Apple launches iPhone in Britain

LONDON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Apple Inc. said Tuesday it would introduce its multimedia, Web-enabled iPhone in Britain in time to cash in on the Christmas shopping period.

The phone, sold in conjunction with the British unit of cell-phone giant Telefonica O2 Europe PLC, is to go on sale Nov. 9 for $537, including value-added tax, Apple said.

O2 has nearly 18 million British subscribers.

The phone will be sold at Apple and O2 stores and through Carphone Warehouse PLC shops, Apple said.

Apple's exclusive revenue-sharing deal with O2 is similar to the deal it struck with U.S. phone operator AT&T Inc.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said Britain's iPhone price was higher than the U.S.'s $399 because of different tax structures and higher British trading costs.

Apple recently slashed the price of the U.S. iPhone by a third.

O2 Britain Chief Executive Matthew Key said internal research showed 80 percent of O2's "high-value customers" wanted an iPhone.