 month plan and you'll be paying an eye-wateringly high price for your shorter contract, with Vodafone demanding as much as £349 if you plump for the 16GB iPhone at £36 per month.

O2

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O2 seems to have been a little slow of the mark with its iPhone 5 pre-order page, showing off the tariffs it has available, all of which offer unlimited texts and calls plus 1GB of data, but at varying prices.

As the allowance is the same at each price band, which starts at £26 per month and raises all the way to £63, we expect some heavily subsidised iPhones to go with them, however O2 is yet to release its handset prices.

Update: O2 has finally got its act together and put it's pre-order page up on its website - about time too.

If you fancy the 16GB iPhone 5, then you'll need to fork out £249.99 on a £26 per month contract, £99 at £36 per month and if you're prepared to pay £46 each month, you'll get it for free.

O2 will also be offering the new iPhone 5 on its Pay & Go Go Go plan with 75 minutes, 500 texts and 100MB of data: £10 a month, then every 3 months your tariff gets better and better. After 3 months everything doubles, except the price. And after 9 months you get unlimited texts.

Once again O2 has failed to provide us with handset prices for its PAYG deal – so watch this space.

"We're celebrating the fifth year of working with Apple in style," said Ronan Dunne, Chief Executive of O2 in the UK. "We're looking forward to bringing the new iPhone 5 to everyone very soon, whether they're already on O2 or not."

Three

Three took to Facebook to make its announcement - as you might expect it's got a lovely fresh tone:

"Heard the rumours about a brand new iPhone? They're only bloomin' true! We're excited to confirm that the new iPhone 5 will be available for pre-order on Three from Friday 14th September. Register here for updates http://bit.ly/QQw0it."

Three is keeping things simple, just two 24 month contracts to choose from, the unlimited internet 500 tariff which gives you 500 minutes, 5,000 texts and unlimited data, and The One Plan offering up 2,000 minutes plus 5,000 Three to Three minutes, 5,000 texts and all-you-can-eat data for any extra £2 per month.

Excitingly Three is charging a relative pittance for the handset upfront, asking for just £79 for the 16GB iPhone 5 – the 32GB will set you back £89, while you'll need £109 the 64GB.

It will also be available as PAYG, according to Apple's store.

Virgin Mobile

The Branson-powered network doesn't always have the best track record at bringing its customers the new iPhone, so we'll wait with bated breath to see if it will buck that trend in 2012.

Tesco Mobile

Yep, you read that right, super-mega-food-store-giant Tesco is getting in on the iPhone 5 game, offering up Apple's latest blower on a range of contracts.

The iPhone 5 will only be available on Pay monthly initially, but Tesco plans to release Pay as you go deals at a later date.

There's a range of 12 and 24 month contracts to choose from, starting from £25 per month, all the way up to £45 - however there's no option to get a free handset, and all contracts come with a standard 1GB of data.

Taking a look at the 16GB iPhone 5, the £25 per month contract will need you to stump up £300 for the handset and will give you 1,500 minutes and 5,000 texts - plus the 1GB of data - over two years.

A word of warning though, Tesco Mobile isn't offering a pre-order option, just a stock availability sign up - so you'll need to keep an eye out for a text saying units have arrived.

Phones 4U / The Carphone Warehouse

We've not heard a peep from TCW, but Phones 4U has confirmed to TechRadar that it will be stocking the iPhone 5 (shocker), but cannot give any further details at this stage. Keep one eye fixed to its 'Coming Soon' page if you want to find out more.

Update: Carphone Warehouse now has its iPhone 5 pre-order page live on its website, where you can get the sixth generation of Apple smartphone SIM-free or on contract, with O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone tariffs available to pick.

Update: Phones4U also has its iPhone 5 pre-order page up, but it looks like you can only pick it up on contract here, with the same four networks available to choose from.

iPhone 5 pre-orders
TechRadar has joined forces with uSwitch to bring all the latest iPhone 5 pre-order deals from all the UK networks right to your inbox. Sign up here.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-5-release-date-when-will-you-get-it-1096687

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