Optus Announces iPhone 3G Pricing in Australia

[Saz]

This is actually very reasonable... i don't see why people are complaining.
It's a highend phone, you can't expect it to be the same price as the standard nokias or sony ericssons.
right now i'm paying something like 220 dollars a month for my old windows CE phone. So this is a welcome change.
And the option of only being on a 12 month contract is really good.

 

[dolbinau]

Hm, so Optus allows you to buy a locked pre-paid iPhone, and then unlock it in there store? What's the catch?

However, while this is a brilliant device, I'm thinking of waiting for a 32Gb version. I currently own the 32Gb iPod Touch and I would like to replace this and my N73 with the iPhone to get an all in one device, and I don't like to downgrade to 16Gb

You have to pay $80, either in cash or by accumulating that amount through recharging.

 

[iMii]

so far so good down here....
update: plus we get free wifi on optus - thats great for those of us who work in the city

couldn't agree more! im liking this alot!
but still, as i mentioned above, a bit hesitant about that statement with itunes and downloading... not sure if they are refering to itunes on the phone, or if itunes downloading wont work and therefore they are refering to a computer, bcas if thats what they mean, well, that basically sucks now doesn't it...

 

[Obocop]

Initially i thought the Cap plans were better value, but when you look at the call rates, data and flagfalls, coupled with one of the tasty bonuses of some of the 'yes' plans, they would actually work out cheaper for many people (including me). I guess it depends how you use it.

 

[Minority_taxi]

Its great!

I think its great! Hope on a plan (like most people) and you get it cheap. Like you are gonna want another phone the rest of your life! (well, not in the next two years anyway!).

 

[oticon6]

To be honest, I don't know what the hell you guys are complaining about. These plans are quite reasonable, and beat AT&T's options by a long shot.

I'm personally looking at the $39 'yes' plan (+$12/month phone repayment for the 16GB) with the text bonus. $34 credit +$25 dedicated text credit, 500MB data.

So for $46, you get $59 credit, a decent amount of data, and (as far as I can see), no upfront cost, and a sexy new 16GB iPhone. Sounds damn good to me.

Excess is cheap too. 35c/MB is insanely good, considering you currently pay 1.1 to 2.2 cents per KILOBYTE for data. Data now costs 3% of what it used to.. that's impressive.

If you ask me, this is about as good as it gets. Hopefully Apple will look at the benefit of multiple carriers and allow such competition in other countries

 

[AlBDamned]

My Nokia 7710 was about the same amount, 3 years ago.

Still expensive relative to what the original cost.

 

[chewy5000]

Cap plans

while the prepaid plans look terrible, the plans (primarily cap plans) actually display some quality for money. $49 a month gets $300 worth of calls/text, plus 250 mb of data. That'd keep me going.

 

[jackdempsey]

please vodafone give us some data! I spend over two hours in a train most days and it gets kinda boring..

 

[Obocop]

To be honest, I don't know what the hell you guys are complaining about. These plans are quite reasonable, and beat AT&T's options by a long shot.

I'm personally looking at the $39 'yes' plan (+$12/month phone repayment for the 16GB) with the text bonus. $34 credit +$25 dedicated text credit, 500MB data.

So for $46, you get $59 credit, a decent amount of data, and (as far as I can see), no upfront cost, and a sexy new 16GB iPhone. Sounds damn good to me.

Are you secretly my twin brother? My calculations exactly. That was the plan I was going for.
I was going to go Telstra (who I strongly dislike) only because my dad has bundled stuff with them....but from the sounds of things, it may be far better value to go Optus.....At least when the iPhone drops to 2G out of metro areas, you'll nearly double your battery life.

Does any one know if using the GPS eats into your data?

 

[oticon6]

Are you secretly my twin brother? My calculations exactly. That was the plan I was going for.
I was going to go Telstra (who I strongly dislike) only because my dad has bundled stuff with them....but from the sounds of things, it may be far better value to go Optus.....At least when the iPhone drops to 2G out of metro areas, you'll nearly double your battery life.

Does any one know if using the GPS eats into your data?

It's the most logical option, so I'm guessing a lot of people will choose it. There's no point going to the $49, because the data is the same, and you get no extra benefits... just pay $10 more for $10 extra credit.. which is charged at the same rate as if you go over on the $39. In other words, all you're doing is increasing your minimum spend for absolutely no benefit.


I do wonder what Vodafone will come up with.. but to be honest, I'm quite happy with this, so I'll probably sign up so I can get one as early as possible if they don't give some details mighty quick.

The current coverage doesn't sound too impressive... 68%. It's possible that I won't have 3G at home, but that's no big deal. There are wireless routers everywhere and it supports VPN. 96% by the end of the year should be much better...

 

[Minority_taxi]

Are you secretly my twin brother? My calculations exactly. That was the plan I was going for.
I was going to go Telstra (who I strongly dislike) only because my dad has bundled stuff with them....but from the sounds of things, it may be far better value to go Optus.....At least when the iPhone drops to 2G out of metro areas, you'll nearly double your battery life.

Does any one know if using the GPS eats into your data?

Yes the GPS will use data for google map downloads. I dont know whether you'll be able to load a map in as an image with GPS ref points, similar to handheld GPS'.

 

[adamerr]

Yes the GPS will use data for google map downloads. I dont know whether you'll be able to load a map in as an image with GPS ref points, similar to handheld GPS'.

im pretty sure you can cache the maps though.
so you probs. wont have to keep downloading them.

EDIT! buts its just what ive heard, dont hold me to that.

 

[Minority_taxi]

im pretty sure you can cache the maps though.
so you probs. wont have to keep downloading them.

Gee I hope so. CAN ANYONE CONFIRM?

 

[MattInOz]

Looking Good.
Now here's hoping one of them does a deal to get Itunes Store and App Store and Maps Data into there Free Zone (aka.Optus iZoo) usage. That'll make the Data better value.

Bring on Vodafone Plans so we can finally run the numbers.

 

[macduke]

$50 of calls and text? What? Gotta love weird Australian systems. Could some Aussie here please explain what this means? How do dollars translate into minutes and individual texts?? I'm curious because there is a slight chance of my dad being promoted to a job in Australia and even though I'm in college, hell yeah I would follow them down there. Its beautiful and I'm a photographer!!

 

[rstretch]

am i right in saying that optus is the first provider to offer 'truly' and 'officially' unlocked iPhones?

 

[zarusoba]

3

Waiting for the other Telco: 3.

 

[dolbinau]

$50 of calls and text? What? Gotta love weird Australian systems. Could some Aussie here please explain what this means? How do dollars translate into minutes and individual texts?? I'm curious because there is a slight chance of my dad being promoted to a job in Australia and even though I'm in college, hell yeah I would follow them down there. Its beautiful and I'm a photographer!!

Sms are something like .25 C call costs (not sure) but say .30 cents per second. This translates into $50 if you know what I mean.

 

[TheReef]

Yeah around $700 was what I was expecting. I think it's pretty good compared to the other phones available which cost just as much.
That said $700 is still too much for me to shell out

 

[rtao]

with the optus pre-paid price, are we looking at the cheapest TCO of iPhone 3G on earth??

 

[queshy]

Sounds pretty good to me.

The outright price is the same, if not less than some other "smart" phones.

$79 per month gets you 700MB and a free phone - that's a good deal folks.

Now for the other two to let the penny drop.

I don't understand the pricing but if what you said is correct, yeah that is a good deal. Are there any hidden fees? Much better than with Robbers in Canada.

At almost 900 for the phone without the contract...that's a lot...why not just buy a MacBook, haha.

 

[Abstract]

Don't get so excited just yet ... you people who think you can get an iPone for $80.

In Australia, when you sign up for a $80p.mth plan, you undertake to pay that $80 monthly over a period, say, 2 years.

If you terminate the contract before 2 years, the Telco makes you pay out the rest of the contract, i.e. $80 x however many months remain on the contract.

These guys are out to gouge your wallet, so they've covered all angles.

The Telco in Australia, with good rates -- 3 Mobile -- apparently is not being given the iPone from Apple. Even their online petition to get the iPone has not succeeded in budging Apple.

I'm just sticking with my mobile broadband plan where I can use my MacBook Pro online anywhere. It is silly to pay all that money to surf the net on a tiny screen. It is nothing but techno-lust.

I don't get it. Really. I'm not an idiot, but I don't understand the very specific details of mobile phone use.

You buy the 16 GB iPhone for $850, and you unlock it for $80. You're still stuck choosing between 3-4 companies that all offer the iPhone. Why not just sign with the company you want to begin with? It doesn't seem as though you need to unlock an iPHone when every carrier has it.


So lets say you select the $50 Turbo Cap pre-paid option. This pre-paid plan expires after 30 days, so technically, it's similar to a monthly plan since you need to recharge every 30 days. But since you've purchased the iPhone and you enjoy your $50/month service, you think you'll continue paying the $50/month for the life of the iPHone. In this case, why not just pay $200 for the iPhone and sign for a 2 year plan? You pay the same monthly fee, you get the iPhone for free, or for very little cost, and you get a better plan for that price, and you don't need to pay the extra $600 for a locked iPhone. And besides, if you want to unlock your $200 iPhone after your 2 year plan is finished, you can for only $80.

 

[Bradjc]

About what I was expecting at least. This is inline with pretty much the current plans out there right now, some people love to complain I guess. I'm paying $79 right now, no data and about the same call rate with Vodafone. I get a free phone (a pretty cool one too) and 700MB then I'm not complaining too much. My only problem is that Telstra only are offing on a 24 month contract (unfortunately they have they best coverage where I am) and will need to get out of it when I want to upgrade to iPhone mark3 this time next year (or earlier?? 32GB with 3.2MP camera in a few months to keep sales kicking on around Christmas perhaps?).

 

[Chundles]

I don't understand the pricing but if what you said is correct, yeah that is a good deal. Are there any hidden fees? Much better than with Robbers in Canada.

At almost 900 for the phone without the contract...that's a lot...why not just buy a MacBook, haha.

What don't you understand about the pricing?