Apple, O2 to release PAYG iPhones next month

Apple, O2 to release PAYG iPhones next month

Daniel Fleshbourne on 01 September 2008 - 15:49 · 19 comments & 9865 views

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O2 will release the iPhone 3G on a pay-as-you-go tariff on 16 September, the carrier has just announced. The 8GB version of the phone will cost £350 - just £50 less than the 16GB model. It'll be sold by O2, Carphone Warehouse and Apple.

O2 said that the purchase price includes a year's unlimited browsing - an "excessive usage" policy still applies - after which buyers will have to cough up £10 a month for it. Or upgrade to the next iPhone, if the line continues to be refreshed annually.

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(3 replies) #1 PureLegend on 01 Sep 2008 - 16:00

£400...that's a lot

#1.1 Dez3rt.Eagle on 01 Sep 2008 - 16:03

that sure is a lot

#1.2 Foub on 01 Sep 2008 - 16:11

Its from Apple. They've always charged too much for their products.

#1.3 PsykX on 01 Sep 2008 - 20:17

I'm ready to admit that theu charge everything 10% too much, but in North America. Where you guys use the pound and the Euro is a lot different, they're totally stealing you

Your prices are equal to ours, but with a much better currency...

Luckily I have educational rebates, so I don't have to worry about this 10% too expensive

#2 Sawyer12 on 01 Sep 2008 - 16:25

You can buy a whole laptop for that! An EEEPC for even cheaper. That price is shocking! No Wonder us in the UK are so much in debt with idiots paying that much just to talk to each other.

#3 +nezermundy on 01 Sep 2008 - 16:35

Remember this is Pay & Go which has always been more expensive for handsets, also Apple currently takes a cut from the Monthly tariff so this rather hefty price most include a cut to Apple.

(1 reply) #4 coolkat007 on 01 Sep 2008 - 16:41

and i dont think it will be unlocked!!

#4.1 Erikas on 01 Sep 2008 - 17:13

(coolkat007 said @ #4)

and i dont think it will be unlocked!!

Well at least not by Apple or O2 that is

(2 replies) #5 RobertH on 01 Sep 2008 - 17:12

Was spot on, i thought it would be £399 when i saw the advert for a PAYG version. That years unlimited browsing sounds nice though. I'm not sure why people are shocked at the price, considering how much the contract versions cost a month to get the phone free (or nearly free). But yeah.... no thanks.

#5.1 InsaneNutter on 01 Sep 2008 - 19:46

It’s not really unlimited, you get 200mb or 250mb a month with o2’s fair usage policy, I personally think they shouldn’t be allowed to sell it as unlimited as its far from it...

#5.2 RobertH on 03 Sep 2008 - 15:16

(InsaneNutter said @ #5.1)

It’s not really unlimited, you get 200mb or 250mb a month with o2’s fair usage policy, I personally think they shouldn’t be allowed to sell it as unlimited as its far from it...

Oh i see. Sounds like Vodafone, with their Unlimited Browsing, as long as you dont go over 15mb. How the hell can they get away with that?

#6 plastikaa on 01 Sep 2008 - 18:18

Well the 16gb ipod touch is £269, so for £130 more you get the phone part and 1 years browsing (which appears to cost £10/month)... so the price seems about right to me.

Would be interesting if they offered it without the years browsing for almost the same price as the iPod touch... as where I live I get wi-fi across the city and campus for free by my University anyway! So then it would be like buying an iPod just being able to make calls too.

(1 reply) #7 thealexweb on 01 Sep 2008 - 19:38

So you pay your £400 and that's it? No hidden charges that could jump out when your not looking?

#7.1 bmaher on 01 Sep 2008 - 19:44

Nope, any phone calls etc are paid for via a Pay as you Go rate (i.e. you top the phone up as you need it).

I'd check the small print of the unlimited browsing though, chances are that after a GB or so (which is fairly easy on 3G), they'll start charging by the kb.

(1 reply) #8 King Antonius on 01 Sep 2008 - 21:03

Can the 3g be unlocked yet?/ If it can, im sold!

#8.1 bmaher on 01 Sep 2008 - 22:55

Not yet - apparently, however, it's not going to be long.

#9 Sam Symons Live on 02 Sep 2008 - 03:57

So...they're only doing this where O2 is? No New Zealand lovin'?

#10 shadowmatt on 02 Sep 2008 - 15:54

To explain to those people who dont under stand the Pay as You Go vs Contract.

On a contract the iPhone is FREE but you pay £45 a month for 18 months, get free internet, wifi, a bunch of calls and texts

On PAYG the phone is £400 but you are not locked into a contract, not monthly fee, you just pay for calls when you use them by topping up the phone online, through a cash machine or with special scratch cards.

In comparison, a Nokia E90 communicator costs £624 sim free direct from Nokia, which you could then put on a PAYG scheme.

The prices are different because the monthly line rental pays towards the phone, so like getting an iPhone on credit, part of the line rental goes on paying off the debt you incur when signing the contract. If you wish to terminate a contract early the company still demands you pay the outstanding months so they dont take a loss giving you a free phone.

There is no such thing as a free phone, they are subsidised

#11 HalcyonX12 on 02 Sep 2008 - 16:43

Bandwidth limits are literally retarded. Stop it.

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