Cheapest iPhone discussion

pinkie_pie

Should prob add, I didn't actually want the 3G, I wanted the 3GS

pgs.london

the main article is terribly out of date. please please update with the better deals now available. as background, i'm a tmobile user.

o2 and orange now give away 3g for free.

with 3gs - i called tmobile and they didn't hesitate to offer me a 3gs 16gig iphone.

i wonder what people think on the deals but here are the best ones i've found after a day or two of research. all are 3gs and 16gig

mobiles.co.uk
£35pcm, phone 87, contract 24mth, £60 cashback through quidco. total cost £867

orange website
£34.26pcm, phone 87, contract 24mth, £50 cashback. total cost £859.24

tmoblie
£34.25pcm, phone 75, contract 24mth, no cashback. £897.

i'd really like to know what others have found.... thanks

Jon_01

new_orleans_man wrote: »

I would like to know this as well, does any poster know for sure?

Anyone that knows for sure will be under a 'none disclosure' agreement.

But Apple dictate most for the pricing, that's why O2 and Orange are strangely similar in plan prices and why the payg price is exactly the same...

dvs

Haffiana wrote: »

I keep seeing this stated in these forums. Does anyone have a link to any sort of proof that Apple actually take any of the monthly charges from a phone supplier?

Apple almost certainly did take a slice of the monthly charges back when iPhone was originally launched (this was confirmed by Apple at the time). Back then the iPhone was more expensive as it was not subsidised by O2.

I remember reading an article in the FT when the iPhone 3G launched and that said Apple would no longer be taking a percentage of the monthly rental. At this point, O2 started subsidising the phone but did not reduce the monthly tariffs. They allowed customers who had already bought the iPhone to upgrade (by effectively starting a new contact and getting a subsidise iPhone 3G). They could do this because they did not subsidise the original handset (so were not really losing anything).

When the iPhone 3GS launched, O2 was not able to allow people already in a contract to upgrade early because they would lose money. People still complained as if iPhone customers were somehow different to anyone else with a contract.

The details of the O2 contract have officially remained secret and whilst some 'insiders' may have released information to the press from time to time, the truth of the matter is we do not know for certain. O2 may have paid some sort of premium (separate from any revenue sharing) to have exclusivity and Orange may have paid a similar premium to launch next but when the majority of networks have it, I don't see what premium Apple can charge apart from the device itself. I'm fairly sure that Apple no longer takes a percentage of the monthly rental. No other manufacturer does this and as the device is widespread, it's not sustainable for the networks.

It seems Orange's view of the iPhone is that there are a number of people on it's network who want the iPhone but on the Orange network. Therefore it didn't need to price cut O2. There will also be some customers from other networks who simply don't want to be on O2. Whether this is Vodafone's position or whether Vodafone will start a price war remains to be seen. Not long now though...

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

pgs.london wrote: »

mobiles.co.uk
£35pcm, phone 87, contract 24mth, £60 cashback through quidco. total cost £867

orange website
£34.26pcm, phone 87, contract 24mth, £50 cashback. total cost £859.24

Just to correct this slightly, if you buy through our site you'll pay the same line rental (£34.26) as if you bought through Orange - it's just a VAT reduction thingy (which you haven't included in your calculations; it goes back to 17.5%, or £35 per month, in January). Also, the Quidco cashback from Orange doesn't apply to iPhone.

Interesting that T-Mobile offered you a 3GS, I was told point blank they were unable to do this model.

HTH,

wizk1

Well spotted... but I probably wouldn't buy through Mobiles.co.uk given their reputation

cheggers33

Insanely frustrated - any help is appreciated

My current 02 contract is up end of March (600/500 jobby for about 20 quid a month) but looking to get an iPhone ASAP

I emailed 02 who said I had no option but to pay up the remainder of my contract in order to get my beloved new toy - PLUS have to pay to get the iPhone itself.....madness

Surely this cant be true and I can lean on 02 (a customer for 5 years) to get a better deal? Or will I need a deal to quote from Orange as 'leverage'??

Cheers in advance guys

dvs

wizk1 wrote: »

Well spotted... but I probably wouldn't buy through Mobiles.co.uk given their reputation

I'm not sure that Mobiles.co.uk supposed poor reputation is fair. We bought an iPhone 3GS when they first launched. Whilst there was a little delay, it wasn't much of a delay and we got it at the best price as Mobiles.co.uk were offering the best cashback. Some of the complaints I have read have been about cashback which isn't always the retailers fault (i.e. people have multiple cookies or they try to get other offers etc). For those who don't know, Mobiles.co.uk is a small outfit but is part of the Carphone Warehouse.

eljmayes

cheggers33 wrote: »

Insanely frustrated - any help is appreciated

My current 02 contract is up end of March (600/500 jobby for about 20 quid a month) but looking to get an iPhone ASAP

I emailed 02 who said I had no option but to pay up the remainder of my contract in order to get my beloved new toy - PLUS have to pay to get the iPhone itself.....madness

Surely this cant be true and I can lean on 02 (a customer for 5 years) to get a better deal? Or will I need a deal to quote from Orange as 'leverage'??

Cheers in advance guys

You'll have to sit it out for another few months until March as it really isn't in O2's interest to let you out of your contract for free, even if you are upgrading to the Iphone.

All of the Iphone tariffs are pretty much the same so you can't even play one off against the other at the moment. I'd advise you to wait until March when prices may be slightly better because of Vodafone entering the Iphone market or buy a PAYG Iphone now and then go SIM only with O2 in March.

matmcgregor

I'm in the same boat, £20 a month on )2 with a tocco 1000mins/ 1000texts,

contract finishes in feb.

How much is a PAYG Iphone?

And how does sim only work?