iphone prices slashed

Mobile phone retailers have announced that the price of the iPhone is to be slashed for the next month.

This means cuts of around £100 for the much-hyped device.

The Carphone Warehouse and mobile phone operator O2 said they would sell the 8GB iPhone for £169 until June 1.

This is a cut of more than a third of the gadget's original price within five months of its much-anticipated launch.

But Apple stores will continue to sell the 8GB phone for £269.

So has it been a runaway success? Clearly slashing the price soon after launch has nothing whatsoever to do with disappointing sales, say the shops.

In fact O2 today described it as their fastest selling device. But they don't qualify the statement - so it might have been the fastest selling ever on launch day, for example.

After all, anyone waiting in anticipation for the launch would probably have bought it immediately. Also consider that in your average 02 shop there must be 30 phones on sale at any one time - so a standout product like the iphone would be expected to perhaps out perform other mobiles which have many rivals.

I certainly wouldn't be surprised that people haven't been flocking to buy a device for £269 with a minimum £35 monthly contract, data limits and functions that most people wouldn't ever use.