Cheapest iPhone discussion

Hmoney

Hi,

I've decided I'm going to get an iphone 4 in the near future and I'm wondering which network to go with.

I'm torn between O2 (brand loyalty) and Three (best value), with a 24 month, £30pm contract.

O2 offer:
300mins
Unlimited texts
500MB
£179 upfront phone

Three Offer:
500 mins
5000 texts (effectively unlimited!)
1GB
£99 upfront phone

An £80 saving on the phone is fairly significant. Has anyone had any luck in negotiating with O2? I'm currently on a 1 month rolling contract with them (so therefore only need to give 30 days notice) and I'd like to stay with them, as I've been with them a while, not had any problems whatsoever and have broadband through them.

Is the service quality the same? A chap in the Three shop said the 3G on Three was much better, as well as being quicker as O2 had problems with too many users accessing data (but then he would say that!)

He also said the iphone 4 would be available on 28th July, with pre-orders available?

Also, a report from the US came out today with more details on the problems with signals. It appears as though Apple have been pulling the woll over peoples eyes, and the problem is more serious than first thought, with the reports authors calling for a product recall. Does this mean its probably worth waiting a while?

this is available as a news story on WhatHifi .com (apologies, I can't post links on my first post).

Thanks!

lychpole

Hmoney wrote: »

Hi,

I've decided I'm going to get an iphone 4 in the near future and I'm wondering which network to go with.

I'm torn between O2 (brand loyalty) and Three (best value), with a 24 month, £30pm contract.

O2 offer:
300mins
Unlimited texts
500MB
£179 upfront phone

Three Offer:
500 mins
5000 texts (effectively unlimited!)
1GB
£99 upfront phone

An £80 saving on the phone is fairly significant. Has anyone had any luck in negotiating with O2? I'm currently on a 1 month rolling contract with them (so therefore only need to give 30 days notice) and I'd like to stay with them, as I've been with them a while, not had any problems whatsoever and have broadband through them.

Is the service quality the same? A chap in the Three shop said the 3G on Three was much better, as well as being quicker as O2 had problems with too many users accessing data (but then he would say that!)

He also said the iphone 4 would be available on 28th July, with pre-orders available?

Also, a report from the US came out today with more details on the problems with signals. It appears as though Apple have been pulling the woll over peoples eyes, and the problem is more serious than first thought, with the reports authors calling for a product recall. Does this mean its probably worth waiting a while?

this is available as a news story on WhatHifi .com (apologies, I can't post links on my first post).

Thanks!

Hi,
Just seen on 3 site that they have dropped the 32gb 3gs in white and now only have the 3gs 8gb in black. I had a good deal last week when I ordered the 32gb in white for £29 one off then £30 a month over 24 months, thay are charging the same for the 8gb !!! Got to say reception and customer service are excellent with 3 even if it is a Indian call centre. My3 site is a doddle to navigatefrom a pc to check usage etc

T

chippyb1

anyway help me with my post eariler?

Oscar_The_Grouch

chippyb1 wrote: »

right i could do with some help im after the iphone4, at the mo i have 8 months left on my contact which i get 300 mins 3000 texts and 500mb on internet a month for £25
what i need to know what is best for me to do to get one, buy out of my contract and sell my phone for £100 or buy a payg iphone4 or sim free one or what, let me know what u think i should do and what would be best and cheapest, im not very good at having phones for a long time.
so i would prob sell the new iphone the time the new one comes out lol
i currently have a samsung omnia 2
cheers

Chippy, you don't say which company you are with at the mo. If we work based on you being with O2, buying your contract out will cost you £20 per month for the 8 remaining months, so £160.

To keep your £25 tariff, you'd have to drop to 100 minutes, which is probably not something you would be willing to do. Also, the IP4 is £279 from O2 on a 24 month contract at £25. This would mean your up front costs would be (£160 + £279) £439 or £60 less than the cost of buying a 16GB IP4 outright and sim free, plus you'd be tied in to a 24 month contract!!

If you decide to keep your 300 minutes, you are looking at £30 for 24 months (£120 extra over the life of the contract) or £35 for 18 months (an extra £180), plus £179 for the phone and the £160 for buying out your contract. That's (£120 or £180 + £179 + £160) £459 over 24 months or £519 over 18 months.

If you've got the money, buy the iPhone outright and sell your Omnia. After your contract is up, go Sim Only.

nish

Hello!

I lost my 32GB 3GS iPhone at Glastonbury (gutted)

I am currently looking at replacing it with a iPhone 4 with the money that came from the insurance by buying my contract out with the £20 a month deal and getting the subsidised handset. Does anyone know when the white version is due to come out?

stingyboy

Newbie member.

I have been lucky enough to be given (yes, I know......rich relatives!) an iPhone 3Gs currently locked to orange. It works with my standard orange sim which is just a top up one. This is ok as I have wifi at work and home but when I am not near a WiFi signal it connects on the top up and obviously this eats away any minutes I have left.

What is the cheapest way to connect this phone so I can use it for internet browsing, emails etc when not near wifi? I have read about the £10 deals on this forum but am I right in thinking they are is still 'tied' to a monthly payment? I wont need loads of download as ideally I will do that at home and sync it.

Hope this makes sense as I am not very smart in this area as before I was given this phone I just had a cheap top up job which I just used for texts and calls.

INT1

stingyboy wrote: »

Newbie member.

I have been lucky enough to be given (yes, I know......rich relatives!) an iPhone 3Gs currently locked to orange. It works with my standard orange sim which is just a top up one. This is ok as I have wifi at work and home but when I am not near a WiFi signal it connects on the top up and obviously this eats away any minutes I have left.

What is the cheapest way to connect this phone so I can use it for internet browsing, emails etc when not near wifi? I have read about the £10 deals on this forum but am I right in thinking they are is still 'tied' to a monthly payment? I wont need loads of download as ideally I will do that at home and sync it.

Hope this makes sense as I am not very smart in this area as before I was given this phone I just had a cheap top up job which I just used for texts and calls.

Unlock it and get a o2 simplicity tariff (£15 over 12 months)-You will then get unlimited texts, minutes and data download included.
Orange can unlock it for you normally if the phone is over 12 months old or you might have to give them £10/£20 for them to unlock.

adamnsu

Hi, thought of getting an iphone 8GB 3GS with 3 for £30 for 24 months and maybe downgrading within the contract period.

I dont know if this is old but the online help said there is £10 charge for downgrading and you can only downgrade after half the life period of the contract.

I was kind of put off by this £10 charge which I dont think is fair for the customer

Rcurran

Was in the o2 shop yesterday and there were two people in front of me in the queue, buying iPhone 4s, 3 people at tables, each buying iPhone 4s and once I'd been seen by a staff member (had to wait ages....) the person after me approached the till and announced they wanted an iPhone 4 too. Amazing.

Personally what I've opted to do is buy a phone from ebay, fix it up and replace the screen, then sell it on in a month. By which time the iPhone 4 will be much easier to get a hold of, I'll have only spent a tenner on my phone calls etc (simplicity sim, 300 texts, 100 mins, 500mg internet) and as the handset+repairs will cost me about £130 I'll sell the phone at about £160 and have made £20 in the mean time. I'm happy enough to just wait until this is all sorted out, as it still appears to me to be stressful buying the iPhone 4 from Tesco. I would also add that I've got broadband from o2 so this will be saving me a few quid a month on that bill, which is a nice bonus. Their broadband is cheap, fast, and reliable. o2 customer services are also quite good.

jicms

My T-mobile PAC expires in a week as I haven't been able to acquire an iphone 4. I'm not sure whether I should move it onto a PAYG sim, though this will have to be T-Mobile unless I unlock my phone. I can't ask their advice as they are somewhat dishonest with their advice.