Robbies

In that case, what is the cost of an O2 or whatever the US equivalent annual contract and a phone?

I think o2 is 18 month contract, and the phone is free on the +50 quid tarriffs? So the phone costs you 18 x 50 GBP (@7.2 = about 4200 dhs?) with o2 paid up, then you just unlock it to use here.

I think the iPhones are a good phone - good in terms of phone, messenger & iPod in a single device, not good in terms of its a high spec phone as I am sure many pocket PCs offer more functionality. I'd be up for having one, but only if I was back in the UK and got it 'free' through my phone contract.

Spugsy

bah, so I can't get one when I'm back then...

Robbies

yeah you can - see above. 4,200 dhs for a 3g iPhone. Just pay the cost for the year upfront, or you could have it as a monthly direct debit off your UK account I guess.

Spugsy

are you mental or something??

so instead of buying an iPhone for £200, I pay for a contract and get it 'free' for about £600?

typical

You're not going to be buying an unlocked iPhone 3G for £200. Or even a locked one, for that matter.

Robbies

well, have a look on ebay in the UK for an unlocked iphone 3g...

you'll be looking around 600 quid and you have to have some level of trust in the seller. Paying 600 over a period of 18 months to O2 would give me some trust of actually getting the thing.

Spugsy

jesus, I thought I read a while back that they were going to be cheaper than the old ones, around £200?

I wouldn't pay £600 for any sort of phone, ever.

typical

It's a marketing trick.

The old iPhone didn't have any network subsidy. You paid for the device up front. This meant you didn't have to get a network contact.

The new iPhone does have a network subsidy. This lets them substantially drop the up-front price, and say it costs half. But you have to have a contract. The total cost of owning it is higher. But they get away with it, because most people pay the contract anyway...

Eeyore

Well, unless you hacked and unlocked it, you did

In many respects, it's the official contract that makes the iPhone so useful, because you get full internet access anywhere you can get a mobile signal, plus there's unlimited data (okay, not *really* unlimited, but probably more than most people will need each month).

Compare that with Etisalat's data charges once you've used up your first 50Mb of the month