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.
Comments
Latest comments
November 02 15:32
A
emcken : its only the cheapo tariff (which nobody wants!) that has different mins and texts
November 02 15:35
Wazzle
Waited all this time for Orange to tell us teh deal and its rubbish. very disappointed.... sorry orange I aint gonna get your Iphone..
November 02 18:46
Chris
The problem is, the iPhone is a desirable accessory with sales figures that have weathered the recession.
It's not in the interests of the phone companies to start under cutting one another and thus driving the price down.
I imagine there will be enough demand for all of the networks to cash in at the present prices!
November 04 12:40
Lee Holmes
from what I understand it Apple that set the prices for the phone and leave little room for discount. I've wanted on of these for ages but didn't want to change network as I've been with orange for 10 years no and have never had a problem with them. I paid £87 for the handset and the monthly charge is waht I'm paying already for my Blackberry Curve 8900. The only thing that shocked me was the insurance is now £12 per month. I know its only an extra £6 to what I was paying but it still made my heart stop. I can't wait to get it and I hope its as good as I think it is as I've used other peoples in the office. As for the insurance I may find another way of insuring it other than orange but its not the end of the world.