[MW Forums]

Macworld UK editors Mark Hattersley and Karen Haslam share their impressions after Tuesday's iPhone announcement in London. more

[mfoto]

I would urge all UK iPhone lovers to wait two months [ or 68 days to be exact ] after the release of the iPhone in the UK to buy their phone... The price will drop at that time.

[MacTel]

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I would urge all UK iPhone lovers to wait two months [ or 68 days to be exact ] after the release of the iPhone in the UK to buy their phone... The price will drop at that time.

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Apple and O2 could always drop the iPhone before or at launch.
The real question I'd have now is will this now mean that U.S. iPhones can roam in the U.K.?

[kwill]

We all know the U.S. dollar is weak in Europe. U.S. pricing cannot be a gauge for the European market.

[nyip11]

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I would urge all UK iPhone lovers to wait two months [ or 68 days to be exact ] after the release of the iPhone in the UK to buy their phone... The price will drop at that time.

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You're tempting Apple to not drop the price in Europe, or at least delay the price drop. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[sefton]

If you are happy to wait then any technology will drop in price.
I'll be collecting my iPhone on the 9th after much consideration, which all went out of the door when they announced it today.

[plustwo]

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The real question I'd have now is will this now mean that U.S. iPhones can roam in the U.K.?

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Why would this deal offering the iPhone in the UK have any effect on roaming? Isn't it already possible for a U.S. iPhone user to roam to most any GSM service area around the world - U.K., Europe, Asia, where ever? (As long as that U.S. user is on a post-pay plan back in the U.S. (vs. pre-pay), that is.)
The key here is that you really mean roaming--using the same SIM card as that user has at home in the U.S., and paying some outrageous rate like $1.00/min or whatever AT&T is charging these days. Roaming with the iPhone should be the same as with any other quad-band GSM phone from AT&T.
The alternative question that I think is more interesting, and less obvious, is whether (once the U.K. phones launch in November) someone can take an (activated) iPhone from the U.S. to the U.K., swap its SIM for the one from some other iPhone that has been activated in the U.K., and then use the phone there? Not that this would in any way be useful, of course, but would be an interesting little exercise just to confirm that the phones being sold in the two different markets are interchangeable or not. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[tomtom]

Mark
Here is a copy of a post I have made elsewhere on this site today.
I strongly defend the cost of doing business case;

Here is the way it looks (sorry if table does not look right on some browsers)
US Price UK Price before VAT UK Price after VAT
Retail Price 269
$399 $458 $538
Delta $59 $80
Percentage Delta 14.7% 17.5%
So, the additional cost of doing business in the UK is 14.7% if US selling prices or 12.9% of UK selling prices.
This cost of business price differential is eminently sensible since it takes into account the following amongst other items.
Lower volume per market.
Currency risk (hedging costs)
Higher cost of advertising spots
Our higher incomes
Higher property rental rates and taxes
Much higher fuel and transportation costs.
Much higher Travel and Living costs.
Hugely higher costs of taking a business partner to lunch or dinner.
In my books, much as we may feel somewhat screwed, we are getting a bargain.
Do the same sums for Adobe Creative Suite pricing and you will find the equivalent delta a very much larger percentage. What is more, if I buy a Creative Suite Upgrade in the USA my existing UK licence keys will not work - still that's another issue.

[ajhoughton]

Because of the high ongoing cost of the contracts, you really need to factor them in when working out the cost of owning an iPhone. Why? Well, because the initial, up-front, purchase price matters less and less the longer you keep the phone.
For instance, if you keep your iPhone for three years, you'll spend a total of 36 x 35 269 = 1,529 over the period, which is the same as having a free phone and a plan costing 42.47 a month. Would you pay a 7 premium for a plan that let you have an iPhone? Possibly you would.

Equally, keep it over five years and you'll spend 60 x 35 269 = 2369 or 39.48 a month.
For people who don't change phone all the time (and why would youiPhone's software is upgradeable), the bulk of the cost is in the contract, not the phone itself. It's only for people who want a new phone every year that things start looking more expensive, but even then, in order to compare with plans where you get a free or subsidised phone, you need to do the maths.

[MacTel]

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The real question I'd have now is will this now mean that U.S. iPhones can roam in the U.K.?

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Why would this deal offering the iPhone in the UK have any effect on roaming? Isn't it already possible for a U.S. iPhone user to roam to most any GSM service area around the world - U.K., Europe, Asia, where ever? (As long as that U.S. user is on a post-pay plan back in the U.S. (vs. pre-pay), that is.)
The key here is that you really mean roaming--using the same SIM card as that user has at home in the U.S., and paying some outrageous rate like $1.00/min or whatever AT&T is charging these days. Roaming with the iPhone should be the same as with any other quad-band GSM phone from AT&T.
The alternative question that I think is more interesting, and less obvious, is whether (once the U.K. phones launch in November) someone can take an (activated) iPhone from the U.S. to the U.K., swap its SIM for the one from some other iPhone that has been activated in the U.K., and then use the phone there? Not that this would in any way be useful, of course, but would be an interesting little exercise just to confirm that the phones being sold in the two different markets are interchangeable or not. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

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Several users reported that their iPhone didn't work abroad. That's why I'm asking. Their iPhones were then just fancy iPods. Anyone have a different experience?
The SIM cards are tied to the provider so I'm not sure what the point would be to swap unless you like paying higher fees.

[Rhencullen]

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if you keep your iPhone for three years, you'll spend a total of 36 x 35 + 269 = 1,529 over the period, which is the same as having a free phone and a plan costing 42.47 a month. Would you pay a 7 premium for a plan that let you have an iPhone? Possibly you would.

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The other thing to factor in is the contract itself. 35 GBP a month (min contract of 18 months) equates to 630 GBP for the contract alone, plus 269 for the phone equalling 899 GBP. Now when Apple upgrade the phone in say 8 months, who's to say that if you go and buy a new one you'll be able to use it with your remaining 10-months contract ?
Sell the phone for 400GBP, 500GBP and let me use my existing SIM and I'll jump at the chance. Lock me into an 18 month contract, with the 100% likelyhood of a phone upgrade within that time that I may not be able to use, and the probability that the battery will die before the end of the contract, and I'll stick with the phone I have which is just as capable as the iPhone, and swap my existing Nano for an iPod Touch for music, Video and Wifi.
/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Gee4orce]

I don't know what makes you think you won't be able to use a newer iPhone with the same contract. I strongly suspect you WILL be able to do that - after all, it's in everybody's interest (you get a new phone, Apple gets you buying a new phone, O2 gets to keep you longer as a customer)

[kaoticman]

How many people are going to drop their existing contracts and take out a new one from O2, just for a phone with 30% demographic coverage? It's back to the bad old days when Orange first started, as someone said it's ok if you live in London but anywhere else I see little point in owning one, yet!