Iphone 4 - from USA

Andyblizz

gjchester wrote: »

The US does not have PAYG iphones. Ones on Ebay are probably contract phones that will have been unlocked (I assume by non apple means) and are being sold on. You would always have the risk they may get re-locked in an upgrade, or you'd get no support if they broke due to the unlocking process.

US dont normally do PAYG but AT&T are going to do "No Commitment" phones. Which is bacially the same.

iPhone 4 16GB - $599
iPhone 4 32GB - $699
iPhone 3GS (8GB) - $499

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=18004&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=30863

So i would have thought by the time you add on delivery and customs fees, they will be close to what the UK prices will be. (This is my assumption)

Also the AT&T iPhones will have to be unlocked.

heronfolder

Don't be deceived by the US prices. All but 5 of the US states impose a sales tax which varies from around 2 - 8% depending on the state.

That and we pay VAT.

Customs will actually do you hard for an iphone4. Also phones in the US run on different network systems to the UK. CDMA compared to GSM etc.. Which could well affect your connectivity.

It's not worth it in my opinion.

only_mee

You also need a smaller sim to use it, although your sim can be cut down via guides around the net i read.

boo_star

Andyblizz wrote: »

US dont normally do PAYG but AT&T are going to do "No Commitment" phones. Which is bacially the same.

iPhone 4 16GB - $599
iPhone 4 32GB - $699
iPhone 3GS (8GB) - $499

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=18004&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=30863

So i would have thought by the time you add on delivery and customs fees, they will be close to what the UK prices will be. (This is my assumption)

Also the AT&T iPhones will have to be unlocked.

A quick calculation reveals that the 32GB iPhone 4 would come in at about £492 without delivery, duty or VAT. Not including delivery or duty since I am not sure what they'd be (and yes I do know that VAT is calculated on the item price + delivery costs + duty) would give you a pricetag of a whopping £578.

Given that based on the US contract prices, it appears that the 4 will be retailing at current 3GS price points, you would end up paying considerably more than one on PAYG and it would still need to be unlocked. Based on the time it took for the 3GS to get an unlock you could be waiting months before you can use it.

gjchester

boo_star wrote: »

A quick calculation reveals that the 32GB iPhone 4 would come in at about £492 without delivery, duty or VAT.

I think the people who got a Nexus one from Google said that there was no duty on it as as telecoms device just VAT.

If the ipod side is seen as a musical playback / recorder though it may be different.

boo_star

gjchester wrote: »

I think the people who got a Nexus one from Google said that there was no duty on it as as telecoms device just VAT.

If the ipod side is seen as a musical playback / recorder though it may be different.

Possibly, although even without duty and delivery it appears to be more expensive than the PAYG will presumably be (assuming they retain the current 3GS price points for the 4.)

Far better to stick with a UK model IMO.