Apple Iphone 5 preorders are go

MOBILE OPERATORS in the UK started taking preorders for the Apple Iphone 5 today, shortly after Apple started selling the device.

For those after a SIM free Iphone, Apple's online store opened its doors at 8am this morning. Buyers could pick out the 16GB, 32GB or 64GB model, which cost £529, £599 and £699, respectively. The Iphone 5 is available for preorder in both "black and slate" and "white and silver", with both models still promised to ship on 21 September.

EE became the first UK operator to start selling the Iphone 5, sort of. The UK's first 4G network is telling buyers that they will first need to buy the handset through Orange and T-Mobile before upgrading to its "superfast" network.

Over on the Orange website, you can pick up the Iphone 5 on a £36 contract, complete with unlimited calls, unlimited texts and 1GB of mobile internet data. You'll also have to hand-over an upfront cost, with the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models costing £109.99, £219.99 and £269.99, respectively.

T-Mobile's pricing is pretty similar. It's offering the Iphone 5 on its "unlimited" Full Monty price plan which comes with 2,000 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet data. This also costs £36 a month, with the same upfront charges as its EE partner.

It's likely that users will have to upgrade to a more expensive contract to take advantage of EE's 4G LTE speeds, but the mobile network is yet to confirm details.

Vodafone also has tariffs for the Iphone 5. Customers can get a free handset on a £47 a month contract, including unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of internet data. Alternative, you can opt for a cheaper £37 a month tariff with a lesser 1GB of internet data, but you'll have to hand over £99 for the Iphone 5 upfront.

Three has started taking pre-orders too, and its tariffs are typically impressive. For £34 a month and a £79 upfront charge, users can get a 'free' Iphone 5 complete with 500 minutes, 5,000 texts and all-you-can-eat data.

We're still waiting for O2 to reveal its pricing, but will update this article as soon as it does.

Update
It looks like the Iphone 5 has already sold out, as Apple has pushed shipping back to "two weeks". µ