|
|
O2 discounts iPhone tariffs
Author: Gareth HalfacreePublished: 30th January 2008
O2 is hoping the discounted tariffs will tempt people into purchasing the iPhone handset.
The expensive gadget is currently only available on a 200 cross-network minute and 200 text messages contract for an eye-watering £35 per month, but the new pricing will increase that to 600 minutes and 500 messages for the same price.
If you're a heavy user and are on the £55-a-month tariff you'll find a yourself a tenner better off each month from February onwards as the mid-range package drops to £45. Finally, the wallet-melting £75 a month tariff offers 3,000 minutes for the chatterboxes out there, but strangely keeps the rather miserly 500 messages of the lower brackets.
Americans reading this will probably be confused at the low figures offered for 'airtime', so an explanation is in order: in the UK it's a seller-pays system for calling mobile phones, and the recipient of the call doesn't have to spend any of their inclusive minutes on anything except outgoing calls.
Another inclusion is a cap for data transfer via the device: although users will still pay a per-kilobyte charge for data downloaded on the phone, this is now capped at £1 a day in a move not at all reminiscent of rival operator T-Mobile's Web-n-Walk package.
O2 is clearly hoping that shaving the cost of ownership will help boost sales of the device, which is currently perceived in the UK as being just too damn expensive no matter how smart an interface it has. The company is probably also hoping to stem the tide of unlocking: it's estimated that one million iPhone handsets have been hacked to operate outside the mandatory contract.
Sadly, although the iPhone/O2 contract may be becoming more reasonable, there is still no sign in the purchase price of the handset itself being dropped. I guess I'll be sticking with my Toshiba for a while longer then.
Tempted into Apple's clutches by the improved contract, or is it too little too late? Let us know your thoughts over in the forums.
Related articles on bit-tech.net
Comments (14)
Stats: 0.071 seconds
That and data is STILL too expensive, they should do it like Three on my Pay-as-you-go, £5 a month for "unlimited" net usage, though I don't know exactly what that amounts to, its still quite enough for most people to check email and search on the internet for stuff.
...but the question is: will it blend?
Yikes!
Mind you, I personally think you have to be stark raving mad to consider joining the O2 network in the first place. In my opinion, the networks rank as follows in the UK :
Worst netowrk list ! :
1. O2 (Ouch at every point - shocking value, customer service [based on experience] is horrific. Really poor value Tarriffs)
2. Vodafone (Moderately Ouch but good phone selection and best coverage. Tarriffs have improved recently.)
3. Orange (Reasonable but shoddy customer service and not the best phones. Tarriffs reasonable.Average Coverage)
4. TMobile (Best Tarrifs by far for flexibility but poor phone selection and coverage. Average Customer Service)
5. 3(Three) Network. (Cheapest Tarrifs, but unreliable in most areas)
Personally I went with Vodafone, but would consider Orange/TMobile as well next time. The only one I havent been with is 3(Three) but everyone I know who has will never again LOL !
I really would like an iPhone, but NEVER on O2, and not for that price !
i feel thousands of apple fans shivering and crying......
they discovered a way to make the battery user changable:D
No 18 month commitment, but you still have your iPhone
I think you will find that they are not '"free" your still paying £35+ a month for a tiny amount of minuets and texts :P
exactly what i thought, too.
First step was to introduce "sim-only" tariffs - Check!
Second offer unlocked handsets for 45% over cost - implemented at CPW and P4U already
Paying for your phone is just around the corner,
go on get one you know you really want too :)