“These gadgets look almost like religious icons,” says Jonathon Margolis in the Daily Mail. He’s referring to the Apple iPhone – a device so popular it’s even replaced the Aston Martin as Britain’s coolest brand, says The Daily Telegraph. But don’t buy one just yet.
Why is this hand-held oblong device so popular (50 million have been sold worldwide)? “Sheer usefulness,” says Margolis. Not only is an iPhone a phone – as you might expect – but also a hand-held computer, emailer, camera, and tape recorder. But thanks to the ‘apps’ that users can download from the web either for free or for a small charge, it can also become around 85,000 other devices, including a satnav system, a games opponent, a spirit level, a barcode reader or even a torch. Experts claim it is “the greatest electronic gadget ever made”.
But don’t rush to grab yours. For the last two years O2 has enjoyed an exclusive deal with Apple to market and sell the iPhone through its stores, selling O2 monthly contracts along the way. But rival Orange has now secured the rights to compete with O2, and Vodafone is also set to sell the device from 2010. As such, says The Daily Telegraph’s Shane Richmond, “it’s pretty clear that you should now wait”. But for how long?
Competition won’t alter handset prices much – it hasn’t in other countries where multiple providers compete, says Richmond. Indeed, an O2 spokesperson told the Daily Mirror “there are no plans for price cuts”. That means you’ll probably still be spending up to £175.19 for the latest, fastest 3GS 32GB handset for a monthly contract at O2.co.uk, or £538.30 for a pay-as-you-go deal.
But it’s on the monthly contracts that the competition should bite. An O2 monthly deal including 600 call minutes, 500 texts and unlimited wireless internet access costs just over £34 a month. Increased competition from the two new providers should see such packages improve, especially once Vodafone starts flexing its muscle. So, says Richards, “if I was in the market for an iPhone, I’d wait until after Christmas”.