New iPhone pricing policy a bit... unappealing?

[Anonymous]

Is it me or is the new iPhone pricing policy looking a bit... well.. non-appealing (that's the politest phrase I could think of).

First off, there is the cost. At WWDC the following was announced that in the US;

3G 8GB goes from $199 to $99.
3GS 16GB to be $199 (same as old price for 3G 8GB)
3GS 32GB to be $299 (same as old price for 3G 16GB).
From O2 in the UK we get price rises rather than cuts. For example on PAYG;

3G 8GB stays the same price.
3GS 16GB costs about £50 ($80) more than the old 3G 16GB
3GS 32GB costs about £150 ($240) more than the old 3G 16GB

and on Pay Monthly tariffs where you need to pay for the ‘phone you’re looking at paying an up front cost of around £55 ( $88 ) more for a 3GS 16GB than the 3G 16GB, and £145 ( $235 ) more for a 3GS 32GB than the 3G 16GB was!!!

This price increase is also reflected in the £45 per month tariff where the old 3G 16GB was free, now you have to pay £87.11 ($140) for the phone.

Now looking at Tethering, On pay Monthly tariffs “unlimited UK data and Wifi

[Anonymous]

I think O2 will have some very dissapointing sales with this one....

I don't think so, it's an Apple product and it's new, it'll sell by the bucket load.

Unfortunately, I think you may be right... May be UK poor sales would have forced Apple to put a bit of pressure on O2 to pass on the discounts available to US customers.
Never mind - I'll just wait until the next one next year. Who knows, it may even be available on other networks by then.

No, this time I think they've shot themselves in the foot. Not that many of us bought the 2G iPhone. Last year most of us upgraded to 3G, and heaps of other folks got a 3G as their first iPhone. In the current climate how many of us can afford to buy out our contracts? Most people wanting one already have one, but will not be willing or able to shell out another £240 on top of an already higher price. And we'll be concerned that when the successor to the 3GS comes out (next year?) that they'll sting us again. Time for Apple to open up to other operators. And for O2 to think seriously about their customers.

[Anonymous]

everyone who has a 3g iphone will have at least 6 months left on there contracts due to the 18months contract they would have taken.

I for one im not willing to buy my self out of the contract then upgrade to the new phone.

[Anonymous]

If you got your Iphone 3G from carphonewarehouse and took out their top insurance you can cancel your existing contract after 9 months i think? and get the 3GS. you have to return your Iphone 3G and pay a 29.50 excess

[Anonymous]

I agree with all of the posts in this thread!!

Why on earth would you want to sign up to a 24 month contract when Apple will release a new iPhone every year. I would gladly upgrade now and continue with O2, but as with all existing 3G customers, I have 6 months remaining on my contract. I really do hope that the exclusive agreement that O2 have with Apple comes to an end soon. At least then, we will get some competition in the market instead of having to accept what O2 feel like charging us. 12 quid for tethering, please, I thought that I had already paid for *unlimited data*

The costs of the handsets are also ridiculous

[Anonymous]

I think if they are savvy, compating UK mobile providers will utilise this situation.
O2's monopoly on the Apple iPhone will be up in about 6 months which will mean that the price of the unit will probably drop closer to the price it is going for in the States.
But I wouldn't be surprised to see some amazing deals emerging from other providers at the back of this...
O2 will find that people are not stupid - once they find out that the same phone is available for almost a third of the price elsewhere to what they are being asked to fork out over here, they won't easily be parting with their money.

IMO - There are some pretty amazing phones out there - and even this latest offering from Apple with a meagre 3 megapixel camera hasn't got *that many* features to justify this pricing structure...

[Anonymous]

Seriously, anyone who has a real gripe with O2's iPhone pricing needs to write a formal complaint letter. They don't take notice of forum posts - they need to be told.

[Anonymous]

I think if they are savvy, compating UK mobile providers will utilise this situation.
O2's monopoly on the Apple iPhone will be up in about 6 months which will mean that the price of the unit will probably drop closer to the price it is going for in the States.
But I wouldn't be surprised to see some amazing deals emerging from other providers at the back of this...
O2 will find that people are not stupid - once they find out that the same phone is available for almost a third of the price elsewhere to what they are being asked to fork out over here, they won't easily be parting with their money.
IMO - There are some pretty amazing phones out there - and even this latest offering from Apple with a meagre 3 megapixel camera hasn't got *that many* features to justify this pricing structure...

How do you know it's up in 6 months? We've heard this time and again, but it's unlikely.

[Anonymous]

....
But I wouldn't be surprised to see some amazing deals emerging from other providers at the back of this...
O2 will find that people are not stupid - once they find out that the same phone is available for almost a third of the price elsewhere to what they are being asked to fork out over here, they won't easily be parting with their money.
.....

Are you kidding? Every single operator has started to move to 24 month contracts and starting at £35 and that can in part be held accountable to the iphone. The iphone has proved that the customer will pay this amount without much effort. They've even got customers to pay for a handset on top of this!

True, now days mobile providers are asking people to pay for their handsets before signing them on a contract. You can see from Vodafone and Orange's way of thinking - unless you are going for £35 a month tariff for 24 months. Obviously, one can negotiate with them for lowering their price tariff.
However, I see that there is no rush for people to buy the Iphone 3GS. As I have mentioned earlier in one of the post, Apple will have to change the way they are charing customers. Look at the entire laptops from Apple... They have reduced the prices for all and upgraded their specifications. The question is to ask : Why? That is because they know that if they don't, customers will not be attracted to buy especially during this economic climate. No doubt that their sales will still be strong but can we foresee the future? I don't think so. They need to have drastic move and they have done it. Now, I think it is good for any potential customers to wait for September 2009 before they buy their Apple macbooks or macbook pros as it will come together with Snow Leopard instead of the Leopard. You can still get the upgrades if you buy one now but you have to pay a small fee for the OS to be shipped to you when it is being released.
I think stick with your current Iphone 3G guys... Not worth while buying out your contracts...

[Anonymous]

For the price *difference* between the 16 and 32 GB 3GS models you can buy an *entire* 32GB SSD Hard disk for a PC or Laptop from Amazon.
I know flash isn't cheap, but to me 16GB extra for the price I can buy an equivalent 32GB Hard disk isn't good value for money.

Now connect it up to a phone, fit it inside a sleek looking case and make it work.
Component parts may be cheaper but there are costs in manufacturing and R&D to factor in. Some of the parts that Apple use are made specifically for them hence they can factor that into the price point.

That bit has already been factored into the cost of the 16GB device. As I said in the post you can easily buy the 32GB SSD drive for the difference in price between what O2 want for the 16GB and 32GB versions, and if you want to try and tell me that there are major issues involved with using the chips needed for 32GB of storage, well, maybe you can explain how some companies are fitting 32GB of storage into a credit card for less than 40 quid.

[Anonymous]

Here I am an iPhone early adopted who helped make a success of the brand and exclusive network operator here in the UK. I spend £70-80 every month with O2 and how am I repaid?

I need to 'buy out' my contract - pay for airtime, data facility and iPhone subsidy and THEN recommit to the network for 18 months AND buy the new 3GS - what a joke. Mobile operators are about building loyalty with cutomers and O2 has just alienated me in one foul swoop - I do not like being shafted...

You should have taken the handset subsidy element of our monthly charge (£5-8?) and multiplied that by the contract months remaining and let that be the 'cost' of upgrading for your loyal customers.

As it stands you have a perception disaster on your hands that I suggest you address forthwith.

Yours sincerely

Adam Fawsitt
O2 customer