Iphone 4

[mitchja]

So far, although this still has to be confirmed, the iPhone 4 handset prices are rumored to be more or less the same as the current 3GS ones.

For PAYG the current 16Gb 3GS is £440 and the 32Gb is £540. Only O2 and Orange currently offer PAYG iPhones though.

Was looking at the tariffs and trying to makes some educated guesses as to which plan is best to go with. Given the lack of Visual Voicemail on Orange and Vodafone, probably going to stick with O2, even though I'm suspicious of the removal of unlimited data.

So, I'l looking at the two Simplicity plans (30 day and 12 month), plus the two options that subsidise the handset (18 month and 24 month). I'm going to make a broad assumption that the US pricing announced probably means the 3GS is going to slot into the pricing where the iPhone 3G was, and the iPhone 4 is going to be marked up at around the same price as the 3GS. If that assumption is right, I expect the Pay-As-You-Go price for the 32GB to be about £499 (maybe a little less), and on the 600 minute Pay Month plan, probably about £180 for the handset.

So, my thinking is this - over the span of a year;

On a 30 day Simplicity plan, I'd pay 12 x £25 + £500, so about £800.
For 12 month Simplicity, that would be 12 x £20 + £500, or about £740.

On an 18 month contract, it'd be 12 x £40 + £180, or around £660.
And for 24 months, 12 x £35 + £180, or about £600.

However, given Apple have developed quite the pattern of releasing every 12 months, and assuming I'd want the latest model next year, I've got to factor the early buy out into those numbers above, and assuming it's £20 per month like the current promo, then I'd be looking at closer to £780 for the 18 month contract and £840 for the 24 month contract.

So I'm thinking the most sensible option is to buy the handset and go for the 12 month Simplicity option. Any other thoughts on this? Obviously this all might change if the prices announced are wildly different.

edit:
.... and of course, the Three tariffs might change the situation again. They haven't announced iPhone prices yet, but their tariffs on other smartphones are pretty competitive, and most include unlimited internet.

The other thing to consider is the cost of say the 300 min plan vs the 600min plan (for example). I know with the 3G if you wanted to end up on the £35 tariff it was cheaper to start off on the £45 and switch down to the £35 after nine months as the phone was subsidised more on the £45 tariff. Now I'm only talking about a tenner but given your calculations that tenner could make a difference

[RichardMannion]

I'd wait to see what plans T-Mobile offer - they seem to have the best packages for mobile internet (fair use policy, so no whacking overage bills each month) and the coverage is pretty good (with good bandwidth too).

I'd wait to see what plans T-Mobile offer - they seem to have the best packages for mobile internet (fair use policy, so no whacking overage bills each month) and the coverage is pretty good (with good bandwidth too).

We get a 3GB monthly allowance on smartphones purchased from t-mobile.

It is expected that the various connectivity issues which some of us experience, both on data and telephony, (I for instance get no telephone signal at the front of my house but a strong one at the back) will disappear when we can pick, at no charge, the stronger of t-mobile and orange whenever and wherever the need arises.

Apple store UK going live for pre-order ay 9am today (in 25 minutes time!)

No networks doing pre-orders, just first come first served on release day.

Update (0905)
Apple UK PAYG iPhone4:
£499 for the 16gb
£599 for the 32gb

£419 for the 8gb 3GS.

[mitchja]

32GB iPhone 4 ordered here (eventually, took nearly an hour as the website is getting hammered)

iPhones are now also SIM free as well if you buy from Apple so not locked to a network.

I so want one. But got to wait until they are available in Guernsey. So might be a bit of a wait, but there is definately one with my name on it.

Early upgrade offer on 02:
http://shop.o2.co.uk/new-iphone/earlyupgradeoffer.html

It says they might be able to upgrade me at for free

What I have found hugely annoying about all of this is:
[*] Vodafone/Orange/T-Mobile and whoever else now sell this thing will not officially release any tariff information (I see Vodafone's was leaked)

[*] o2 seem unwilling to tell you how much the handset will cost with the correct tariff

[*] The complete lack of education amongst mobile phone store employees about any of this

[*] The fact that Apple are only allowing pre-orders

If anyone can tell me the various tariffs and how much the handset will cost on each tariff I would be grateful!

o2 tariffs:

http://shop.o2.co.uk/new-iphone/tariffs.html

[mitchja]

Orange have just announced their iPhone 4 tariffs and handset prices here so only a matter of time now until the others follow.

Orange have just announced their iPhone 4 tariffs and handset prices here so only a matter of time now until the others follow.

Cheers Mitchja.

Looking at the price of the handsets, I think that ORange is a bit pricer than what was leaked by Vodafone earlier in the week.

All these new tariff's seem very data limited. Never had an iphone, but wondering how much data do people actually get through?

[mitchja]

I use between 150 - 200Mb a month here but I do have limited 3G access on O2.

Things like TV catch up (does need 3G to work properly) do eat up your data allowance though at about 4Mb a minute.

Apparently only 3% of O2 iPhone users are using more than 500Mb every month so I really don't think most people have much to worry about.

Mobile data is going exactly the same way fixed line broadband did where 'unlimited' is a thing of the past.

The handset prices are out for O2 I was slightly surprised that you have to pay for the 32 even on the unlimited plan, was I just being optimistic?

EDIT: Looks like they are cheaper than Orange pretty much all the way through.

Looks like buying the 32GB for £599 (plus a bit of cashback from the Apple store via quidco) and going for the 12 month simplicity @ £15 per month will be my best bet for my current usuage. There was a time when I was hammering the data usuage but that's no longer the case.

[mitchja]

O2 have said today that they will only sell the iPhone 4 in their retail shops to existing O2 customers only (mobile, broadband or homephone) initially.

O2 also won't be selling the iPhone 4 online until at least the end of July, where it will then also be available to everybody.

Details here

Also, from Monday 21st, O2 retail shops will be able to give out iPhone 4 micro-SIM cards ready for the 24th. If you have purchased an iPhone 4 direct from Apple, they will need to see a copy of your Apple order confirmation.

Once you have a micro-SIM you can then start the number transfer process by filling in this form which should take about 24 hours once you activate the iPhone 4/micro-SIM via iTunes.

I have no idea how other UK networks are planning to implement the SIM card charge over.

O2 have already said that iPad and iPhone 4 micro-SIM cards are not interchangeable.

[Pete]

So now the networks have (for the most part) put their cards on the table, I'm rather pleased I went for the option of buying from Apple direct. Even though there is a minimal saving on contract over the period of the equivalent contracts, buying the phone up front mean you don't have to buy-out if there's something mega next year, but more importantly the only unlocked phone is the one Apple is selling - so for the best deals on data in the US, I'm going to be better off sourcing a sim-only plan from a US carrier.

iPhone due for delivery on the 24th. I got in early enough, it seems.

[mitchja]

Vodafone have now also released their iPhone tariffs/handset costs today here

T-Mobile will not be offering the iPhone 4 on the official launch day as they will launch it 'later'

No idea what Three are doing?

Also expect an announcement from Virgin Mobile soon too as they are apparently 'in discussions with Apple'.

[Pete]

Popped into an O2 store today and picked up a couple of Micro Sims. Had to show them my Apple order, but no real hassle.

Apple are still showing delivery due on Thursday, so fingers crossed they turn up on time!

[mitchja]

Also picked up a micro-SIM from an O2 store today (make sure they give you the right one as there's 3 types - iPad (which apparently wont work in an iPhone 4), iPhone 4 pay monthly and iPhone 4 PAYG)

Did the O2 online number swap and the new SIM was working within 20mins. Currently using it in my 3GS with the normal SIM surround still attached to it (you can get a SIM converter from many places once you snap out the micro-SIM).

My Apple order has changed to 'Prepared for shipment' today (using the US Apple store website as this updates quicker than the UK one)

Just need a new case now (which seem to be a bit thin on the ground so far)

Apparently some iPhone 4's are starting to be delivered in the US today already.

Will the Apple activation servers be up to the job on Thursday?? I remember it took hours to activate my 3G when I got that on launch day. This is the reason why I've activated my micro-SIM now so one less thing to worry about!!

So I see that my local o2 store is closing earlier tomorrow and then re-opening at 8.02am (!) on Thursday.

Couple of questions for the more technically minded amongst you. I have decided that I am going to sell my old 3G to my secretary at work (which she is surprisingly excited about). Clearly I will want to clear all my apps, contacts, photos etc off the phone, how do I do this?

If it is done via itunes, does that mean that my contacts etc are saved on itunes and as a result when i plug in my new iPhone 4 will all my data automatically upload?

[mitchja]

Backup your old iPhone first (do a manual backup as well as an automatic one).

The easiest way would be to then just do a full reset/restore then pass the iPhone onto your secretary.

Using your iPhone goto:
Settings>General>Reset>Erase All Content and Settings.

If you use MobileMe, do a remote wipe (which does the same thing)

In either case this can take an hour or so to complete.

This puts the iPhone back to it's original out-of-the box factory defaults.

Your security will then have to set-up the iPhone as if it's a new one (activate etc via iTunes)

All your contacts/music/media etc stay where they are on your PC/Mac.

When you set-up your new iPhone, iTunes will give you 2 options 'Set-up as new' or 'Restore from backup'

If you restore from backup texts/ringtones/screen layouts/passwords etc should be back on your new iPhone. Contacts/music/media/apps/photos will then sync automatically in the normal way.

To avoid too many "should have gone for Android/Blackberry" moments you iphone4 fans might find this helpful. ): y) ):

Did you queue today? My husband queued 5 hours, but it was nothing like the queue at the NY 5th Ave apple Store.

http://i.tuaw.com/2010/06/24/iphone-4-l ... -linewalk/