iPhone 4 - UPDATE: Signal Issues

[cowasaki]

But its not though
, if you didnt have to pay the extra you'd be able to take the cost of the phone off of the contract cost.

Justify it in your mind if you want but that doesnt mean its right.

Sorry, no idea what you are talking about.

That is how much it would cost me to upgrade PLUS my contact would expire 6 months later. Thats it really.

 

[joescrivens]

Although i admit its different with iphones to an extent (paying extra over a similarly priced phone)with a decent contract you can usually get the entire phone and contract for the price of the phone sim free/payg. With your payg deal does it cost you less than £100 over 18 months? My last contract cost me £50 all in for 18 months of 600 texts and calls and internet after yhr £500 cost of the phone was removed.

So you mean that your entire deal cost £550 over 18 months which is £8.33 a month? thats not an iphone then I guess, I didn't think you could get a monthly price that good, especially not for a free phone

My phone cost me £550 (I think) 11 months ago. In 11 months I have put £10 credit on it 5 times. I get 300 free texts everytime I top it up by £10 and free 3g.

So in 1 year it cost me £600. Lets say I continue to top it up by £10 every 2 months, but I lose my free 3g after 12, thats 6 installments of £10 for the 3g access. Total cost over 18 months including phone = £690

plus I have had no contract.

Looking at the current deals the lowest tarif with o2 is £30 a month. and the 32gb 3gs is £279 on top. Lets say you never go over 100 mins free calls you are looking at 18 x £30 = 540, plus the cost of the phone = £820

So I'm £130 better off plus I have never been tied to a contract, can change my mind whenever I want.

 

[cowasaki]

Well there are 8 options.......

1) WAIT till summer 2011 for iPhone version 5 and have a much reduced early release fee IF they offer one.

2) WAIT till Jan 2012 and get version 5 with NO early release fee

3) WAIT till summer 2012 and get version 6 with NO early release fee

4) PAYG (selling privately) would be

>£499 (cost of phone)
-£300 (sell current iPhone 3Gs 16Gb)
=£200 extra and no extension to contract.


5) PAYG (trade in) would be

>£499 (cost of phone)
-£240 (sell current iPhone 3Gs 16Gb)
=£260 extra and no extension to contract AND no hassle.


6) EARLY RELEASE (selling privately) would be

>£360 (early release fee)
+£140 (app cost of upgrade)
-£300 (sell current iPhone 3Gs 16Gb)
=£200 extra BUT extending contract for extra 6 months


7) EARLY RELEASE (trade in) would be

>£360 (early release fee)
+£140 (app cost of upgrade)
-£240 (sell current iPhone 3Gs 16Gb)
=£260 extra BUT extending contract for extra 6 months AND no hassle.


8) Using Mrs_C's contract

>£140 (app cost of upgrade)
+£100 (spending money)
+£20 (new case)
+£140 (release fee)
=£400 BUT Mrs_C gets to keep my current iPhone and gets her "upgrade" 6 months earlier and gets some spending money)

 

[dod]

am I the only one thinking £500+ for a phone???

 

[cowasaki]

am I the only one thinking £500+ for a phone???

yes

 

[wcavanagh]

am I the only one thinking £500+ for a phone???

Yep, LOL

 

[menthel]

O2 have published their tariffs for the new iPhone and they look worse than the old ones! I might see what the others are doing and switch, 3 may have some good deals.

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

 

[Jim.R]

Yep, just seen those. Down from unlimited 3G to 500Mb per month
Prices seem to remain as they were, along with minutes and text allowances.

 

[menthel]

Yep, just seen those. Down from unlimited 3G to 500Mb per month
Prices seem to remain as they were, along with minutes and text allowances.

Actually looks like minutes have gone from 600 to 300 and the texts from 500 to unlimited. At least that is what my £35 a month, 18 month contract got me before I went on to simplicity.

 

[cowasaki]

Might have just decided on the PAYG option then as I will keep my current contract terms. Would be interesting to know what my current usage is though :shrug:

 

[leothelion]

New tariffs are pretty poor! I'd like to find out how much data I currently use a month to see if it's worth it. I'm pretty sure picture messaging was taken off your texts too(3 texts)and now they're charging for that also. All in all it's definitely more expensive, may have to tell them I'll be switching to orange if they come out with a better tariff selection! Still need to find out handset costs next to them though...

 

[gingerjon]

am I the only one thinking £500+ for a phone???

Some people do that when you tell them how much the lens on the front of your camera costs though.

Geeks will have their trinkets.

 

[Deleted member 11799]

Not really impressed with the tariffs considering what I currently get. I might see what others have to offer too.

 

[wcavanagh]

They are not looking too good. Considering I already get 600mins, 500 text, and unlimited data for £30.

 

[Jim.R]

Just spotted this while trawling through the O2 site:

Important information about your upgrade from Jan 2010.
Please note that we have made some changes to our new tariffs effective from Jan 2010.
- Roaming SMS is no longer included in the tariff and the inclusive text allowance can only be used in the UK for text and picture messaging.
- Please note any existing allowances or promotional offers you may currently have will not be carried over when you upgrade. This applies to new tariffs and if you choose to upgrade to your current tariff.
- The minimum call charge is 10p for calls not forming part of your inclusive allowance.

10p minimum call charge!?!?!
They really do seem to be taking the michael with these new contract terms. I think PAYG might be the way to go for sure, so I can keep my existing terms.

 

[wcavanagh]

Reported here

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/10/o2_limited_data_plans/

 

[Deleted member 11799]

I'm currently on 1000 messages, unlimted data, can use my phone as a modem and 600 minutes for £25 a month, but I don't have a iPhone atm lol.

Guess we will need to see how Oranges tariffs are set out.

 

[ajoshi]

Might have just decided on the PAYG option then as I will keep my current contract terms. Would be interesting to know what my current usage is though :shrug:

Would going in "Settings>General>Usage" give you an idea of your data usage. I just done that and found out I had received 4GB in the last six months.

 

[joescrivens]

you get one year unlimited usage of data with pay and go anyway

 

[cowasaki]

you get one year unlimited usage of data with pay and go anyway

Hmmm.... I would want to stick my contract sim in though.

Do you get anything else? Thinking I could use the PAYG sim in a dongle

 

[ding76uk]

Actually looks like minutes have gone from 600 to 300 and the texts from 500 to unlimited. At least that is what my £35 a month, 18 month contract got me before I went on to simplicity.

Me too, halved minutes and useless data allowance, changed to unlimited txts, which I have no use for, as my txts are minimal to none.

If 3 have a good plan, I may have to change as Orange are useless in my area.

 

[Amp34]

Sorry, no idea what you are talking about.

That is how much it would cost me to upgrade PLUS my contact would expire 6 months later. Thats it really.

Think I may have quoted the wrong person there...

i know there was someone that was suggesting cancelling their contract was "only" going to cost around £100 because they could sell their iPhone to pay for some of it. But in fact it still costs more because that sold iPhone could have gone into paying off part of the new contract...

So you mean that your entire deal cost £550 over 18 months which is £8.33 a month? thats not an iphone then I guess, I didn't think you could get a monthly price that good, especially not for a free phone

My phone cost me £550 (I think) 11 months ago. In 11 months I have put £10 credit on it 5 times. I get 300 free texts everytime I top it up by £10 and free 3g.

So in 1 year it cost me £600. Lets say I continue to top it up by £10 every 2 months, but I lose my free 3g after 12, thats 6 installments of £10 for the 3g access. Total cost over 18 months including phone = £690

plus I have had no contract.

Looking at the current deals the lowest tarif with o2 is £30 a month. and the 32gb 3gs is £279 on top. Lets say you never go over 100 mins free calls you are looking at 18 x £30 = 540, plus the cost of the phone = £820

So I'm £130 better off plus I have never been tied to a contract, can change my mind whenever I want.

Yes the entire deal cost me just over £500, for those minutes and the phone (after quidco cashback). No it wasn't an iPhone but the sim free/PAYG costs for the phone was the same as the 3g back then. Contracts were similar at first too, however anyone that pays the stated price for a phone contract from the telco companies is an idiot. Either go to retentions if you're already a customer or get it through a third party agent and get the costs down. I've had 4 top of the range phones over the last 5 years (3 12 month contracts and a single 18 month contract) and I rarely pay much more than the phone sim pree/PAYG over teh entire contract period. iPhone deals are a bit stricter yes but they can still be negotiated down if you persevere.

I did wonder about going PAYG at one point (along with sim only) but it just works out more expensive overall the majority of times.

My next phone/contract will be the same. I get the phone I want (not just choose a cheap one they suggest) and decent contract essentially "free".

EDIT: Oh and check the small print too, those "unlimited" texts now don't include international texts or MMS messages, which used to be included (at 4 standard texts from your allowance). That is a major pain in the butt for me and i'm now considering moving from O2 if the other major companies can still offer that.

 

[Woblee]

I haven't had my 3GS for long so an upgrade is probably not cost effective. But I look at it this way.....

I'll be upgrading the OS to version 4 so I'll get few extras just not the hardware upgrades (ie. the sexy looking phone) and that way I can stick on the friends and family tarriff of 1200mins and unlimited texts and data for £35.

And then next year when I'm at the end of the contract I'll grab the new shiny toy.

 

[Woblee]

EDIT: Oh and check the small print too, those "unlimited" texts now don't include international texts or MMS messages, which used to be included (at 4 standard texts from your allowance). That is a major pain in the butt for me and i'm now considering moving from O2 if the other major companies can still offer that.

Just realised this. I wondered why my bill was a pound or 2 more than usual. I'm going to be firing an email off to them tomorrow about it, I'm sure it should have been included with my contract.

 

[leothelion]

Just checked my usage for the last 10 months I have received 887Mb of data... I do use WiFi as much as I can but that way lower than I thought it would be! Maybe I'll be OK with just 500Mb per month!

 

[joescrivens]

Yes the entire deal cost me just over £500, for those minutes and the phone (after quidco cashback). No it wasn't an iPhone

I stopped reading at this point .... we're talking about iphone contracts and pay and go here not just any phone

 

[Amp34]

I stopped reading at this point .... we're talking about iphone contracts and pay and go here not just any phone

Because iPhone contracts are fundimentally different to any other phone?

Yes they used to be when O2 had the exclusive but now there are 3+ companies competing for your custom it's not as clear cut.

I used to suggest the same as you for anyone wanting an iPhone, get it PAYG/Sim free and then get a sim only/PAYG contract, it'll probably work out cheaper. That has changed, you just need to haggle a little like I mentioned in my first post.

iPhones are just like any other phone, nothing special, no matter what some people like to think.

(Yes I know people that have before you come up with that excuse... )

 

[asterix]

Yep, just seen those. Down from unlimited 3G to 500Mb per month
Prices seem to remain as they were, along with minutes and text allowances.

On my current iPhone 3g is there any way of seeing what data useage im using now before i upgrade, I know texts and calls never differ on mine but data from unlimited to 500gb is that a bad thing?

 

[Carl911]

I see o2 have an early upgrade offer. you only have to pay £20 per month of your remainding contract to upgrade so if you have 12 months left you pay £240 for the upgrade then start your new 18/24 month contract.
Presently the 3GS is worth £235 when recyled on one of the many schemes so doesnt seem so bad as an early upgrade.
Thats they way I read it on the O2 site anyway.

 

[joescrivens]

Because iPhone contracts are fundimentally different to any other phone?

No because you were giving the impression that you got an iPhone for £8 a month.

No matter how good you can get an iPhone contract on a 3GS it will never amount my equivalent of £38 a month including the phone and not being tied to a contract for 18 months

 

[Amp34]

No because you were giving the impression that you got an iPhone for £8 a month.

No matter how good you can get an iPhone contract on a 3GS it will never amount my equivalent of £38 a month including the phone and not being tied to a contract for 18 months

You were the one that brought up the £8 a month...

I said once the cost of my phone (sim free/PAYG) was taken off the contract price then it worked out at around £50 for the contract... Essentially you could pay for an iPhone and get a few hundred minutes/texts etc for around £8-10 a month.

I'm not saying an iPhone contract will be exactly the same, what i'm saying is that you can get similar deals for iPhones.

Obviously you will be tied to a contrat yes, but that's a given with contracts, nothing to do with iPhones specifically. I was just trying to point out that it's rarely actually cheaper to go sim free/PAYG unless you can't be bothered to sell the phone after receiving it (if you don't want it) or don't haggle.

 

[joescrivens]

You were the one that brought up the £8 a month...

I said once the cost of my phone (sim free/PAYG) was taken off the contract price then it worked out at around £50 for the contract...

I'm not saying an iPhone contract will be exactly the same, what i'm saying is that you can get similar deals for iPhones.

Obviously you will be tied to a contrat yes, but that's a given with contracts, nothing to do with iPhones specifically. I was just trying to point out that it's rarely actually cheaper to go sim free/PAYG unless you can't be bothered to sell the phone after receiving it (if you don't want it) or don't haggle.

Sorry but fundamentally you are wrong. It's definitely cheaper to go pay and go. The only way it's not is if you use your phone a lot on pay and go and are always buying credit.
You can't show me a single iPhone contract that over 1 year with a brand new 32gb 3GS cost less than me buying it and the credit I have put on it

 

[Amp34]

Obviously it depends on how much you text and call and each person varies in that respect. If you are a very infrequent user then yes it's cheaper, but if you send/call more than around 200/200 then you're probably cheaper going on a proper contract.

Sim only on the other hand is usually more expensive whatever way you look at it.

 

[dod]

Sorry but fundamentally you are wrong. It's definitely cheaper to go pay and go. The only way it's not is if you use your phone a lot on pay and go and are always buying credit.
You can't show me a single iPhone contract that over 1 year with a brand new 32gb 3GS cost less than me buying it and the credit I have put on it

guys, what a pointless argument. Each of you have your own preference for how you pay for your phones, accept that what's best for one isn't always best for another

Sim only can be pretty good as well I was paying £5 a month and calls at 9p until fairly recently on voda. We moved onto a bundled O2 deal as we get access to the cash "incentives" and get handsets wholesale

 

[joescrivens]

Obviously it depends on how much you text and call and each person varies in that respect. If you are a very infrequent user then yes it's cheaper, but if you send/call more than around 200/200 then you're probably cheaper going on a proper contract.

Sim only on the other hand is usually more expensive whatever way you look at it.

Yes, if you use it a lot then contract is worthwhile if you are a low to moderate user then pay and go will be cheaper.

The psychology behind it is interesting though. When you have paid for it already and you consider the text and minutes free you tend to use them more. When each call and text costs you money you are more conservative and use less.

The mobile phone companies aren't stupid they know that they make the most money by hooking people on contracts

 

[Amp34]

Agree with you entirely there.

I don't use a huge amount of minutes or texts usually but I won't go back to PAYG because I know that I can ring and text to my hearts content without worrying about how much it's going to cost... even if that cost is less than the monthly fee...

 

[Amp34]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/10/iphone-4s-retina-display-claim-put-under-the-math-microscope/

So if you have anything better than average vision he lied to you...



(Not that it really matters, it's a marketing gimmick and we all knew it)

 

[wcavanagh]

See 3Gs prices on the bay are now below £300, £290 being normal. So if you take fees, and posting, etc into account you get about £250. Found a recycle website that gives you £240 in 3 days. I know where mine is going for sure

 

[cowasaki]

See 3Gs prices on the bay are now below £300, £290 being normal. So if you take fees, and posting, etc into account you get about £250. Found a recycle website that gives you £240 in 3 days. I know where mine is going for sure

O2 will give you £240 in the shop

I'm probably not going to bother with this version after all and might well wait for version 5. I am saving for a set of Safari and Elitepro lights then a 70-200 so the money is better off there and the 3Gs should run all the same software.

 

[wcavanagh]

LOL, Sweet