Apple has sent out invitations to an event that will take place on September 18th at the Regent Street Apple Store in London, England. Featuring the tag line Mum is no longer the word and a map of how to get to the store, the invitation is light on details of what Apple UK will announce. But my guess is that Apple will announce either the UK release of the iPhone or perhaps even for other European countries such as France and Germany.
If earlier rumours are true, O2 will be announced as the carrier in the UK. Recent statements by O2 CEO, Peter Erskine, while not exactly confirming this, do suggest that such an agreement between O2 and Apple is in place for next week’s announcement. Essentially, Erskine indicated that revenue sharing agreements between Apple and mobile carriers are a good idea. He said, “If sharing revenue brings a bigger pie to the table, then we’ll be happy to share that pie… The revenue-sharing model will play an increasingly important role in the future of converged communications.”
If Apple does not announce iPhones next week, it could well do so at the Apple Expo Paris show the week after. And if it does not announce those iPhones, just what will it be announcing next week?