iphone 3G

[martyyn 2]

Any of our people 'in the business' know whats going on here ?

Vodafone seem to be in complete disarray with how the price structure is going to mess up all their other phones and plans and I want to know what its going to cost and what plans will be offered with it. Please dont tell me to call Vodafone, their CSR's know less than I do and I work for the competition !

[pjay 8]

you work for telecom?

[martyyn 2]

you work for telecom?

[pjay 8]

ooohh.. im in CTS (as of the 21st)

Heres a few links.

Due in NZ this year on Vodafone

New iPhone

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/personal/about/m...e-iphone-3G.jsp

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/iphone/index.jsp

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4597525a28.html

[martyyn 2]

Yeah, Ive seen all of those thank mate, but there has been nothing new released since 10th June and I want to know whats going on.

I know vodafone will be having trouble with their billing systems and if the price of the phone is as expected then its going to blow everything else they are trying to sell out of the water, so whats going on ?

Do they have any idea on what its going to cost and what plans it will be released on or not ?

[cainchapman 0]

I'm with Martyn, Vodafone couldn't hit the floor with both feet at the moment!

I'd have already placed an order if they'd make an announcement.

I'll probably just stick with another Blackberry.

[Grant 4]

Yeah - I intend to get one, I went and apoke to Vodafone, but they knew bugger all.

Cheers

Grant

[steve R 0]

its bullshit, the plans are crap, with the first LIMITED release aimed at "business customers"

form what i have heard there are going to be 2 plans,

one is $110 a month and comes with 120mins plus 200mb of data.

the other is $225 a month with 400 or 600 mins a 1gb of data

apparently, the new casual data rate does not work with the iphone and only iphone plans will, kind of like how only blackberry plans work with blackberry.

if you REALLY want one, make sure your instore 9am release day, as the plan is to release only around 2000 and then starve the market for 2-3 months. also not all stores will be selling them, due to the limited numbers

if you have a plan already, and are not available for resign, then the cost is around $1000 for the 8GB and $1200 for the 16GB. the price of the phone will be nowhere near that of the states or UK etc, as that would under cut all other handset makers, the phone will be priced on specs, and in relation to phones with similar specs.

for example N95 8GB

with the cost on the iphone plans being subsidized.

Details are still extremely hard to come by, but this should give an indication of were things are heading. all this information is just what i have heard from various people that work for vodafone, but there are still alot of different stories floating around. all the phones will also arrive "bricked" meaning they require activation in store.

Edited July 3, 2008 by 328imobbin

[Grant 4]

its bullshit, the plans are crap, with the first LIMITED release aimed at "business customers"

form what i have heard there are going to be 2 plans,

one is $110 a month and comes with 120mins plus 200mb of data.

the other is $225 a month with 400 or 600 mins a 1gb of data

apparently, the new casual data rate does not work with the iphone and only iphone plans will, kind of like how only blackberry plans work with blackberry.

if you REALLY want one, make sure your instore 9am release day, as the plan is to release only around 2000 and then starve the market for 2-3 months. also not all stores will be selling them, due to the limited numbers

if you have a plan already, and are not available for resign, then the cost is around $1000 for the 8GB and $1200 for the 16GB. the price of the phone will be nowhere near that of the states or UK etc, as that would under cut all other handset makers, the phone will be priced on specs, and in relation to phones with similar specs.

for example N95 8GB

with the cost on the iphone plans being subsidized.

Details are still extremely hard to come by, but this should give an indication of were things are heading. all this information is just what i have heard from various people that work for vodafone, but there are still alot of different stories floating around. all the phones will also arrive "bricked" meaning they require activation in store.

Sounds like I'm better off waiting 3 months and getting one in the US. I would have had to go on AT&T's plan there anyway, so I might as well get the US$399 16GB iPhone there.

Cheers

Grant

[Carl 3]

It's just a bloody phone

[martyyn 2]

All of that goes completely against everything Ive heard so far though. Apple now has a worldwide policy for the price of phones. The Aussie and UK prices are the same as the US prices so how would the vodafone get away with pricing the phone five times more than elsewhere?

For too long the prices of phones here have been exhorbitant and finally a manufacturer has decided to follow the practice elsewhere in the world of subsidising the cost of the phone for a cut of the monthly rental.

Why release a phone with the funcationality of the 3g iphone and restrict the plans to something thats make them useless ?

Grant, you dont need to join the AT&T market in the US to get the phone working in NZ. Its not actually that hard to get an iphone from the US Apple store, get it sent ocer here and get it running. You can get one going for about $600 so I say again, why would vodafone charge twice what you can do it for yourself ?

Carl, just shows how little you know about it mate ! Its not just a phone, its a phone, an ipod, a sat nav, a games console, a camera (although its a poor one) and the missing link to have all your email, calendar and contacts seemlessly synchronised.

[misgvous_1 0]

If one is imported from america can it be run on any plan or prepay or does it have to be run off an iphone plan?

[steve R 0]

you wont be able to get the 3g version from the US, all phones sold in the US, and other countires require activation in store, meaning they need to be unbricked in store and you need to sign up to a plan for 2 years before you take the phone home

AT&T has said that some time in the future they are going to release the phones on pre pay, but again i think the price is about $699 for the 16GB

i heard yesterday that the plans are revenue sharing, this has been given up most places in the world, but not new zealand.

the iphone bought on the iphone plans will have HEAVY subsidies. i think the plan is to release consumer iphone plans in the second release in a few months time (around xmas )

i was very disappointed when i heard what the plans are supposed to have, as i was hoping for alot more data, and cheaper. so hopefully the plans will change

[martyyn 2]

What Ive heard so far (from someone within vodafone) is that we will be suprised by the phone's price (ie it will be cheaper than expected) and secondly that they are not going to be limited to 'iphone only' plans. Until the details are officially released though Im taking everything I hear with a grain of salt.

This looks interesting though. Aussie prices are double that of the other countries for the subsidised phone for example.

iphone price rundown

[martyyn 2]

You dont need to get the phone activated 'in store' or sign up for a two year plan and there are plenty of ways to unlock it when you get it here.

[steve R 0]

im just going by what i have heard from the likes of vodafone territory managers etc. the phone costs vodafone alot of money, at $1200 i think there is about $30 margin in it, or so i have heard.

the phone will be available outright to people allready on plans, as i said before, but its weather the data will work on anything i other than the iphone plans, like blackberrys and blackberry plans

http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/News/St...0703-74401.html

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/29460?tc=wm

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9980676-1.html

the link is about in store activation. we have allready had training on how to unbrick the phones in store.

Edited July 3, 2008 by 328imobbin

[QuickSilver 0]

$1200 for the phone?! What the f**k?

This is more than the parallel imported version cost a year ago!

[steve R 0]

its the new version, and if you think about it in relation to other handsets of the same spec, it makes sense.

[cainchapman 0]

$1200, an absolute crock!

The material cost of an iPhone would not be more than $100USD.

And Martyn's description of the iPhone is the same as the Blackberry. Mine is a super sales tool and saves me heaps of time and shortens my response time to customers.

[OLLIE 26]

it's going to be funny hearing all the complaints from vodafone customers when they see their first bill after getting their new 3g iphone. "oh sh*t, how did i use $400 worth of data.

If you can buy one in the US - DO IT

otherwise i'd hang tite until vodafone sorts their sh*t out, this whole US$199 is bollocks in NZ as like mentioned previously you will have to lock into a 36 month plan at over $150 a month to get the phone for a decent price.

I've had enough of vodafone, i used to think they were amazing compared with telecom but as soon as telecom go's gsm, i'm probably straight back with them.

rant rant

[elmarco 56]

$1200, an absolute crock!

The material cost of an iPhone would not be more than $100USD.

And Martyn's description of the iPhone is the same as the Blackberry. Mine is a super sales tool and saves me heaps of time and shortens my response time to customers.

$100 USD may be about right, but you can't ignore the R&D, tooling and development costs which would likely be on top of this (big $$$$$$$). Of course you also pay a premium for the Apple name and reputation - and judging by some of the comments in this thread, it sounds like there is added value to this (otherwise it wouldn't be such a hot item). And then everyone that touches it before it gets to the end user will want margin too....

I do agree though that $1200 is a crock - you would hope it is significantly less than that. If Vodafone are only making $30 per unit (sounds like sales spiel to me), they must be absolutely reaming users on the monthly costs - they are in business to make money after all.

My 2c for what it's worth.

[steve R 0]

$100 USD may be about right, but you can't ignore the R&D, tooling and development costs which would likely be on top of this (big $$$$$$$). Of course you also pay a premium for the Apple name and reputation - and judging by some of the comments in this thread, it sounds like there is added value to this (otherwise it wouldn't be such a hot item). And then everyone that touches it before it gets to the end user will want margin too....

I do agree though that $1200 is a crock - you would hope it is significantly less than that. If Vodafone are only making $30 per unit (sounds like sales spiel to me), they must be absolutely reaming users on the monthly costs - they are in business to make money after all.

My 2c for what it's worth.

I assure you its not a sales spiel, do you think im happy about having $30 margin on a $1200 phone? i would much prefer to sell a n95 and get $250 or $350 for an 8GB, but we have been told by our company that we will be mystery shopped by Apple customers, and if we say "buy an N95 its better" we may have iphones pulled from our store.

if you consider the price of other devices, $1200 for the 16GB version isnt over priced IN COMPARISON, , think blackberry $900 and $1000. N95 is $1000 and $1400 for the 8GB. the new HTC tytanII will be $1250 nokia E90 $1800, imate jasjam $1700

Edited July 4, 2008 by 328imobbin

[steve R 0]

it's going to be funny hearing all the complaints from vodafone customers when they see their first bill after getting their new 3g iphone. "oh sh*t, how did i use $400 worth of data.

If you can buy one in the US - DO IT

otherwise i'd hang tite until vodafone sorts their sh*t out, this whole US$199 is bollocks in NZ as like mentioned previously you will have to lock into a 36 month plan at over $150 a month to get the phone for a decent price.

I've had enough of vodafone, i used to think they were amazing compared with telecom but as soon as telecom go's gsm, i'm probably straight back with them.

rant rant

its allso going to be funny when loads of people turn up to buy them on release day expecting to get them for a bargin and see the plans and prices and think WTF. i get 100 questions a day "how much is the iphone going to be" its going to be like $400 right" "but its 199 in the US, so it must be the same here"

[emily-mouse 0]

SENSIBLE POST #1.

My friend had an Iphone last week. I think it was 16gb or something. Was pretty cool...but there was no pxt option. Which was the stupid thing about it. So she sold it on...

It was imported from the US. Uhhh and she had it on prepaid Vodafone.

Sorry if this post gets on anyones nerves.

[OLLIE 26]

SENSIBLE POST #1.

My friend had an Iphone last week. I think it was 16gb or something. Was pretty cool...but there was no pxt option. Which was the stupid thing about it. So she sold it on...

It was imported from the US. Uhhh and she had it on prepaid Vodafone.

Sorry if this post gets on anyones nerves.

How is that "sensible", relevant or going to get on anyones nerves?

the original iphone doesn't have 3G, hence no pxt, everyone knows this. The new 3G iphone does. If your friend loves pxt so much she should have done her research. The best way to buy an iphone is to buy it in the US and unlock it, it will ALWAYS be cheapest there.

I had a chat to my friend at vodafone last night, here is what he said.

"We had iphone training this week, there are 75,000 pre-orders and only 10,000 phones. We don't even know the plans that they will be sold with or anything. I'm staying the hell away from them for at least 6 months. I think the smallest plan you can get one on will be 24 month you choose 250 ($110/month) and the phone will cost $400, if you buy the phone outright it will cost $900 (until blackberrys go down in price)"

I am glad I bought my 1st generation iphone, i don't use pxt and 3G is too expensive anyway so i save myself a lot of money. Once i upgrade to the 2.0 software and sign up for Mobile Me (push email, contacts, calendar etc..) i will be happy, a lot happier than the people who stuff around with vodafone and their rip off data plans etc...

Once 3G data is more affordable and the phone is waaay down in price i might upgrade to the 3G unit so i can use the extra GPS and 3G features.