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$80/month? AT&T has $40/month with 1gb/month for the iPhone. So with $199 for the phone, that ends up around $1160. Concerning Australia: Last time I walked

by aik 14y ago

$80/month? AT&T has $40/month with 1gb/month for the iPhone. So with $199 for the phone, that ends up around $1160. Concerning Australia: Last time I walked in to (I think Telstra, and the same at Optus and Vodafone), I asked about the cost of cancelling a 2/yr contract. They said I'd have to pay out the entire contract ($50+/month for 750mb/month). So $1200+ in any case. With who were you able to cancel and not have to pay out the full? In any case, my initial question was basically: Why $149 and not the $199 like the other top-end phones?

mikelward 14y ago
Where is this $40 plan? If you're referring to the new "mobile share" plan, you also have to pay a $45 per month device fee, making it $85.
batiudrami 14y ago
You're right - if you cancel before the end of your contract you're up for the entire remainder of your contract. The poster didn't actually mention canceling the contract (he was doing the sums over the life of the contract). The best value in Australia is actually to buy the phone from a grey importer (though this works best with Android phones as iPhones aren't discounted much - a GS3 an be had for ~$530, iPhone 5 for ~$770), and going with a VMNO such as LiveConnected (http://www.liveconnected.com.au/mobile-plans http://www.liveconnected.com.au/mobile-plans) - a plan with ~600 minutes and 2GB of data only sets you back $17 a month, and you're not on a contract.
- aik 14y ago
  Interesting. Have you used LiveConnected? Know why they can be so inexpensive? Also, where you can you find a grey importer? (by the way the author does mention terminating the contract.)
  - batiudrami 14y ago
    I personally don't use it (I'm with Vodafone on a month to month contract as I used to work for them and have quite a good deal, and I know how they value long-tenure customers) but I know some friends who do. They've had no problems, but I've heard that if you do there is next-to no customer support on their end - if porting a number goes wrong, for instance. A middle-ground would be TPG Mobile who have some customer support if you need it. In terms of a grey importer, the best option is to keep your eye on OzBargain (www.ozbargain.com.au). Otherwise Staticice.com.au is a good aggregator if you're looking for a less popular model, or need one immediately. And perhaps I'm struggling with reading comprehension (it is Monday, after all!), but I still can't see him mention terminating the Australian contract early - only the US one.
  - fblp 14y ago
    I do use Liveconnected, there're a reseller of optus, they're inexpensive because they don't pay for sales, and they don't target premium customers like Optus does. You'll find there's tother companies like amaysim, lebra mobile, pennytel all in the same price range. Grey importers for phones include: kogan.com Shoppingsquare.com Check ozbargain and whirlpool.net.au for reviews and recommendations.
elithrar 14y ago
> I asked about the cost of cancelling a 2/yr contract. They said I'd have to pay out the entire contract ($50+/month for 750mb/month). So $1200+ in any case. With who were you able to cancel and not have to pay out the full? I'm not the parent, but I recently cancelled my iPhone 4S contract with Telstra so I could upgrade to a 5. The cancellation fee was Mobile Repayment Option (MRO) * months remaining; it worked out to about $340 with 12 months remaining for me. This was the motivating factor for upgrading early; I sold my 4S for more than it cost to break contract.

by aik 14y ago

mikelward 14y ago

Where is this $40 plan? If you're referring to the new "mobile share" plan, you also have to pay a $45 per month device fee, making it $85.

batiudrami 14y ago

You're right - if you cancel before the end of your contract you're up for the entire remainder of your contract. The poster didn't actually mention canceling the contract (he was doing the sums over the life of the contract). The best value in Australia is actually to buy the phone from a grey importer (though this works best with Android phones as iPhones aren't discounted much - a GS3 an be had for ~$530, iPhone 5 for ~$770), and going with a VMNO such as LiveConnected (http://www.liveconnected.com.au/mobile-plans http://www.liveconnected.com.au/mobile-plans) - a plan with ~600 minutes and 2GB of data only sets you back $17 a month, and you're not on a contract.

aik 14y ago
Interesting. Have you used LiveConnected? Know why they can be so inexpensive? Also, where you can you find a grey importer? (by the way the author does mention terminating the contract.)
- batiudrami 14y ago
  I personally don't use it (I'm with Vodafone on a month to month contract as I used to work for them and have quite a good deal, and I know how they value long-tenure customers) but I know some friends who do. They've had no problems, but I've heard that if you do there is next-to no customer support on their end - if porting a number goes wrong, for instance. A middle-ground would be TPG Mobile who have some customer support if you need it. In terms of a grey importer, the best option is to keep your eye on OzBargain (www.ozbargain.com.au). Otherwise Staticice.com.au is a good aggregator if you're looking for a less popular model, or need one immediately. And perhaps I'm struggling with reading comprehension (it is Monday, after all!), but I still can't see him mention terminating the Australian contract early - only the US one.
- fblp 14y ago
  I do use Liveconnected, there're a reseller of optus, they're inexpensive because they don't pay for sales, and they don't target premium customers like Optus does. You'll find there's tother companies like amaysim, lebra mobile, pennytel all in the same price range. Grey importers for phones include: kogan.com Shoppingsquare.com Check ozbargain and whirlpool.net.au for reviews and recommendations.

elithrar 14y ago

> I asked about the cost of cancelling a 2/yr contract. They said I'd have to pay out the entire contract ($50+/month for 750mb/month). So $1200+ in any case. With who were you able to cancel and not have to pay out the full? I'm not the parent, but I recently cancelled my iPhone 4S contract with Telstra so I could upgrade to a 5. The cancellation fee was Mobile Repayment Option (MRO) * months remaining; it worked out to about $340 with 12 months remaining for me. This was the motivating factor for upgrading early; I sold my 4S for more than it cost to break contract.