[SmokeyBubbles]

Hi all,

What deals did people get on the Iphone? I imagine there are not budging much on price however if you secured a deal I would love to hear about it -

i.e. Last year threatened to stop contract and went through several departments before being offered 12 month contract half price for all 12 months (£14.99) and the phone I wanted which was valued at about £400. I was chuffed

[dejongj]

Buy through quidco and you can get upto £35 cashback

[SmokeyBubbles]

Thanks dejongj but I was wondering if anyone had haggled over the phone with them - threatened to cancel etc.?

Will remember the quidco offer though - or just wait a couple of weeks until the hype dies down

[spl23]

I think that the official position is that the purchase price of the iPhone is non-negotiable - I'd be very surprised if anyone has managed to get one for free, or even to get one on a non-iPhone contract. Even business users who want them are having to get one of the standard iPhone contracts.

If you are already on O2, the best deal you are going to get is by buying one in an O2 shop, hacking the activation and using your current SIM card in it.

[SmokeyBubbles]

I think you are right unfortunately. Might try later but if not then will either look at a different phone or wait a while.

[newbie1980]

bought for 269

sim only contract: 20 quid for 400 mins +1000 txts

+ 7.50 for unlimited data

= 27.50 for unlimited data, 400 mins + 1000 txts vs 35 for 200 mins + 200 txts n unlimited data

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by newbie1980

bought for 269

sim only contract: 20 quid for 400 mins +1000 txts

+ 7.50 for unlimited data

= 27.50 for unlimited data, 400 mins + 1000 txts vs 35 for 200 mins + 200 txts n unlimited data

My understanding was that the bolt on data contracts have a limit per month and are not unlimited and only the official iPhone contracts actually offer this. Is this not true. Also the official iPhone contract includes free use of the Cloud wi-fi hotspots which the bolt on data packages don't.

[iSix]

Originally Posted by newbie1980

+ 7.50 for unlimited data

200MB or £30 for 3GB

[rick1409]

Got a N81 on a 02 12month contract for free, £30 per month, £95 cash back and £60 from quidco, so total cost for the year £205

Sold the phone on ebay for £250, put £20 towards that for the iphoone, unlocked it for 02 sim cards and put the sim in from the N81 contract.

Total cost for Iphone £225 over 12 months with 200 mins and texts

Not bad if you ask me

Rick

[dejongj]

Originally Posted by rick1409

Got a N81 on a 02 12month contract for free, £30 per month, £95 cash back and £60 from quidco, so total cost for the year £205

Sold the phone on ebay for £250, put £20 towards that for the iphoone, unlocked it for 02 sim cards and put the sim in from the N81 contract.

Total cost for Iphone £225 over 12 months with 200 mins and texts

Not bad if you ask me

Rick

Not bad thinking indeed, although you did forget an additional £443.88 to add a similar data package (unlimited data package though still with a FUP plus the cloud subscription), making the total £668.88 over 12 months....Then compare that to a 18 month period as per the original contract and you actually have a truly comparable total of £1,003.32. Well done you have just lost £104.34 to save some money That is without taking into account the time to unlock and keep up with the unlocking, and the loss of features and warranty, so the real-world loss is actually bigger....

Still think it is a good deal?

[Bigmonty69]

Originally Posted by dejongj

That is without taking into account the time to unlock and keep up with the unlocking, and the loss of features and warranty, so the real-world loss is actually bigger....

Not really as there are other benefits from unlocking which you have not taken into account!

[andykn]

Originally Posted by dejongj

Not bad thinking indeed, although you did forget an additional £443.88 to add a similar data package (unlimited data package though still with a FUP plus the cloud subscription), making the total £668.88 over 12 months....Then compare that to a 18 month period as per the original contract and you actually have a truly comparable total of £1,003.32. Well done you have just lost £104.34 to save some money That is without taking into account the time to unlock and keep up with the unlocking, and the loss of features and warranty, so the real-world loss is actually bigger....

Still think it is a good deal?

Yep, because in 12 months he can get another handset and sell that too on ebay.

And of course the unlimited internet and Cloud sub are only any good if you want/need them. Not every iphone user does.

[rick1409]

Originally Posted by dejongj

Not bad thinking indeed, although you did forget an additional £443.88 to add a similar data package (unlimited data package though still with a FUP plus the cloud subscription), making the total £668.88 over 12 months....Then compare that to a 18 month period as per the original contract and you actually have a truly comparable total of £1,003.32. Well done you have just lost £104.34 to save some money That is without taking into account the time to unlock and keep up with the unlocking, and the loss of features and warranty, so the real-world loss is actually bigger....

Still think it is a good deal?

Yep i do indeed think it is a very good deal, if i want i can add the internet bolt on for a total of £90 for the year, and as andykn said, in 12 months im free from contract, if i want a different phone i can get one.
the time involved to unlock is very minimal took me about an hour at the most.
so thanks for your input, but i'm still rather glad i done it the way i did.
(seems to be some bitterness towards us unlockers does'nt there)

[dejongj]

Originally Posted by rick1409

Yep i do indeed think it is a very good deal, if i want i can add the internet bolt on for a total of £90 for the year, and as andykn said, in 12 months im free from contract, if i want a different phone i can get one.
the time involved to unlock is very minimal took me about an hour at the most.
so thanks for your input, but i'm still rather glad i done it the way i did.
(seems to be some bitterness towards us unlockers does'nt there)

no bitterness at all

I am just up for compairing like for like which is not something that happening and as a result people seem to miscalculate their benefits and savings. But hey each to their own, I just can't see the point of having one without Internet.

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by andykn

Yep, because in 12 months he can get another handset and sell that too on ebay.

And of course the unlimited internet and Cloud sub are only any good if you want/need them. Not every iphone user does.

I suspect for a lot of people getting an iPhone the web browsing aspect is one of the important aspects. Not having unlimited access or free access to the Cloud wi-fi hotspots makes it a less attractive feature. I hardly think that in terms of internet service the bolt on data packages are comprable to the official O2 iPhone tariffs. Obviously just offering 200 mins talk time and 200 texts on the £35 pound tariff is still on the stingy side but for some one who wants the level of internet access the official tariffs offer it does offset the high price to an extent.

Personally I hardly ever send texts and my phone usage is typically 150-200 mins per month. I'm more interested in the unlimited web browsing, free wi-fi hotspots which here in London there is obviously a larger concentration of, the music and video playback ( in particular the bigger screen only offered by the Touch and no other similar phones), the weather reports and google maps.

On top of that I get the seamless integration and syncing with iTunes of all my data. The ability to download music from iTunes on the go is not a necessity but a nice bonus for the odd occasion I might use it. Another great feature is the ability to directly dial a number from information accessed through google maps or browsing the net on Safari without having to write it down, quit and go to the phone dialler.

Sure the iPhone has it's faults and is not perfect by any means. There are other phones like the N95 that do somethings better or the iPhone doesn't do at all but what it does it does better then any other device. One could wait for the second version of the iPhone which should be better but there is always something better on the horizon and you could in effect wait for ever.


P.S. Sorry about the long winded post.

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by rick1409

(seems to be some bitterness towards us unlockers does'nt there)

I don't think it's a case of bitterness but as dejongj pointed out a question of comparing like for like. At the end of the day both the official and unofficial avenues have their pros and cons and it all depends which one is better suited and more appropriate to the individual. Personally I think the only real draw back of the official route is the measly number of free minutes and texts but as I said this can be offset by a better data package. The main drawbacks of the unnoficial route is a lack of warranty, not being able to apply firmware updates right away or at all and the limited options for data use.

[rick1409]

personally i'll use my own wifi at home, as the pc is up stairs, i can browse the net and check my emails anywhere in the house.
I was intending to buy a touch anyway and dont need cloud, the bolt on will be plenty for me.
As for miscalculating my benfits and savings, i believe i hav'nt, i just dont need what the iphone tarrifs offer, and would feel very out of pocket if i signed up to one.
Theres my 2 pence anyway, i suppose we all have different needs

[andykn]

Originally Posted by Moogle

I suspect for a lot of people getting an iPhone the web browsing aspect is one of the important aspects. Not having unlimited access or free access to the Cloud wi-fi hotspots makes it a less attractive feature.

Of course the mobile internet is a big draw of the iphone, but I suspect that the regular O2 bolt on will have more than enough data included for the vast majority of iphone users. And even if you incude a Cloud sub, its still quite a bit cheaper.

One could wait for the second version of the iPhone which should be better but there is always something better on the horizon and you could in effect wait for ever.

And the unlockers will be able to get one 6 months earlier

[Moogle]

Originally Posted by andykn

And the unlockers will be able to get one 6 months earlier

And what makes you think those on official O2 iPjhone contracts won't ?Has anyone actually confirmed that you can't just take the sim out of a first generation iPhone and put into a new model before the contract is up ?

[andykn]

Originally Posted by Moogle

And what makes you think those on official O2 iPjhone contracts won't ?Has anyone actually confirmed that you can't just take the sim out of a first generation iPhone and put into a new model before the contract is up ?

But won't the new model come with the same restriction that you can only activate it with a new 18 month contract? So to take out your exisiting 18 month iphone SIM you'd have to hack the new model?

[dejongj]

I am struggling to see where this conversation discusses a phone that has not even been announced yet.

[Ol!ver]

If the iPhone tarrifs had some more texts included it'd be OK for me, but as it is it just doesn't meet my needs

[dejongj]

Originally Posted by Ol!ver

If the iPhone tarrifs had some more texts included it'd be OK for me, but as it is it just doesn't meet my needs

Are you aware you can add more texts through packs to the contract if required?

Gosh I can barely use up 100 texts in a month, let alone the 600 I get...Then again I tend to just call people to talk...

[Ol!ver]

Originally Posted by dejongj

Are you aware you can add more texts through packs to the contract if required?

Gosh I can barely use up 100 texts in a month, let alone the 600 I get...Then again I tend to just call people to talk...

That's making the contracts more expensive than they need to be, much more than I currently pay on Orange.

Looking at my last bill I sent 688 texts, and that was a low month. I text people while I'm at work and can't call.