Orange iPhone pricing disappoints

Orange will launch the iPhone in the UK on 10 November but for roughly the same cost as O2 currently offers.

This is massively disappointing - many people who have wanted one of these iconic devices but have been unable to afford one will see it as a slap in the face.

Those who already own one but are being crippled by the 30 per month minimum charge, exclusive of the price of insurance, may have hoped as I did to swap networks in order to get a better deal.

It was thought that competition in the iPhone market would lead to lower prices but this isn't the case at all. In fact, the pricing is incredibly similar between O2 and Orange.

For example, if you were to choose a 18-month contract at the lowest tariff for a 16GB iPhone on O2 you would pay 184.98 for the handset, and pay 29.38 per month. Total cost: 713.82.

A 16GB iPhone on an 18-month contract at the lowest tariff on Orange would be 184.50 for the handset, and a monthly charge of 29.36. The total: 712.98. A saving of 84p.

The only significant differences between these two packages is that Orange offers you twice as many texts and minutes per month as O2, but O2 offers unlimited data over 3G networks, whereas Orange caps you at 750MB per month.

So I'm holding out hope that Vodafone, when it begins stocking the iPhone next year, will offer a more compelling deal - but I'm not going to hold my breath.