After some rumours were spread and quickly debunked recently, Optus are moving to make sure people know what is going on with their iPhone plans. I just got some nice SMS spam about it, pointing me to www.yesiphone.com.au. You can pre-register for information and for $100 (or $50 if you're already an Optus customer), you'll get "secure priority queuing" (which is asterixed up with a warning saying its no guarantee you'll actually get a phone, of course).

No other pricing - indeed, no other useful information - is actually on the site yet, so I think they're just trying to prepare for the onslaught and get themselves some good search engine ranking with this early announcement.

$50 to preorder if you are already an optus member

preordering phones... wtf?

Reso just pointed me to Vodafone

I wanna know about outright unlocked ones!

Why is there so much fuss over the iPhone?

Me too... I guess we have to wait until the 11th of July?

Why is there so much fuss over the iPhone?

See iPhone thread. But those who have iPod touches and crappy phones or jailbroken iPhones will generally be into the whole thing... Those with decent phones like N95 etc won't generally be interested in getting one but thats a generalisation.

lemmings!!! hahahaha

Heres a big bit of news for you...

From a press release by Vodafone Italy

People preferring a pre-pay plan for private users can buy the 8Gb iPhone for €499 or the 16GB model for €569.

€499 = $773.64AU
€569 = $882.17AU

So, it could be $800 for 8GB and $900 for 9GB... It could also be a lot different.

last edited by mongie at 16:03:01 12/Jun/08

I fkn hope not!

In the US, the new 3G iPhone will cost from $US199 ($209.32) for the 8GB model to $US299 ($314.50) for 16GB.

Despite selling 6 million iPhones in one year, Apple said its research showed the cost of the previous model had put off would-be buyers.

If mongie is on the money then Australia is once again getting fkd. But I doubt that they'd sell them for 3 times the price when the iPods were fairly well priced compared to US (i think).

No we're not, the US pricing from the key note also comes with a 24-mth AT&T contract.. it's not an outright purchase price.

Gizmodo.com.au have released some unofficial leaked pricing information from Optus. Optus have since contacted Gizmodo and confirm the pricing is INCORRECT

http://mongie.com/ulimages/cqs1213251371i.jpg

* The iPhone is only available on a 24 month contract - you can't purchase it outright
* The 8GB model will cost $220, the 16GB $330
* Only the 16GB is available in white
* Optus won't be selling accessories - they will be sold through the Apple store
* There will be two plans available: a $79 cap with 1GB data and $300 worth of calls; and a $99 cap with 3GB of data and $400 worth of calls
* Both plans include Visual Voicemail
* 30c flagfall; 35c per 30 seconds talk, 25c SMS messages

last edited by mongie at 16:19:20 12/Jun/08

last edited by mongie at 16:20:55 12/Jun/08

Choosing a Reloadable plan for Private you will be able to acquire directly
on the Shop online the iPhone 3G from 8GB
to 499 euros and the iPhone 3G from 16GB
to 569 euros.

from the Vodafone Italy website via Babelfish.

http://iphone.vodafone.it/?tk=9616%2Cc&ty_key=iphone.vodafone.it

Good show mongie

Hey dark jedi, read up about 5 posts.

From a press release by Vodafone Italy

People preferring a pre-pay plan for private users can buy the 8Gb iPhone for €499 or the 16GB model for €569.



€499 = $773.64AU
€569 = $882.17AU

So, it could be $800 for 8GB and $900 for 9GB... It could also be a lot different.

This sounds pretty realistic and Euro markets generally get reamed as much as (and often more than) we do so I'm going to predict that voda au's non-contracted iphone will go for $799 and $899.

Early market phone tech is so overpriced hey. $800 for a phone, that's more than a f***ing PS3 at launch. They just give us a false concept that you can get one at an affordable price by hiding the rest of the cost in long-term provider contracts.

I'm really interested in the applications of the iphone, particular because I kind of see it as the start of mainstream mobile communication moving away from timed rate phone calls and ridiculous priced text messaging towards more universal internet applications, voip, msn etc and data usage based plans .

I think it'll be a while before I'll pick one up though. There's no way I could justify spending that much on a phone.

last edited by Dan at 17:04:57 12/Jun/08

$800 for a phone, that's more than a f***ing PS3 at launch.

HAHA that puts everything into an entirely different perspective.

Both plans include Visual Voicemail

yet from what i read the iphone does not support video calls?

Visual voicemail is something different...

Isn't it where you can see how many messages you have?

And you can choose which message you listen to etc..

neato. i hate message bank woman.

Hey dark jedi, read up about 5 posts.

That's why I re-posted it - quote + link to where it came from. Babelfish translations are always amusing

Telstra have announced:
http://www.telstra.com.au/iphone

ta exo, was gonna news post but there's nothing really new there - still no pricing has been announced by anyone?

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23908338-5014108,00.html

Kind of half-pricing. They've announced handset cost and plans its on, but nothing about what's included for the cost of the plan - aka how much data or call minutes.

You get unlimited telstra hotspots though which is nice.

RLY! that alone almost makes it worth getting if its truly unlimited and included in the monthly cost. Do any other Telstra mobile plans come with that offer?

someone needs to nuke this thread - misleading title.

Nope, don't think so. I know they do it (or did it?) for Nintendo DS.

Press release, emphasis is mine:

elstra, Australia's leading telecommunications and information services company, and Apple® today announced that the highly anticipated iPhone 3G™ will be available to Telstra's over 9 million Australian customers on July 11. iPhone 3G™ combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast* as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.

"Australians are very excited about iPhone 3G™ and we're delighted to bring this product to them on Telstra's high-speed Next G™ network," said David Moffatt, Telstra's consumer group managing director. "With iPhone 3G™ on the country's largest and fastest 3G network, providing coverage to 99 percent of the population, more Australians will enjoy the iPhone 3G™ experience in even more places."

"We're thrilled to work with Telstra to bring iPhone 3G™ to Australia's largest 3G network," said Tim Cook, Apple's COO. "iPhone 3G is an amazing product and we think Telstra's over 9 million mobile customers will love it as much as we do."

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.

Telstra and bigpond developing for the iphone

The source also pointed out that Telstra and BigPond have been working on iPhone applications. "Games are a huge area of interest and several companies have already demonstrated beta versions of games for the new iPhone. Electronic Arts, for example, has showed a scaled-back version of "Spore", while business application developer, Salesforce.com, has demonstrated how it could push data from its software-as-a-service CRM application to the device."

Spose its all under NDA and all that, but can we expect some cool Ausgamers or Gamearena type web apps in the future??? Not sure what'd it actually incorporate.. but still it seems like an interesting platform to develop for

...so when the heck is Optus going to get with the party & talk plans + pricing?

Boxhead knows now so I might as well tell everyone.

We are releasing a branded iphone. it is going to do all the cool things an iphone do but cost half as much. to find out more check out www.nokia.com

i just hope theres a buy outright option

Boxhead knows now so I might as well tell everyone.

Bahaha i knew it!

the telstra iphone will be reconfigured to promote telstra businesses such as yellowpages and whereis over the normal iphone defaults like googlemaps.

the telstra iphone will be reconfigured to promote telstra businesses such as yellowpages and whereis over the normal iphone defaults like googlemaps.

I can't imagine that's true; do you have a link for that or is it just a guess? The Google Maps thing is an integral part of the iPhone and has always been pimped as a major feature.

Yeah I can't see Telstra'd want you to use Google Map for free seeing that they've got Whereis navigator (which IMO is inferior product) that they'd want to charge you for to use it for a turn by turn based sat nav.

Personally I can see Telstra providing 2 options but, Google Maps will be bury deep in the options somewhere so most people will just use Whereis.... but I'm guessing here.

trog, today's AFR page 3 quoting:

Telstra spokesman Peter Taylor could not confirm if iTunes would be available as a default application to Telstra subscribers. But he said the Telstra iPhone would provide Telstra Sensis products such as directories system Yellow and navigational system Whereis.

^doesnt say they are removing the default apps though.

I know they do it (or did it?) for Nintendo DS.

Pretty sure it's still in place - Free wifi access for anyone using the DS. I remember it working pretty well from my last job (where we had a Telstra hotspot on site) with my DS.

trog, today's AFR page 3 quoting:

Telstra spokesman Peter Taylor could not confirm if iTunes would be available as a default application to Telstra subscribers. But he said the Telstra iPhone would provide Telstra Sensis products such as directories system Yellow and navigational system Whereis.

aahahah man, I can't imagine anything that would make me want an iphone less than putting whereis on it

I'm sure there's worse things they could do. You could always uninstall it.

almost every other capable telstra mobile has it, the iphone will be no different.

ive found whereis to be pretty handy when u are in a bind trying to find somewhere, and its free to browse.

Add that with the accuracy of GPS integration on the Iphone it will be even better.

I'm sure there's worse things they could do. You could always uninstall it.

Really? My Nokia 6somethinsomething that I bought from Harveys up front not on plan came pre-installed with some bigpond software and I can't figure out how to get rid of it.

When I start it up it plays some Next-g animation that I can't figure out how to remove, and in the main menu I have a "my Place" icon/app that I can't delete.

you need to flash it with original non-branded firmware :(

Presumably you could 'restore' an iphone with itunes back to basics... Although this theory is based on nothing more then a hope that telstra will not railroad the best features of the phone.. eg google maps integration.. I can't imagine that Google would be happy with a piss-ant teleco screwing with their sweet iphone deal

I can't imagine that Google would be happy with a piss-ant teleco screwing with their sweet iphone deal

and that is why it took telstra so long to announce iPhones, this and bigpond music had been sticking points.

With the enhanced security the next gen iphones will get to stop jailbreaking and phones being unlocked, it may not be as easy to detelstraise a TeliPhone as you hope.

Really? My Nokia 6somethinsomething that I bought from Harveys up front not on plan came pre-installed with some bigpond software and I can't figure out how to get rid of it.

When I start it up it plays some Next-g animation that I can't figure out how to remove, and in the main menu I have a "my Place" icon/app that I can't delete.

There's apps out there you can use to change the 'code' of your Nokia to a de-branded version. Once the code has been changed, you can use the Nokia software updater to re-flash your phone with the generic, de-branded software.

Check out this site for an idea of how it's done with the Nokia N73 - From memory the program they use can handle other model Nokias as well. Then it's just a matter of finding the right code to set your phone to for the de-branded/generic mode.

Of course, warranty = out door if you brick it, which normally goes without saying with this sort of stuff I think :)

The optus plans are now out!

Prepaid:
8GB iPhone 3G (Black)= $729

16GB iPhone 3G (Black or White)= $849

Plus, connect to Optus Pre-Paid and receive $400 Bonus + 1GB internet browsing PLUS recharge with $40 or more on Turbo Cap and receive EXTRA BONUS data every time you recharge!

To get you started Optus Pre-Paid is offering a special offer - unlimited mobile internet browsing on Turbo Cap^ until 31 August 08.

Postpaid plans go like this: (I hope the formating holds up)

Cap plan: $19 $49 $59 $79 $89 $149 $179
Amount of data: 100MB 250MB 500MB 700MB 850MB 1GB 1GB
Inc Calls/Text: $50 $300 $350 $550 $600 $1200 $1500
8G handset cost 12mth: $51 $37 $32 $27 $23 $23 $23
8G handset cost 24mth: $21 $7 $2 $0 $0 $0 $0
16G handset cost 12mth:$61 $47 $42 $37 $33 $33 $33
16G handset cost 24mth:$26 $12 $7 $2 $0 $0 $0

Edit: Unfortunately, my spaces are removed when the item is posted, so its going to be hard to follow.



last edited by E.T. at 15:37:52 03/Jul/08

The optus plans are now out!

We've been discussing this for over an hour:

http://qgl.ausforums.com/index.php/439207/?agn=thread&id=2640614

Well f*** me!