It’s here at last. After all the hype and the raves from across the Pond, Britain is to be let into the iPhone secret tomorrow, Friday, at 2 minutes past 6pm on the dot.

As forecast here in Syntagma, the contract has gone to former BT-owned — now Telefonica-owned — mobile giant, O2. They seem to have paid through the nose for the privilege.

The 8GB iPhone comes in at a whopping £269 ($565), way above the new lower price in the States. But there’s more to pay : you have to take out an 18-month contract with O2 costing £630 ($1,323). That’s a commitment of $1,888 just to get you into a locked-in deal.

On those terms, you would normally get the handset free. BT is offering a free BlackBerry at under £40 a month — $84. The Vodaphone deal is £5 cheaper still.

So are we Brits going to buy this? A couple of weeks ago I wrote that we have a new Apple store opening here in Exeter, the capital of distant Devon. Here’s how it looked yesterday :

I doubt they’re going to get that open by tomorrow. And even so, my instinct is that we’re not going to pay a Spanish telco that kind of money for gimmicky technology that just does what can be got elsewhere at a fraction of the price.

My brilliant Sony Ericsson does the MP3 bit, has the same camera, logs on to the internet and even takes phone calls. The only thing missing is the touch screen.

Am I going to pay nearly $2000 for a touch screen? Do I have to answer that?

It’s also known to be slow accessing the internet (no 3G yet) and has to be sent back to change the battery. Yikes, talk about built-in obsolescence.

Message to Steve Jobs — Apple CEO
Steve, it may be a great piece of kit, but it’s a novelty product that will appeal to a small audience here with more money than sense.

Those of us who like a bit of bang for our buck will avoid this pretty bauble. You should not have asked for such a large slice of the action from O2, and they should not have premiumed up the device so far.

I’m afraid this is going to be one massive turkey here in the UK.

I want to wrap up this summer’s series of Photowalking* around Exeter in England with one photo. It represents a cautionary tale.

First, as a preface to the pic, here are two shots I took earlier in the season. This one shows a part of our brand new chill-out and shopping zone, Princesshay, which is set to open in October :

Princesshay in April

The second is one of the best views in Exeter. It’s taken in the Cathedral Close and shows the Elizabethan buildings at one end.

The Close in April

Fast forward to this week in mid-September and here’s how it looks now :

The Close in September

Actually, if I had stepped back 50 feet or so, the intrusive new skyline would be even worse.

My point? If the planners and architects had been a little more perceptive, they could have lowered the new build by just a yard or two and that historic aspect could have been preserved for posterity.

The new building is, of course, our exceptional new Princesshay, which is really spectacular and state of the art.

People say you can’t have everything, but in this case, I can’t help thinking we could have had both.

* See the Flickr link in the sidebar for the full set.

Updated

I took the opportunity of great weather today to down tools and grab the camera for another photowalking session in my “Summer in Exeter” (Devon, England) series. I really am doing the 4-hour workweek this August — and why not.

The series can be seen in full by clicking on the Flickr logo in the sidebar.

The Exe Valley running through the heart of Exeter

This is taken from the centre of the city and shows the Exe Valley which runs through it. The great thing about Exeter is that you’re never far from country and farmland wherever you’re situated. You can see the 18th-century streets leading to the River Exe, which runs from right to left down the valley — unsighted in the picture.

These Georgian cottages (below) are in the street shown directly ahead in the pic above. If you were to remove the plastic rubbish bags and the overhead cables, you could film a Jane Austen novel here. Mind you, you’d have to lay a dirt surface across the street as they didn’t have metalled roads in those days. Takes you back though, doesn’t it?

Cottages from Jane Austen’s day — slightly gentrified

Going forward — across the other side of the street are the offices of a media company in another old building. I love the combination of modern knowledge-based companies housed in 18th-century surroundings. They are so complementary they could have been made for each other. You may then get some idea of where the new Syntagma Towers is going to be situated.

This is the end of the street where Georgian meets Victoriana. It’s so quaint here you almost expect to see Charles Dickens in a stove-pipe hat coming around the corner. There’s an office to let right ahead across the road, but it’s far too small for the industrial needs of Syntagma Media. Very pleasant spot for an internet business, though.

18th century meets Victoriana in the centre of Exeter

Below, and just around the corner from the cottages, is the Old Priory, which is 900 years old. That means it was built around 1107. Next to it, out of shot, is the Old Mint, where Exeter’s coinage was made. Strange to think the Government in London had nothing to do with such important stuff in those days — except collecting taxes in the coinage, of course.

The Old Priory and Mint, around 900 years old

But 900 years is a long time for a building to stand and remain so sturdy. It really doesn’t look a day over 850.

Lastly, a wonderful French-style office building with Exeter Cathedral behind. Now that really would make a great Syntagma Towers. We’d have to borrow the Cathedral towers, of course.

French-style office building with the Cathedral towering behind

The rain has partially abated giving us a brief glimpse of that big, yellow ball in the sky, whose name temporarily escapes me. Time for Photowalking again.

You know it’s summer in East Devon when the Red Indians arrive. That’s right, Red Indians. Or should I say “Native Americans”? Nah, when I hear John Wayne say it instead of “Injuns”, I’ll follow suit. Promise.

Before you say they’re really Sid and Bert from Clapham, just look at that rawhide skin. You don’t get a tan like that in South London.

You also know it’s summer in Exeter, when this :

… sprouts this :

The mobile Northcott Theatre arrives like clockwork every July. I notice they’ve covered it up this year. Given the liquidity of this year’s warm patch, that could be a very good idea.

So, what goodies have they got lined up for us?

Yes, Macbeth … sorry, “the Scottish play” — there’s a curse on the name, apparently. And Cider with Rosie, that old favourite of lecherous topers everywhere.

I’ll give the Mac… Scottish play … a miss, I think, after a trauma I received when young watching Laurence Olivier in a production at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. At a crucial moment, the great man stumbled and almost fell flat on his face. Well, it was the Scottish play!

A quick look at Princesshay, our state of the art shopping centre, set to open in October. Looking good, Princess!

So there you have it, Devon after the Deluge. Normal photowalking resumes next week.