pmooney.net

1 - I totally agree, those prices are unbelievable when compared to other countries with the iPhone.

After conversion at current exchange rates the AT&T plan I'm on is about 37 euro a month. That gives 450 minutes ( inbound and outbound ). 200 Messages ( inbound and outbound ) and unlimited data.

Hopefully O2 Ireland get the message and change those plans.

Yes, the carriers over here have a totally different way of doing things. They charge you for inbound text messages and incoming calls come out of your minutes.

2 - In Germany you get the same entry level package with 100 minutes. But you pay 10% more (50 Eur). For 70 Eur you get 200 minutes. Go figure.

3 - And: 1 GB is arbitrary. I have not nearly used one gig since I got the iPhone in November. That is 4 months. I reset the counter 8 weeks ago (Jan 18) and I now have 19 MB sent and 68.3 MB received.

4 - It is a shame that Apple forced everyone who wanted to own an iPhone onto O2. I know that they did that purely for commercial reasons, but if they opened the iPhone up to more than 1 carrier, then surely the uptake, regardless of the tarrifs, would have been greater?

However, that said, I'm totally with you on this one Paul. I'll need some solid convincing, and competative pricing on both the handset and the tarrif, before I part with any of my hard earned on an jesusphone iPhone.

5 - Shhh, don't tell the Daily Mail, it'll only spoil their next Rip Off Britain article

I'm pretty stunned to find the UK is getting a better deal on this one though.

6 - I wonder if the original US iPhone works in Finland. It would be quite cheap, as low as 317€ (=$499 USD) for the 16MB model.

7 - As I am in total agreement with the sentiment here, I decided to send a few emails to O2 and got some responses........

Barry to O2:
I have not received any reply to my complaint about your 'tarrifs' for the iphone. Since none of the 'ifreaks' turned up for your 'launch' of the iphone and since you seemed to have had no queues and the most low-key launch for iphone anywhere in the world ... is there any chance you will harmonise your prices? Maybe us poor irish idiots would love this phone and would like to pay your UK prices. All we're looking for is FAIRNESS! We'd hate to see Apple go to the European court and get punished again - possibly dragging you aloing with them!


O2 to Barry:

Dear Mr. Hughes

Thank you for your feedback regarding the release of the iPhone exclusively on O2 in Ireland on the 14th March.

As I’m sure you can appreciate, the UK market and the Irish market are very different, both in terms of volume and economics. While our plans do vary with the UK, they are comparable with price plans in other EU Countries where the iPhone has launched including Germany and France as is the cost of the iPhone itself.

However, if you take the time to review the iPhone plan options in terms of plans that are currently available in the Irish Market, I’m sure you will agree that these plans are quite competitive even in line with our own Active & Easy Life Price Plans.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.

Kind Regards
Ciara O’Connor

O2 Customer Care


Barry's reply:

Hi Ciara,

Thanks for getting back to me. I heard your arguments from your CEO on the TV on the 14th. Nice to see you all have the same script!!

I appreciate that the volume and economics of the irish market are different in than in the UK ..... BUT

1) I think you would agree that the economics and volume in Ireland IS NOT THE SAME as that in France and Germany. Why are you matching prices there? You realise that the iphone market in Germany and France compare in volume and economics with the UK.

2) In Germany, the iphone is being exclusively sold by T-Mobile and in France it is being distribted by Orange .... why is O2 comparing their prices with other mobile phone providers to defend their own prices? If vodafone raised all their prices in Ireland, would that justify you raising your prices?

AND WHAT REALLY BUGS ME......
3) why is a customer from Dundalk different from a customer in Newry some 10 miles away? How does economics and volume differ in this instance? Will you really sell more iphones in Northern Ireland than in the Republic? How does volume and economics work there?

I accept that Ireland and the UK are different countries, but O2 as a multinational company is not justified in having different prices in Ireland and the UK. If you were comparing the UK and, say, Greece...maybe.

Surely you can see my argument and can also see why a huge number of potential iphone customers in Ireland have been turned off buying one for these reasons (unless of course they go to the US and get it FAR CHEAPER there and unlock it on the black market).

I forecast that O2 will be forced to change their iphone tarrifs before Christmas (either by the market or by the European courts) and I might look at getting one then.

Barry


O2's 2nd reply:

Dear Mr. Hughes

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my email.

We agreed the current costs and price plans with Apple and believe that they offer excellent value when compared to existing post paid offers currently available in the Irish marketplace. At present there are no plans to change these price plans.

I appreciate from your email that you may not be purchasing an iPhone with O2 Ireland and your reasons for this have been collated and passed to the relevant area.

Once again thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.

Kind Regards
Ciara O’Connor

O2 Customer Care


Barry's reply:

Hi Ciara,

'We agreed the current costs and price plans with Apple and believe that they offer excellent value when compared to existing post paid offers currently available in the Irish marketplace.'
So, now the prices in France and Germany are NOT the relevant yardstick, NOR is it to do with volume and economics - the price differences are Apple's fault! hmmmmm

'At present there are no plans to change these price plans'
FAMOUS LAST WORDS!
- New 3G iphone (probably with 32GB) coming in the autumn
- Apple's traditional price cut at halloween
- and the Christmas rush to keep selling the iphone to people other than the few idiots who have already bought them.
YOU WILL BE CHANGING YOUR PRICES JUST AS YOU DID IN THE UK AT THE START OF THIS YEAR!

Barry


I got no further reply from O2 on this (In fairness to O2 they did reply twice). Have I won the argument?

I reckon we should wait until Halloween for the new 3G iphone and for apple and O2 press the panic button for Xmas sales.

8 - Hi All,
just a quick note after reding all of the above, I bought the iPhone, I know should have waited but I was prepared to take the risk that they will drop the tarriff plan cost in time, one thing I have noticed is that they are gradually updating the network around the country to edge, Kilkenny city only got edge yesterday nearly a full month after i bought the phone, could the high charges be in place to try and offset the costs in upgrading the network. Speaking to 02 they hope to have this finished in the next few months.
cheers
Dylan

9 -

10 - Heard today on the radio that the iPhone is down to 100 Eur in Germany, and because of that, two carriers in the UK have lowered the iPhone's price by 100 quid.

Doesn't really seem to make sense to buy an iPhone from O2 atm.

11 - I Firmly believe they Don't want to sell any version 1 iPhones and were forced into launching it early. realistically as soon as a 3G version comes out ( which will suit Ireland way more) the edge version will be obsolete and useless . I dunno but it's my gut feeling that they are keeping the price high to discourage people from buying something that they'll be unhappy with in a months time.