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UK: iPhone going to be cheaper on O2

Categories: O2, UK News
By: , IntoMobile
Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 12:08 PM

iphone-o2O2 is dropping the price of the iPhone in-contract – and whatever you think about it suggesting new devices coming soon, the right-now news is that TCO (total cost of ownership) is going down!

According to Electricpig, O2 is going to offer the iPhone 3G (8GB) for free on a 24-month, £34.26/month contract. Until now the cheapest tariff to get the device for free was the £44.05/month tariff.If you want 16GB of memory in the device, then cheapest tariff will be £44.05/month. 

Going back to the 8GB-er for a moment, in that tariff you’ll get 600 free mins and 500 free texts – which isn’t too bad. An alternative way to amortise the costs is to buy the iPhone outright, and get a simplicity (sim-only) tariff with the appropriate bolt-ons you want – that’s what I did. Anyhoo, O2′s new offer apparently is going to begin 3rd April. Schweet.

[Via: Electricpig.co.uk]

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About The Author

Ben Robinson

Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.

  • Rob

    I beg to differ. Who wants to sign up to a 2-year contract? I know it’s a standard thing with AT&T but not here in the UK with O2 – until now. At the moment, the 8Gb iPhone and contract will cost you £713.57 over 18 months (if you pay £34.26 a month). If you sign up to the 24-month contract you’ll be paying £822.24, even though the handset’s free. I’d like to be able to get to the end of my 18 months and then perhaps switch to pay as you go, rather than be tied in for another 6 months, especially in this uncertain economic climate.

  • Sumit Mehta

    Its a very clever marketing gimmick.

    The cost of the phone in contract is 15 pounds, as o2 charges 35 p.m but you get the same for 20 pm on simplicity sim, albeit without the phone.

    thus the extra cost here is 15*6 = 90 pounds, whereas you are saving 97 pounds as compared to a 18-month contract. go figure :)