Looks like all the prices are coming out from today.
1: they are expensive to buy prepay: $800 odd
2: Telstra will launch with the others on July 11
3: Data prices are horrific
You can get an 8GB free if you sign up for 2 years on a $79 per month plan.
Sadly the data rates are extortionate – crippled by a low limits in the ’00 MB range.
As one commenter to a lifehacker article article points out, 1GB is about 2000 pages, which is around 60 page loads a day. That’s pathetic.
Excess data is charged at 35 cents per MB, which is $350 per GB. Going to be a surprise to some people, and unacceptably high.
On Optus Prepay you pay $729 or $849 for the 8 or 16GB version. Then for data you need to be spending $100 to get 1 GB.If you unlock the phone they’ll charge you $80, so you get a legit unlocked iPhone for $809 or $929. That’s a lot cheaper than my Nokia e90 – Apple are serving up a new era.
As an aside the cell phone plans over here in Australia are impenetrable. I just get wildly frustrated when I look at them. I can’t find the penalty rate or what happens after you exceed your prepaid limit. But their overseas rates are the standard $15000 per GB
Telstra has this which seems very similar:
iPhone 3G™ will be available from Telstra on July 11 with a range of specially designed Next G™ iPhone 3G plans that meet the needs of any customer.
The Next G™ iPhone 3G™ plans start at $30 per month with an upfront cost of $279 for the 8GB model and $399 for the 16GB model.
Customers will receive the 8GB iPhone 3G™ model at no cost with the $80 plan, and either the 8GB or the 16GB model at no cost with plans starting at $100 per month. All plans include free Wi-Fi access at Telstra hotspots and require a 24-month contract.
Lance Wiggs 