4 ms·

They have been doing this in the UK for a while (http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_ipho

by ErrantX 16y ago

They have been doing this in the UK for a while (http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iph... £499-599). Is this a particularly revolutionary thing? Apple's move, however, will force the carriers to compete for the business of customers with unlocked iPhones, possibly even on a monthly basis. I don't buy that somehow. They are pretty expensive (at least here anyway) compared to the currently subsidized prices. Currently I see no real benefit of not getting a contract device for 18 months then getting the free upgrade. Customers will only need to buy a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or micro-SIM, which typically sell for about $10, to switch to a different carrier. What about data costs? I know you couldn't do that here because internet access costs would crucify you quickly.

jasonlotito 16y ago
> Is this a particularly revolutionary thing? No. They've been doing this for a while. Not sure why it's news now.
- listic 16y ago
  It's still good to know how the things go this year, anyway. Especially for the folks who haven't been following the situation all along and/or live in very different parts of the world. For comparison: here in Russia 3GS now officially costs $961/1122 (29990/34990 RUB) for 16/32 GB. It launched in March [sic] I doubt that they will sell any significant amount; seems like a dead end for the operators.
ugh 16y ago
Flexibility and cheap calls from abroad. I don’t know much about the price structure in the US but in Germany there are cheaper options if you buy just the SIM. That phone must be payed somehow, that’s why you pay more every month when you have a subsidized phone. Now, that in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but your choices are seriously limited with a iPhone. What if I don’t need hundreds of minutes but want a real data flat rate? That’s not possible with an iPhone. And you can’t just pop in some cheapo prepaid SIM when traveling, you are forced to shoulder the roaming costs. That’s maybe not so important in the US but seriously sucks in Europe. Since the costs are the same – either higher monthly costs and a subsidized phone or lower monthly costs and a unsubsidized phone – I would always rather buy the unsubsidized phone.
- ErrantX 16y ago
  What if I don’t need hundreds of minutes but want a real data flat rate? That’s not possible with an iPhone. Wow, yeh. I just checked into this and it seems in the UK, on O2, we get a great deal - basically "free internet" data for a 18 months (then you can get a free upgrade). Since the costs are the same Not sure that's true, depending on your needs. The unsubsidized phone + lower monthly cost + phone bill would be much larger for me than the current contract I have. Agreed, though, it would be nice to be able to pop in a foreign SIM when abroad (I actually have a SIM free bog standard phone for this exact reason)
  - ugh 16y ago
    As always you should do some calculations. I would just say that in general (if you are in Germany) the costs are about the same.
  - ZeroGravitas 16y ago
    If you've had your iPhone more than 12 months then 02 will unlock it for you if you fill in the form on their website, then you'll be able to use local sims while abroad and shift to month-to-month sim-only deals on any network once your fixed term contract runs out. You keep mentioning "free" upgrades. Do you just mean that you don't need to pay for the phone up front and instead (re)-sign an 18 or 24 month contract with minimum monthly payments? It's not really free, it's just like paying off your phone in installments. I saved money by paying more than the minimum necessary for my iPhone and paying a lower price each month than the minimum I'd pay to get the phone for "free". Even if it worked out cheaper in theory, you're locked into that price for 18 months. Now I'm out my contract my monthly cost is halved but the number of free minutes I got for that money quadrupled. I could get an even better deal if I switched carriers, but I can't be bothered.
heresy 16y ago
I saved a couple of hundred dollars by buying an unlocked iPhone and not going on a Vodafone contract (in NZ). It was something like $2500 total over 24 months, vs. $1700 when buying it outright and going on a cheaper contract. You'd think more people could do basic math and think past the "first hit is $99" bait-and-switch... Also: Vodafone in NZ does not do free upgrades for contract users, begging the question of the point of a contract.

by ErrantX 16y ago

jasonlotito 16y ago

> Is this a particularly revolutionary thing? No. They've been doing this for a while. Not sure why it's news now.

listic 16y ago
It's still good to know how the things go this year, anyway. Especially for the folks who haven't been following the situation all along and/or live in very different parts of the world. For comparison: here in Russia 3GS now officially costs $961/1122 (29990/34990 RUB) for 16/32 GB. It launched in March [sic] I doubt that they will sell any significant amount; seems like a dead end for the operators.

ugh 16y ago

Flexibility and cheap calls from abroad. I don’t know much about the price structure in the US but in Germany there are cheaper options if you buy just the SIM. That phone must be payed somehow, that’s why you pay more every month when you have a subsidized phone. Now, that in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but your choices are seriously limited with a iPhone. What if I don’t need hundreds of minutes but want a real data flat rate? That’s not possible with an iPhone. And you can’t just pop in some cheapo prepaid SIM when traveling, you are forced to shoulder the roaming costs. That’s maybe not so important in the US but seriously sucks in Europe. Since the costs are the same – either higher monthly costs and a subsidized phone or lower monthly costs and a unsubsidized phone – I would always rather buy the unsubsidized phone.

ErrantX 16y ago
What if I don’t need hundreds of minutes but want a real data flat rate? That’s not possible with an iPhone. Wow, yeh. I just checked into this and it seems in the UK, on O2, we get a great deal - basically "free internet" data for a 18 months (then you can get a free upgrade). Since the costs are the same Not sure that's true, depending on your needs. The unsubsidized phone + lower monthly cost + phone bill would be much larger for me than the current contract I have. Agreed, though, it would be nice to be able to pop in a foreign SIM when abroad (I actually have a SIM free bog standard phone for this exact reason)
- ugh 16y ago
  As always you should do some calculations. I would just say that in general (if you are in Germany) the costs are about the same.
- ZeroGravitas 16y ago
  If you've had your iPhone more than 12 months then 02 will unlock it for you if you fill in the form on their website, then you'll be able to use local sims while abroad and shift to month-to-month sim-only deals on any network once your fixed term contract runs out. You keep mentioning "free" upgrades. Do you just mean that you don't need to pay for the phone up front and instead (re)-sign an 18 or 24 month contract with minimum monthly payments? It's not really free, it's just like paying off your phone in installments. I saved money by paying more than the minimum necessary for my iPhone and paying a lower price each month than the minimum I'd pay to get the phone for "free". Even if it worked out cheaper in theory, you're locked into that price for 18 months. Now I'm out my contract my monthly cost is halved but the number of free minutes I got for that money quadrupled. I could get an even better deal if I switched carriers, but I can't be bothered.

heresy 16y ago

I saved a couple of hundred dollars by buying an unlocked iPhone and not going on a Vodafone contract (in NZ). It was something like $2500 total over 24 months, vs. $1700 when buying it outright and going on a cheaper contract. You'd think more people could do basic math and think past the "first hit is $99" bait-and-switch... Also: Vodafone in NZ does not do free upgrades for contract users, begging the question of the point of a contract.