Help me decide whether to get my wife an iPhone for Xmas!

[ndenbow]

Hi All,

I'm currently sitting on the fence on this one, and I suppose you would have to know her a bit in order to decide the 'cons'. This is probably more of a moral dialemma than a straightforward 'will she / won't she use it' arguament.

Basically we have two year old twin boys and over the past two years she has hardly spent any money on herself. She also works 4 days per week and has a company mobile that she does not pay for calls and texts. So if I buy her an iPhone it will be the PAYG 16GB £440 job and used for 3G data.

Pro's : She loves our iMac and is generally becomming an Apple lover. She has a classic iPod and thinks it's great. She's massively addicted to eBay (selling and buying) - never miss an eBay item again with the ebay app. She uses email a hundred times more than she did before the boys arrived (huge network of friends). She struggles to keep up with meetings and social engagements and often forgets about them. She would also absolutely love the photos and videos function - boring people silly with the boys. I am sure there are dozens of apps that should would find invaluable. The camera would also be a bonus because the camera on her company phone is tragic. She also loves Skype.

Cons : Cost. That's it. I am really concerned that she will be genuinely upset that I have spent close to £500 on this/her, even though she deserves it. I know she would love it but it is a lot of money in her eyes. This is my only concern. Don't get me wrong the money per se isn't really an issue, but she's a woman and, more importantly, a mother.

Any ladies on here, or people in a similar boat (go ask your wives/girlfriends) I would love to hear some responses.

Cheer all,

N

[BluChrome]

Why not get her an ipod touch?

[ndenbow]

Owning an iPod Touch myself I wish I had data connectivity. But I'm a bloke so therefore I would....

When she goes into the office / out and about I think she would find being able to use the apps useful (esp eBay!). Also I think she would use a lot of the location-based apps.

[ristac]

Was going to ditto the why not an ipod touch opinion... An Iphone is a LOT of money for something you are not going to be making that many calls (if any) on.

Just throwing some suggestions for thought around...

Will she be happy carrying two phones around with her? Could she pop the works sim card into her Iphone as it is soon coming out on Orange and Vodafone??

Although my wife too would like an Iphone she would prefer a diamond ring or a nice piece of jewellery.

I would love my wife to enjoy more gadgets so I could buy her the things I like but the truth is she will always enjoy jewellery, meals out and nice clothes more

If your wife won a £500 voucher to spend in any store and it HAD to be on herself how high would the Iphone be on that list

[ndenbow]

Originally Posted by ristac

If your wife won a £500 voucher to spend in any store and it HAD to be on herself how high would the Iphone be on that list

This is a very good question indeed and to be honest, even if you asked her, she would struggle because she loves buying stuff for the boys and that is all she thinks about. She's not big on jewellery or obsessed with clothes.

I have a few weeks to decide, and to think of a suitable alternative. And to think about your question.

[Autopilot]

My other half is always playing with my iPhone. I can't wait until she is due an upgrade!

[usenetz]

Originally Posted by ndenbow

This is a very good question indeed.

Here's another - are you sure you're not thinking of buying something you would like?

How about asking your wife's female friends what they think she would like?

Also, as she is such a fan of eBay would she not be annoyed you spent soo much money on a phone?

Just trying to expand your thoughts!

john

[Hinchley Grinch]

[Al Murray] iPhone for the gents, Blackberry for the laydeeez[/Al Murray]

[Andyblizz]

Originally Posted by ndenbow

Hi All,

I'm currently sitting on the fence on this one, and I suppose you would have to know her a bit in order to decide the 'cons'. This is probably more of a moral dialemma than a straightforward 'will she / won't she use it' arguament.

Basically we have two year old twin boys and over the past two years she has hardly spent any money on herself. She also works 4 days per week and has a company mobile that she does not pay for calls and texts. So if I buy her an iPhone it will be the PAYG 16GB £440 job and used for 3G data.

Pro's : She loves our iMac and is generally becomming an Apple lover. She has a classic iPod and thinks it's great. She's massively addicted to eBay (selling and buying) - never miss an eBay item again with the ebay app. She uses email a hundred times more than she did before the boys arrived (huge network of friends). She struggles to keep up with meetings and social engagements and often forgets about them. She would also absolutely love the photos and videos function - boring people silly with the boys. I am sure there are dozens of apps that should would find invaluable. The camera would also be a bonus because the camera on her company phone is tragic. She also loves Skype.

Cons : Cost. That's it. I am really concerned that she will be genuinely upset that I have spent close to £500 on this/her, even though she deserves it. I know she would love it but it is a lot of money in her eyes. This is my only concern. Don't get me wrong the money per se isn't really an issue, but she's a woman and, more importantly, a mother.

Any ladies on here, or people in a similar boat (go ask your wives/girlfriends) I would love to hear some responses.

Cheer all,

N

I got my wife an iPhone. 6 weeks after getting mine.

Mine PAYG with simplicity and her is iphone contract 24 months.

We have 2 childrean boy near 4 and girl 4 months. And my wife loves the iPhone as she has Facebook/Ebay/Diary etc.. with her at all time.

It also acts a a god send for when the our son is wants something to do for a few mins. (Has the transformers app on it)

The big downside it the cost...... But not the actuall price of the contract and the iPhone. It is everything she wants for it since that i didnt think about.

Case for iPhone to date = 3 (getting greater in price each time - last one £45 for an italian leather one.....It looks very nice mind you)

iPhone Apps / iTunes = £££££ as we share the same iTunes account (but my CC that pays the bill)


But all said and done. When people ask her about it she says it is like SKY+. Because before you use it you never really knew what you were missing out on. But after having it you cant do without it.

Regards

Andy

[Gary D]

my wife is anti gadget, she hates technology, new tellies, videos, DVD's etc etc have all come and gone and she has not said a word. However, the iPhone is a different matter she loves it, gets upset when she leaves it at home. She gets excited about the functions.

I'm not sure if any of that has any bearing on your dilemma but my wife loves her phone.


G

[akki007]

Originally Posted by Andyblizz

When people ask her about it she says it is like SKY+. Because before you use it you never really knew what you were missing out on. But after having it you cant do without it

This sums it up 100%. Just get one. (Not Sky+ though, Virgin V+ FTW)

[derek1971]

My wife is something of a magpie - a love of all things shiny - particularly jewellery. She is never that impressed with anything gadgety that i buy and at times i think despairs at my love of gadgetry.

There are only 2 gadgets i have ever bought that she has shown any interest in - the first was a harmony remote. It used to drive her mad that there were remotes all over the place. Indeed i remember the look of complete despair on her face when i upgraded my surround speakers and she discovered that the new subwoofer had a remote of its own

Anyway, i bought a harmony 885 and my wife was almost as pleased with it as i was. When i showed her what it could do she was pretty amazed although over the next few months it just became something that was convenient and tidy!

When i got my iphone she was also quite interested - she never really wanted to use it herself but was always saying things like "does your phone do ....." and almost always the answer was yes!

To my complete amazement she actually said to me the other day - "my phone contract is up soon - do you think i should get an iphone too?"

Over the next few days she asked loads of questions about it and had a play with various apps and has now decided that she definitely wants one.

Now coming back to the magpie thing - having seen this thread i asked her specifically "if i was buying you something for Christmas for about £500 would you prefer an iphone or some...."

That was as far as i got before she completed the sentence - with the word "emeralds"!!

So i guess it depends on the woman.

At the end of the day from what you describe it seems pretty clear that it is not something she would ever buy herself. If it was me i would just buy it for her. She will protest that you shouldn't have spent that money on her etc but i suspect deep down she will be over the moon.

Good luck

[joelk2]

Go for it.

As you say, she deserves it.

It is alot of money but its only a one off thing.

[sneeks]

Go for it, from your post it does sound like she would make good use out of the data side of the iPhone.