[GSMarena]
It seems that the pick-in-store-only rule has been cancelled in UK, as O2 announced online pre-ordering for the iPhone3G. As of today, July 7th, O2 UK starts accepting pre-orders for the highly-awaited device, which will be officially released on the July 11th.
Currently, the O2 online store is not yet fully operational, but some big banners indicate the general conditions about the iPhone online ordering. Users can choose a tariff online during the ordering process, sign the 18-month contract online and a courier will deliver the device at their address for free as soon as the iPhone 3G becomes available. Oh, there's one more thing - only one iPhone 3G per order, please.
User who opt for this online option, will have to activate the iPhone by themselves by connecting online via iTunes on their personal computers - think the first-gen iPhone way.
We remind you that the O2 special iPhone tariffs start from 30 GBP a month with the iPhone 3G priced at 99 GBP for the 8GB variety and 159 GBP for the 16GB one. If you pick the 45 GBP tariff, you'll get the 8GB one for free, while getting the 16GB one for free requires that you sign up for the 75 GBP monthly tariff.
Some interesting news is that O2 will only offer black 3G iPhones - not that anyone should seriously consider the white one if you ask us.