O2 Offers Free iPhone 3G with Certain Plans

[MacRumors]

O2 announced their plans for the iPhone 3G yesterday, revealing that the iPhone 3G will be fully subsidized (free) for certain rate plans:

*Best of all, the new 8GB iPhone won't cost you a penny on our £45 and £75 tariffs. And it's just £99 on our £35 tariff and new £30 tariff.

All tariffs include unlimited browsing, free Wi-Fi, visual voicemail and require an 18 month contract. For existing iPhone owners who wish to upgrade, the 18 month contract replaces your current contract rather than adding onto it.

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[BufferOverflow]

I got my iPhone on day one so feel I've had my £269 out of it, an upgrade to 3G, GPS and 16Gb for £159 seems a bargain to me (£35 tariff). Friend who got iPhone in February isn't impressed, but then again the new features aren't killer for her.

I think it's reasonable. Upgrade terms for existing O2 users seem harsh, there will be a lot of people unable to upgrade until the end of their current contract.

In the UK market that is already over saturated with subscribers O2 have made a very good business decision - I think there will be a lot of customers switching considering the new price point.

P.S £30 tariff? Why bother you get nothing for your money.

[Willis]

Originally Posted by BufferOverflow

I got my iPhone on day one so feel I've had my £269 out of it, an upgrade to 3G, GPS and 16Gb for £159 seems a bargain to me (£35 tariff). Friend who got iPhone in February isn't impressed, but then again the new features aren't killer for her.

I think it's reasonable. Upgrade terms for existing O2 users seem harsh, there will be a lot of people unable to upgrade until the end of their current contract.

You're friend has upto October to upgrade... depends if she likes the idea of it then or not.

I dont understand the second comment though. If you pay the new price, all you do is sign upto a new 18 month contract. How is that harsh? no Penalties of anything.

Then, sell of your first iPhone to family or friend. Win-Win

[johnnyjibbs]

Originally Posted by Willis

You're friend has upto October to upgrade... depends if she likes the idea of it then or not.

I dont understand the second comment though. If you pay the new price, all you do is sign upto a new 18 month contract. How is that harsh? no Penalties of anything.

Then, sell of your first iPhone to family or friend. Win-Win

Exisiting 2G iPhone users get to upgrade for the same price as new customers, despite being only halfway through their contracts.

On the other hand, non-iPhone O2 customers cannot break out of their contract if they have yet to pass out of the minimum term (usually 12-18 months). This is what the poster was talking about in his second comment.

I strongly suspect, however, that they would allow non-iPhone O2 customers to upgrade if they ask, even though this would violate the terms of the contract (you may have to return the original phone). Surely an iPhone customer is better for them than not as they are likely to be spending more a month.

I'm lucky - I'm an existing O2 customer on a pay-monthly contract but I hit my minimum 12 month contract a couple of months ago and therefore have bought my W850i phone (it was free at the time). That means I'm free to grab the iPhone 16GB 45/month the moment it gets released

[bobx2001]

Originally Posted by BufferOverflow

P.S £30 tariff? Why bother you get nothing for your money.

It may be intended for people how plan on using the phone as an internet device more than anything else. but then again for 5 pounds more you can use it as a phone as well, it really should be 200-300 minutes not 75.

[shiunn]

my only qualms is that I have to sign a new 18-month contract. I'm already 6 months into my contract, and signing a new 18 month is a bit too... claustrophobic for me

[Fuzzy14]

They also offer the iPhone on Pay & Go (i.e. pre-pay as you go) but they don't mention a price.

I've been a big skeptic of the iPhone and never really liked the endless threads in here about it, but it's becoming too compelling now....

[Mixalis]

The new O2 prices seem reasonable enough to me, particularly bearing in mind they include unlimited wifi on BT and The Cloud. As someone else here said, you get nothing much for the new £30 contract, but the £35 version gives a reasonable 600 minutes and 500 texts. But on both these you have to pay £99/£159 for the phone. However, unless you are definitely going to use the 1200 minutes of the £45 contract, costing £180 extra over the 18 months, it's cheaper to buy the phone and stick with the £35 contract.

I was also interested to see that the data roaming charge in Europe at £3 per MB is not excessive at the moment, and there are 20MB and 50MB bundles for roaming, which is something I haven't seen from other providers.

[captain kaos]

Firstly, thank the lord for an actual UK based thread!

Secondly as i mention in another one, i cant upgrade my phone till october, some im basically prying the 02 PAYG price isnt going to be to mental, then its old sim card in and im sorted!

Any ideas/guesses on the price....start your bids!

[bigmc6000]

I wonder how long it is until someone complains about this. As someone who's in the US I'm totally jealous! My rate plan is going to run me $90+tax and I still have to pay the full price for my iPhone. My only hope is that they'll allow the corporate discounts again (+$10 for 3G - $10 for corporate discount).

I am glad to see that Apple's foreign customers aren't getting screwed by their carriers like we are here in states this time around (yeah, I know for the 1.0 all the non-US people got the short end of the stick but this more than makes up for it I think)

[jldreyer]

I'll be one to complain here. It's certainly not fair that they don't do this kind of thing here in the states. But I guess that's what you get for living here.

[Jowl]

Originally Posted by jldreyer

I'll be one to complain here. It's certainly not fair that they don't do this kind of thing here in the states. But I guess that's what you get for living here.

It's not normally as good as this. The normal 'tech$ exchange rate is 1:1 !!

As for PAYG phones, I presume they'll offer some sort of Data 'bolt-on' - maybe £10 a month ?

[Jowl]

I think the O2 deal is pretty good - and is better than the US and even the recent European tarrifs.

I'll certainly be switching and my other half will upgrade her current O2 deal to the iPhone.

But July 11th.....that so long to wait

[samab]

Originally Posted by Jowl

I think the O2 deal is pretty good - and is better than the US and even the recent European tarrifs.

I'll certainly be switching and my other half will upgrade her current O2 deal to the iPhone.

But July 11th.....that so long to wait

The UK 3G iphone plan is different with the US 3G iphone plan --- the US plan has unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes, 5000 weeknights/weekend minutes and rollover of unused daytime minutes into future months.

[Mixalis]

Originally Posted by bigmc6000

I wonder how long it is until someone complains about this. As someone who's in the US I'm totally jealous! My rate plan is going to run me $90+tax and I still have to pay the full price for my iPhone. My only hope is that they'll allow the corporate discounts again (+$10 for 3G - $10 for corporate discount).

I am glad to see that Apple's foreign customers aren't getting screwed by their carriers like we are here in states this time around (yeah, I know for the 1.0 all the non-US people got the short end of the stick but this more than makes up for it I think)

I cannot believe anything is cheaper here in Europe than in the States! Maybe you will have a pleasant surprise.

Today I was chatting with an assistant in the Apple Store in Regent Street and he said that the phone price (free/£99/£159, depending on contract) would be standard throughout Europe and, possibly, throughout the world. So I cannot see you having to pay full price for the phone. In some countries such as UK the discounted price is quoted. In other locations the price may be higher and the rebate will be on registration.

[bigmc6000]

Originally Posted by Mixalis

I cannot believe anything is cheaper here in Europe than in the States! Maybe you will have a pleasant surprise.

Today I was chatting with an assistant in the Apple Store in Regent Street and he said that the phone price (free/£99/£159, depending on contract) would be standard throughout Europe and, possibly, throughout the world. So I cannot see you having to pay full price for the phone. In some countries such as UK the discounted price is quoted. In other locations the price may be higher and the rebate will be on registration.

I think it would be fairly close comparing my phone plan to the 45 GBP plan (no, I still don't know where the GBP sign is). 450 mins (that a min), 3G access, and unlimited texts. After all the taxes that'll be over $100 a month (now that I think about that - D@MN - that's a lot of money!!)

The only difference is that O2 actually wants you to get the more expensive plan - AT&T doesn't give a crap because they know they are going to make an @ss load off of you no matter what plan you get so there's no reason for them to discount it anymore to get you on a more expensive plan.

Also, here in the states it's fairly common for people to change their plans in the middle of their service contracts so I'm not sure it really works out the same. We sign 2 years to be with the carrier - not 2 years to have the same plan.

So - all in all I'd say given the current exchange rate (1.95:1) it's a bit cheaper. Does that 45 include taxes? If so it's noticeably cheaper ($10-$15 a month + the initial cost of the phone).

[Mixalis]

The PAYG card from O2 is very interesting. I will be unusual because PAYG cards don't usually include data (unless I'm well out of touch). I have previously tried to buy PAYG SIMs in Germany and other countries (from Vodafone, T-Mobile, etc but NOT for iPhone) and have been unsuccessful. All I could get were voice/SMS cards. I look forward to finding out the rates for both data and voice.

The fact that PAYG is now allowed raises another interesting question. If I have a UK-registered iPhone, can I take it to an Apple retailer in another European country and buy a PAYG card? I cannot believe it is possible, but then PAYG is a sort of ad hoc arrangement anyway.

[jmmo20]

Originally Posted by Mixalis

The PAYG card from O2 is very interesting. I will be unusual because PAYG cards don't usually include data (unless I'm well out of touch). I have previously tried to buy PAYG SIMs in Germany and other countries (from Vodafone, T-Mobile, etc but NOT for iPhone) and have been unsuccessful. All I could get were voice/SMS cards. I look forward to finding out the rates for both data and voice.

The fact that PAYG is now allowed raises another interesting question. If I have a UK-registered iPhone, can I take it to an Apple retailer in another European country and buy a PAYG card? I cannot believe it is possible, but then PAYG is a sort of ad hoc arrangement anyway.

in 2001 there used to be a "virtual" or whatever operator called Genie that had unlimited WAP.. and cheap SMS or something like that, I don't really remember. WAP back then was pretty useless tho.

[notsofatjames]

I think its good they're allowing iPhone users to upgrade. I wonder if o2 will notice if I upgrade my plan to the 55 for one month then downgrade it to the 35 plan. Get a free iPhone out of it... If not I'll end up paying twice as much!

Edit:

Just reading through the t&cs it says that you can change between iPhone plans at any time, though you sacrafice your remaining months alowance by the look of things. I wonder if they'll change this for 3G. I would copy and paste the quotes of the conditions, but I'm on my iPhone...

[garethpeate]

Originally Posted by jmmo20

in 2001 there used to be a "virtual" or whatever operator called Genie that had unlimited WAP.. and cheap SMS or something like that, I don't really remember. WAP back then was pretty useless tho.

I remember Genie. Unlimited WAP, and unlimited SMS (fair use - about 2000/month, I think). They eventually became the online arm of O2 (which is why O2 stores are reluctant to help if you purchased your phone from their website).

Happy days..

[LukeHarrison]

Originally Posted by jmmo20

in 2001 there used to be a "virtual" or whatever operator called Genie that had unlimited WAP.. and cheap SMS or something like that, I don't really remember. WAP back then was pretty useless tho.

Ah, Genie, brings back memories! Of course, the term is still in use in the UK, even if the network isn't. The popular O2-UK PAYG SIMs that give free texts for topping up £10 a month are still referred to by most people as 'Genie cards', even though Genie was absorbed into O2 in about 2002.

I'm using one in my iPhone! With the £7.50 a month data bolt-on.

[Dan1990]

Originally Posted by captain kaos

Firstly, thank the lord for an actual UK based thread!

Secondly as i mention in another one, i cant upgrade my phone till october, some im basically prying the 02 PAYG price isnt going to be to mental, then its old sim card in and im sorted!

Any ideas/guesses on the price....start your bids!

I would check in at an O2 store, a friend of mine is getting on the iphone train and the guy in store told him of an offer by where they actually buy you out of your existing contract, not sure of the exact details but its worth checking it out.

Personally, i cant wait till 11/07, (thats 07/11 for the americans!) I'm on the £45 deal at the moment and think that £50 for an upgrade to the 16GB iPhone 3G'll be worth it - especially considering that ill have to make room for some new apps.

[badgerman]

Checkout the O2 and Carphone Warehouse sites... you can preregister your interest and find out first (or with everyone that registers) how to get her on the day. I believe O2 will do it online and the stores, but just called up and they couldnt confirm until nearer the time... Have already booked the day off just in case.

[grapefruitx]

Seeing how the USP for the iphone is the user experiance, or put another way, the neat way how all this stuff all works together, and that is the one thing you can't try out in the shop when buying a phone,
Therefore it is;

a. Looks,
b. Price,
c. feature set,
People are left with to make an informed choice when purchasing a phone

the iphone v1 is so so on a and c, but nowhere near on b.

iphone v2, has tweaked c up to where it needs to be, a has gone back a noggin, But the big news is b, The new tariffs.

That Apple thought they could win sales without competing on cost was a touch arrogant, and in the meantime competitors have had time to learn from the Masters when it comes to ease of use. In Europe I don't think they will recover the opportunity they missed at launch.

OK I will buy one now, but I am a loyal Customer ( i find the term Fanboy soo pejorative)

I use a RIM BB for work and the company has a fair amount of software invested in it, nevertheless for enterprise the iphone device makes a more compelling case, but if Apple think they can do it without

[i]a. competing on price
b. Offering a pan European deal for talk, text and email (sub 3G)
They will have a hard time

In fact that is another reason to de-couple from the network, just provide the device and the software and let someone else work out the service, not usually part of Apples philosophy as they want to define the whole user experience, I think tailoring cross border networking deals depending on corporate requirements is well beyond them. Probably looking at the world through USA tinted goggles still.

[Hos]

is it a fair assumption that you will have to unlock your phone instore....how will they make sure you are going to be on the corresponding contract to the price you pay for the iphone??

i would imagine this will seriously hamper the unlocking of iphones...obviously there is still the payg iphones but i would expect these to be the same prices as the original iphones.