Earlier this week, Apple started pre-orders for the new iPhone 4 on the UK Apple Store. Only the prices for unlocked SIM-free iPhones are currently available with the 16GB and 32GB versions costing £499 and £599 respectively. The new 8GB iPhone 3GS is £419. These SIM-free iPhones can be used with any network but many customers choose to purchase an iPhone on contract because of their high price and so have been eagerly awaiting news of these costs from the mobile operators.
The Apple 8GB iPhone 3GS on Orange
Orange are the first of the UK mobile operators to officially announce their prices for the iPhone 4 and 8GB 3GS and show that customers will now need to spend even more money than before to get a new iPhone.
The entry-level model was previously the iPhone 3G but that's now been discontinued. On a standard 18 month contract (at £30 per month) the iPhone 3G on Orange was available for just £99, which represented a cost over 18 months of £639. Alternatively, a 24 month contract was available costing £25 per month which, with the iPhone 3G still at £99, meant a total cost of £699. Customers choosing instead to pay £30 per month for 24 months could get the iPhone 3G for free, which cost £720 in total.
Orange customers could also choose to buy the iPhone 3G on Pay As You Go for £343.
The 8GB iPhone 3GS is now the entry-level iPhone. Previously only available in 16GB and 32GB versions, the new 8GB model will now cost customers a minimum of £35 per month on an 18 month contract, with the phone costing an additional £139. That's a total of £769 - £130 more than the cheapest iPhone 3G contract before. Customers will now need to spend a minimum of £35 per month for 24 months to get a free iPhone 3GS, at a cost of £840 over that period.
Pay As You Go Customers will also need to spend more as the 8GB iPhone 3GS is £385 to purchase outright - an increase of £42 over the iPhone 3G.
The Apple iPhone 4 on Orange
Orange have also increased the price of the iPhone 4 in comparison to the 16GB and 32GB versions of the iPhone 3GS. The 32GB iPhone 4 costs £319 on an 18 month contract at £35 per month. That's a total of £949, or over £100 more than the equivalent cost for the iPhone 3GS. Even the 16GB iPhone 4 costs £229 on an 18 month contract at £35 per month.
The 16GB iPhone 4 costs £480 on Orange Pay As You Go and the 32GB iPhone 4 costs £570. This is £20 and £30 less than the SIM-free prices on the UK Apple Store and Orange also provide 250MB of free mobile Internet browsing per month for 12 months, so this represents much better value for money. The 32GB iPhone 3GS was previously £539 on Orange.
With the free 250MB mobile Internet browsing per month (plus 100MB extra if customers top up by a minimum of £10 each month as well), the Pay As You Go option may be a better one for many people, especially those who only make small numbers of calls or send just a few text messages. Although it requires a high initial expenditure, customers could potentially save several hundred pounds.
Apple iPhone Competitors
The iPhone remains an expensive option compared to other smartphones. For example, the Android-powered HTC Desire is free on an Orange 24 month contract costing £30 per month. This is a total of £720, or £120 less than the 8GB iPhone 3GS on the same contract, even though the spec of the HTC Desire is actually more like the iPhone 4 instead and is considered by many people, including PC Pro magazine, to be superior to the iPhone 3GS.
The HTC Desire can also be purchased on Orange Pay As You Go for just £400.
Alternatively, Orange offer the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (another excellent smartphone) for an initial £50 and then £30 per month for 24 months. Customers can also get this mobile for free on a £40 per month contract for 18 months. The BlackBerry Bold is only £380 on Pay As You Go.
It remains to be seen what price other UK mobile operators will offer for the iPhone 4 but they are likely to be very similar to the prices from Orange. If customers are keen to buy an Apple iPhone instead of one its the competitors, they need to consider whether the lower-price iPhone 3GS is a better option for them.
Jason Glover - Jason Glover has worked in the marketing teams of major companies for over twenty years, including over ten years in online marketing ...
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