Apple cut their prices when the VAT dropped to 15% and increased them when it went back up to 17.5%.
Apple will pass on the increase when it goes up to 20%.
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The U.K. iPhone 4 Thread
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Apple cut their prices when the VAT dropped to 15% and increased them when it went back up to 17.5%.
Apple will pass on the increase when it goes up to 20%.
There are two different micro sim packs (from O2) for switching from an older sim. Supposedly they are not cross-compatible, so a Pay & Go sim must upgrade to a Pay & Go micro sim, similarly for contract sims.
As for the actual phone itself, if you buy a sim-free handset from Apple then you can use any sim you like
Thanks for clearing that up, im beginning to hate o2 even more now, but hopefully in 6 months i can choose any network for my Iphone 4
Precisely what ste said, the VAT cut was all about stimulating consumption (most important component of any Western economy). Furthermore, if they didn't cut it, they'd get a hell of a lot of negative publicity (the larger firms that didn't cut prices got away with it because their prices weren't always on public display as much as Apple's are).
It would be great PR for them to swallow the excess tax (as Magners did when cider was levied a huge amount by Labour earlier this year). You're right, they may well increase prices, but I'd like to think they wouldn't.
Thanks for clearing that up, im beginning to hate o2 even more now, but hopefully in 6 months i can choose any network for my Iphone 4
i think o2 are doing a good job! my mate is on orange he cant even get a micro sim there response is that he will need to get another separate contract in order to use a micro sim
apple 100% will increase the prices, they are never going to take a hit in profits
Apple will likely take the hit for this, and keep the prices the same. I guess a lot of companies will do that.
Related to this, I'm really disappointed by how the Lib Dems have sold out. They'll never get my vote again.
Interesting data viz of the budget cuts, showing that they won't have much effect. http://www.wheredoesmymoneygo.org/budget/
This is the sad truth I'm afraid. They're a premium company, too, remember.
Ditto, I think they're well on top of this launch. They're getting a lot of stick lately for the unlimited data thing (which if you ask me, is less of a disaster and more like an inconvenience)... but on the whole, I think its generally positive.... early upgrade offer, easy and fast micro sim swap, only selling to existing customers.. ... good times!
or they will be cleaver and introduce their new products (like the new ipods in september) at the higher rate of VAT and they will have more profit for a few months and then when the rate goes up they will keep the prices the same and look good but secretly just make the same as they would have all along if they brought it out with 17.5% VAT
I hope you all can see what you've done now! Yes, I didn't much fancy Brown, but by throwing the votes away to the Lib-dem, we've elected a government that will ruin our recovery. I've got to figure out any long-term capital purchases I intend to make and effect them before January 4. Alternatively, it's becoming increasingly viable to make cheap international travels just so one can go through airports for duty free shopping on items such as macbooks.
That's not necessarily true... If they hadn't dropped there prices to match the VAT drop, it would have reflected badly on them, and then when they increased prices again to the 17.5% VAT, it was just going back up to "normal" Prices... as G.O.B. said, it's a psychology thing.. they will likely get more sales by taking the hit themselves... for example, when I saw the prices on oranges site when they released prices for payg I thought that 580 was quite a good price... then realized it was basically the same as apple... (it was only a quick mistake on my part
) anywho... only time will tell and we will see on jan 4th... I'm not happy with the VAT increase tho... (in fact the government is pissing me off with the way they are handling the budget... I think they should sort it out differently... but I'll save that for when I can post on the political threads )EDIT:
The profit that they would "loose" by taking the hit isn't that big a deal to a company like apple... especially when the amount they could potentially make from the extra sales (cuz of the psychology thing, as well as the good PR) could help make up for it.
as for them being a premium company... sure that's true... but the only reason they are a premium company is cuz of their PR... if steve wasn't such a good sales man they would be no where near where they are now... possibly even bankrupt... and it's because they rely on PR and advertising so much that they are more likely than most companies to take that hit...
No worries, print out this PDF: http://www.micro-sim.de/basteln/microsim-schablone.pdf
Yes it's german, but straightforward. The light grey template is for you to check if the printer did not change the size of the pictures (thus check if your current sim fits the light grey template). If so, cut out the dark one, put it on your sim, fix it with some scotch tape and cut it out. Voila
If Apple does take the hit on VAT prices it'll be because they've put up prices to cover it in advance. There are new iMacs, iPods and Mac Pros at the very least due before January 4th and I'll hedge my bets that all of those will have higher prices than the current models. Mainly due to the value of the £ vs the $ dropping but Apple will probably factor in the future VAT rise so that they can play the hero come January the 4th and keep prices constant.
Well.....changed over to 20GBP pm simplicity tariff on Saturday....walked into O2 shop on Cheapside, London at 11:45 am today, showed them the confirmation email from apple, nice lady handed me a microsim, walked back to the office, did a sim swap through the website and about 40 minutes ago I was back up and running with the new microsim ready for thursday when the 4 arrives......HOPEFULLY.....
o2 mirco sim swapped worked.
waiting for vodafone micro sim swap though
anyone order shipped yet?
waiting for vodafone micro sim swap though
anyone order shipped yet?
I have an out of contract 3G and I finally decided on getting the current (i.e. unlimited data) 20ppm simplicity plan from o2. However I just rang to order this and the lady in the upgrade department advised that the limit will be changing to 500Mb in (I think) November. So the same deal as if I signed up for the upcoming iPhone package.
So now I back to thinking about switching to Orange...
So now I back to thinking about switching to Orange...
Apple can change the price when ever they want to! They don't set the VAT but they can set what ever price they choose!
Also remember for those on Contracts, the monthly amount will increase.
£40 a month becomes £40.85 a month.
Thats an extra £15.30 over the 18 months.
£40 a month becomes £40.85 a month.
Thats an extra £15.30 over the 18 months.
Just went in to my local Phones4u and with a £5 deposit, pre-ordered a 16gb iPhone 4! I've ordered it in White, and the shop assistant said they would have white, but I'm not too confident in that one...!
Also, after pre-ordering I popped into the o2 store just over the road, and said I had just pre-ordered from P4U, and asked for a micro-sim but apparently only people who have ordered from Apple can have them, so I'm hoping P4U will have them (or one will arrive in the post from o2!)
Also, after pre-ordering I popped into the o2 store just over the road, and said I had just pre-ordered from P4U, and asked for a micro-sim but apparently only people who have ordered from Apple can have them, so I'm hoping P4U will have them (or one will arrive in the post from o2!)
I must concur. I was going to take the opportunity to jump network but the rest have been so crap on disseminating information I'll stick with the carrier Apple has worked most closely with. And they claim they are improving their network - who knows, but there has been some improvement in my part of London, although beyond the major conurbations I'm sure it's an entirely different story...