iPhone too expensive for UK market and unlocked in Germany
MacNN has a good article on the iPhone being too expensive for UK market which I couldn't agree with more.
When Apple brought the iPhone to the UK it seems they didn't do any research on our mobile/cell phone market. They took the model they used in the USA and moved it over here. For anyone not familiar with our model its simple.
Comments
in last june, I got the same thinking
no 3G on iPhone, bah not worth it
price? wow huge, not worth it
etc...
so I went for a N95 on 12 months contract,
and yeah the phone was free
but I deeply regret it
honest, I should have waited few months and just buy the iPhone
on contract and yeah paid the price of the device too
ultimately it would have been a much much better experience
now that I got an ulocked iPhone, I can compare and here some thoughts
so for the price of the phone, it definitively worth it as it's not only a phone
it's an iPod too, just that single feature of being able to listen to music
and have it fade out when someone call you is a killer must have feature
and I can guarantee I'll never switch back
3G on a N95 work great, I tested and used it a lot, even in a middle
of a big lake, being able to get 400K speed is quite nice,
but there is a catch, the data plan,
it's pretty easy to get screwed big time by the data plan
or lack of it depending on the carrier you're using,
afaik only one UK carrier provide a good one T-mobile;
basically what I'm saying is only an unlimited data plan is worthy
if you plan to use 3G, if you're on a limited data plan (what most of the carrier propose by default)
and if you're a powerfull user be prepared to have a huge bill that would
certainly cover the cost of few iPhones.
Yeah 3G is overrated, the technology is there in europe, not the data plan!
Also if I go to compare a N95 head to head with an iPhone,
the iPhone win on many points, here are few of them:
- camera, N95 (4MP) / iPhone (2MP)
based on that the N95 look better, but wait
when you're taking pictures you need storage
N95 got a mere 512MB, iPhone got 8GB
(yeah I know a N95 8GB do exist for that same reason)
put on top of that the software to take pictures, etc.
sorry the iPhone win
- battery life
if I use a little too much my N95 I almost need to recharge it
after 4/6h of use, and that is really frustrating,
I can play all day long with the iPhone and I still have battery
when I get home.
the culprit ? 3G, even if you don't use it
and I will stop there as it's already a way too long comment :)
note that i don't say the iPhone is perfect, comparing to the N95,
I can see a lot of room for improvement, like custom app,
life on a non unlocked iPhone must be a little flat, but
the user experience is definitively there and I think for a good price.
no 3G on iPhone, bah not worth it
price? wow huge, not worth it
etc...
so I went for a N95 on 12 months contract,
and yeah the phone was free
but I deeply regret it
honest, I should have waited few months and just buy the iPhone
on contract and yeah paid the price of the device too
ultimately it would have been a much much better experience
now that I got an ulocked iPhone, I can compare and here some thoughts
so for the price of the phone, it definitively worth it as it's not only a phone
it's an iPod too, just that single feature of being able to listen to music
and have it fade out when someone call you is a killer must have feature
and I can guarantee I'll never switch back
3G on a N95 work great, I tested and used it a lot, even in a middle
of a big lake, being able to get 400K speed is quite nice,
but there is a catch, the data plan,
it's pretty easy to get screwed big time by the data plan
or lack of it depending on the carrier you're using,
afaik only one UK carrier provide a good one T-mobile;
basically what I'm saying is only an unlimited data plan is worthy
if you plan to use 3G, if you're on a limited data plan (what most of the carrier propose by default)
and if you're a powerfull user be prepared to have a huge bill that would
certainly cover the cost of few iPhones.
Yeah 3G is overrated, the technology is there in europe, not the data plan!
Also if I go to compare a N95 head to head with an iPhone,
the iPhone win on many points, here are few of them:
- camera, N95 (4MP) / iPhone (2MP)
based on that the N95 look better, but wait
when you're taking pictures you need storage
N95 got a mere 512MB, iPhone got 8GB
(yeah I know a N95 8GB do exist for that same reason)
put on top of that the software to take pictures, etc.
sorry the iPhone win
- battery life
if I use a little too much my N95 I almost need to recharge it
after 4/6h of use, and that is really frustrating,
I can play all day long with the iPhone and I still have battery
when I get home.
the culprit ? 3G, even if you don't use it
and I will stop there as it's already a way too long comment :)
note that i don't say the iPhone is perfect, comparing to the N95,
I can see a lot of room for improvement, like custom app,
life on a non unlocked iPhone must be a little flat, but
the user experience is definitively there and I think for a good price.
i can tell you 3g well its a waste of time on a small screen like the N95 which I have and 3g speed wise sucks too,just for Zwetan I can inform you that it is possible to switch off the 3g on the N95 completely if you need the Battery to last a bit longer ( go to setting select, Phone then Network and change network to GSM and if you do want the 3g back just select Dual mode again), you will find this does help, switching the bluetooth off does too but I hardly notice any difference doing that. So here's my main point of all this my mate brought an Iphone in the states for $400 dollers did not! set up the AT&T contract cost $60 on-line to Un-lock it, I had a go with the phone over here with my Orange sim card and well it Pissed all over the N95 plus the best thing was when you where On-line not using 3G it was faster and best images and use of the internet I ever used on a Mobile even better than a Blueberry or Blackberry whatever there called, and even though 2mp camera compared to the 5mp of the N95 the Iphone Produces in the same Light conditions just as good photos and don't take 30 seconds to take it, so I think if its true , I will get a Un-locked Phone from Germany or the next best thing, one other thing was my mate did tell me that don't worry about if the firmware updates blocking the phone just get the new hacked one at the time of new release
I'm pretty sure that Apple will find the same thing when they bring the iPhone to Australia... we're more on par with Europe in terms of mobile usage than the US - that is, light years ahead! I wouldn't buy any phone that's not 3G.
