To Acquire an iPhone on Contract or Not? What is the best iPhone deal?

All over the UK, USA and North America in general, most companies prefer that you purchase your gadget with a contract attached to it. When doing this, you must remember that you are not allowed to use any other network on your mobile gadget as it is locked and also that you are committing yourself to paying monthly bills to your preferred network. You therefore want the shortest iPhone contract.
This is not only limiting but it can also be expensive in end.

When buying an iPhone, most contracts from dealers demand that you pay a minimum of between $40 and $80 every month. In most cases this has a limited talk time of six hundred minutes and unlimited number of text messages. This is a good thing as you eventually end up having more talk time than if you were outside the contract. This kind of a package is known as pay as you go or PAYG.

If you decide you want to purchase an iPhone with the contract option, choose the network that offers the best network coverage. You do not want to be out to be out of touch because you went for a limiting option which initially seemed cheaper and more attractive. Remember that most contracts run for two years.

Spotted an interesting article from Mark Wilson over on Stuff.TV

Orange’s iPhone 3GS has hit shelves beneath banners proclaiming ‘you’re covered’ – a reference to its 3G network apparently covering 93% of the UK, more than any of its rivals. But does it mean a smoother iPhone web browsing experience? We compared one with an O2 iPhone 3GS on our commute to find out.

It’s worth noting first that doing a network test that’s definitive for everyone is nigh on impossible – several different factors effect speeds, and 3G coverage is rarely consistent across large areas. But it can at least provide an general idea of the consistency of coverage.We began our test in central London, SW8. After clearing the Safari cache on both the Orange and O2 iPhone 3GS, we simultaneously loaded sites on both handsets – Stuff.tv, BBC and Apple.

At our first SW8 location, the Orange iPhone struggled to get a 3G signal and took over a minute to load Stuff.tv via GPRS – twice as long as the O2 handset. But a walk down the road to Vauxhall station saw both phones lock onto EDGE speeds, fully loading the BBC site in a speedy 7 seconds.

The story was slightly different in Teddington, TW11 on the outskirts of London. The Orange iPhone proved much happier out there, picking up a 3G signal immediately, while the O2 iPhone languished with GPRS. This allowed the Orange handset to load Stuff.tv (20 seconds) and Apple.com (16 seconds) over twice as fast as its O2 rival (60 seconds and 33 seconds respectively).

So, what’s the verdict? Well, it really only confirms one thing – there are definitely differences in the network coverage of O2 and Orange, so it’s worth trying their 3G coverage in your area (even if you’re theoretically well covered) before deciding whether it’s worth a network leap.

If you are already on Orange, the network has also just launched its pretty neat Orange Wednesdays app (above), which shows you the nearest participating cinemas and film trailers, and lets you redeem your 2-for-1 ticket (in exchange for a 35p text). It’s on the App store now.

….well, not really, the functionality of the iPhone on Orange wont change at all, I just happened to see this image online and thought…yuk!

To recap on the real story here, Orange UK and Apple have reached an agreement to bring iPhone 3G and 3GS to Orange UK customers later this year. Orange globally now offers iPhone in 28 countries and territories.

Orange, which has the largest 3G network covering more people in the UK than any other operator, will sell iPhone in all Orange direct channels including Orange shops, the Orange webshop and Orange telesales channels, as well as selected high street partners

Consumers are celebrating a new diversity in choice of iPhone suppliers and rumours are abound that Orange may have stocks withing 3 weeks.

That surprises me given the current lack of 3GS stock generally and things will get even harder when Vodafone get into the mix in due course.

The question is, who will provide the best iPhone Contract?

Orange has reached an agreement to sell Apple’s popular iPhone in the UK.

The deal ends an exclusive arrangement between UK network operator O2 and the Californian phone maker, which has been in place since 2007.

Orange said its customers would be able to buy the phone “later this year” but did not specify a date or pricing.

However, analysts said that in markets where there was already competition there was little difference in handset prices but small variations in tariffs.

“There’s not a lot they can do – they are subsidising the hardware, so they can’t afford to do much on the tariff,” said Carolina Milanesi of Gartner.

“You may see a £30 per month tariff versus £35, but I would not expect anything more.”

Data jam

Orange recently revealed plans to merge its UK network with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile to create a business with 28.4 million customers.

If given the go-ahead, it would be the UK’s largest provider, overtaking Telefonica’s O2, with about 37% of the mobile market.

“That would be good for Apple,” Dave McQueen, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media told BBC News.

“Then, around three quarters of the UK market will then have access to the iPhone.”

O2 has offered the handset in the UK since its launch in 2007. In February, it said it had sold more than one million of the handsets.

The launch of the latest iPhone 3GS in June significantly boosted sales, with many stores running out of stock.

The phone has also allowed the firm to win subscribers from other networks, according to analysts.

However, the rise of smartphones – which have the ability to surf the web and send e-mail – has put a burden on the O2 network, according to Mr McQueen.

“IPhone users to tend to use data quite extensively – perhaps more than anticipated,” he said.

“Orange has always a good data network and if the T-mobile deal goes through it would allow them to share the burden.”

O2 will continue to sell the handset in Britain, alongside iPhone rival the Palm Pre.

The Palm phone, described by some as an “iPhone killer”, will be available exclusively to O2 from 16 October.

O2 said that it always knew that its exclusive deal was for “a limited period of time”.

The new agreement with Orange brings the UK into line with many other countries around the world which have multiple operators that offer the iPhone.

In countries where exclusive deals still persist, such as the US, some customers choose to “unlock” their phones using third party software so they work on an unlicensed network.

However, Apple has warned that the practice can cause “irreparable” damage to a handset and has engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse, releasing periodic software updates which prevent unlocked phones from working correctly.

Source:  BBC.co.uk