iPhone UK Launch and 3G iPhone Plans

MacWorld.co.uk points to to a Telegraph interview with O2's chief executive Matthew Key who provides some details on how O2 became Apple's iPhone partner in the UK. After meeting with Steve Jobs in Cupertino, Key had come to a decision:

''When we left two hours later, I said to Cesar, 'that's a device I've got to offer. In the UK market, where the top four networks have pretty much equal shares, it offers a great way for me to get a hell of a lot of high-value customers on to O2 and drive up data usage [to help offset pressure on voice call revenues]'."

According to FT.com, Key expects "a couple of hundred thousand" iPhones to be sold in the first two months in the UK. FT.com also claims that the 3G version of the iPhone is due in the second half of next year, though the exact source is not cited. Regardless, Key appears confident that O2 would also get rights to the 3G iPhone when it arrives.

The iPhone will be launching in the UK on Friday, November 9th.