Disappointing iPhone pricing plans.

With the release of the iPhone 3G which is due to go on sale this Friday here in New Zealand, Vodafone have released the prices, much to the disappointment of many people. The prices when compared to the iPhone around the rest of the world is just ridiculous. There is even an online petition asking Vodafone to have them available as a pre-pay and to review the pricing structure.


Vodafone New Zealand is selling Apple's 8 gigabyte iPhone 3G from $199, but only on a 24-month contract and charging $250 per month. The plan includes voice calls, SMS and 1GB of data per month. A two year total of $6000.

In Australia the 8GB iPhone wont cost anything on a 24-month plan from Optus, And only charges A$79 (NZ$105) per month for 700MB of data. A two year total of $A1896 (NZ$2520).

In the UK, O2 sells the 8GB iPhone for £99 (approx NZ$250), on a 18-month plan, £30 per month contract. This plan has unlimited data and runs at £819 (NZ$2137) over a two year period.

In Canada, you can get the 8GB iPhone for C$199. However this is on a three year contract but still works out to C$1639 or (approximately$NZ2100) over two years.

Vodafone New Zealand wont sell the iPhone on pre-pay, however people can purchase the iPhone outright without a data plan and no contract to use only for voice and SMS on vodafones origional plans, Which doesnt make sense to me, You may aswell just stick to your origional phone, But anyway for those that just want an iPhone to look the part you will be able to buy the 8GB model starting from NZ$979 and the 16GB model for NZ$1129, PLUS the monthly cost of the plan, and it can't be used on the net nor can you download emails unless you buy a separate data plan. Australian company Optus will sell the iPhone on pre-pay, The 8GB model will cost A$729 (NZ$926), And the 16GB model A$849 (NZ$1080).

I haven't come across any price plans from Asia but would definitely be interested to know.