Report: iPhone 3G price gap between Ireland and the UK
08/06/08 16:38
Not quite the deal we hoped for...
The details of the tariffs for the new iPhone 3G are now out and they make unpleasant reading for Irish customers. Looking at the figures, most of the costs are significantly higher for Ireland than for our UK neighbours. First, the good news:
1/ many of the details for Ireland have remained the same in the switch to the iPhone 3G- same tariffs plans, same monthly charge, same texts and inclusive minutes, and same charges for addition voice and text calls. No increased data costs in the move to 3G.
2/ O2 Ireland have announced a deal to offer Wi-Fi access to iPhone customers through the Bitbuzz network.
However, here is the bad news:
1/ there is no option which will give you a free iPhone. In the UK, three of the eight bundles offer a free iPhone. The worst example of this is the 100 euro per month 16GB iPhone package with O2 Ireland. Having already committed yourself to this 100 euro per month, signing up for a minimum of 18 months, you have to pay a further 129 euro for the handset.
2/ there is a huge difference in inclusive minutes between Ireland and the UK [see details below].
3/ inclusive text messages are also much smaller- half that of the UK in some cases [see details below].
4/ the data bundles are still capped at 1GB- a move which we believe is completely contrary to the principle of the iPhone We also think this is unnecessary as the proportion of users going above cap this would be quite small. It just seems small-minded to impose this limit. The "i" in iPhone represents "internet", and restricting the data bundle undermines this idea.
5/ where on earth is visual voicemail? There is no mention of this on the O2 Ireland site. Given that this was absent in the first version of the iPhone, we assume this hasn't changed and is still unavailable, a major flaw in the O2 Ireland offering. This is made worse by the per minute charge for listening to your voice messages.
6/ lastly we note the comment on the O2 Ireland site: "If you attempt to unlock iPhone and use it on another network, it may become permanently unusable." We have no idea yet if this is true or not, but it is an obvious shot across the bow of those looking to unlock an iPhone 3G.
More details are available from Apple Store for Ireland or the Apple Store for the UK and you can check out our iPhone page here. O2 Ireland also have an iPhone page.
Simon Spence/2008
The details of the tariffs for the new iPhone 3G are now out and they make unpleasant reading for Irish customers. Looking at the figures, most of the costs are significantly higher for Ireland than for our UK neighbours. First, the good news:
1/ many of the details for Ireland have remained the same in the switch to the iPhone 3G- same tariffs plans, same monthly charge, same texts and inclusive minutes, and same charges for addition voice and text calls. No increased data costs in the move to 3G.
2/ O2 Ireland have announced a deal to offer Wi-Fi access to iPhone customers through the Bitbuzz network.
However, here is the bad news:
1/ there is no option which will give you a free iPhone. In the UK, three of the eight bundles offer a free iPhone. The worst example of this is the 100 euro per month 16GB iPhone package with O2 Ireland. Having already committed yourself to this 100 euro per month, signing up for a minimum of 18 months, you have to pay a further 129 euro for the handset.
2/ there is a huge difference in inclusive minutes between Ireland and the UK [see details below].
3/ inclusive text messages are also much smaller- half that of the UK in some cases [see details below].
4/ the data bundles are still capped at 1GB- a move which we believe is completely contrary to the principle of the iPhone We also think this is unnecessary as the proportion of users going above cap this would be quite small. It just seems small-minded to impose this limit. The "i" in iPhone represents "internet", and restricting the data bundle undermines this idea.
5/ where on earth is visual voicemail? There is no mention of this on the O2 Ireland site. Given that this was absent in the first version of the iPhone, we assume this hasn't changed and is still unavailable, a major flaw in the O2 Ireland offering. This is made worse by the per minute charge for listening to your voice messages.
6/ lastly we note the comment on the O2 Ireland site: "If you attempt to unlock iPhone and use it on another network, it may become permanently unusable." We have no idea yet if this is true or not, but it is an obvious shot across the bow of those looking to unlock an iPhone 3G.
More details are available from Apple Store for Ireland or the Apple Store for the UK and you can check out our iPhone page here. O2 Ireland also have an iPhone page.
Simon Spence/2008
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