In order to set up and use their brand new iPhone on 29 June, customers have been told by Apple that they will need an iTunes login.
In an email sent out to eager iPhone customers in the US yesterday, among other recommendations it was stated that “in order to set up iPhone, you need to have an iTunes account”.
It is not known whether the same stipulation will apply when the iPhone launches in Europe but this will most likely be the case.
An iTunes account cannot be set up without a credit card, so aside from the US$499 or US$599 pricetag for the 4GB and 8GB models respectively, this rules kids and teenagers further out of the iPhone market.
This is presumably designed to boost Apple’s iTunes usage and sales, seeing as how iTunes itself needs to be downloaded before an account can be created.
Apple also reminded potential customers that the iPhone works with popular email system including Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL, and Mac Mail. It also syncs with Outlook, Outlook Express and Yahoo! contacts to transfer your contacts database.
By Marie Boran