the sweet spot is 1GB for around $80 p/month. if someone offers a plan like that, i'll buy an iphone straight away, as soon as i ask my gf's permission :)
raydenl: the sweet spot is 1GB for around $80 p/month. if someone offers a plan like that, i'll buy an iphone straight away, as soon as i ask my gf's permission :)
I'm on iPhone $130 and don't use anywhere near the data (always Wifi), plus Vodafone's 3G speed is sh*t. However I am always going over the minutes I get.
With Telecom I get about $300 cash net ($600 - VF early termination of $330), the same minutes and data to suit me, all for around $20 less per month too. And if I want 400 minutes that's possible too.
Plus - you can keep your Vodafone number!
Only thing is I was considering retiring my current VF plan and then resigning up to get a new 3GS....
You say that when the 3 month offer expires, you will offer "something else". How do I know that "something else" will suit me. Maybe you will offer extra calls or text messages which I don't need. There are no guarantees.
I am moved to write because of GDBDB's post. He is totally right. It's the best post I've read in a long time. I was highly insulted by Paul's comment that in three months there will be "something else". As a customer handing over a lot of money to a company I expect certainty and respect - not carrots being dangled in front of me. Why not tell us now what that "something else" is now. And if you don't know, then make a decision about it and tell us. We are sick of being ripped off by two large telecommunications companies that to our face pretend as if they are doing us favours with great deals. So either stop ripping us off, or be honest about how average your prices and plans are.
It's a girly scrap between two telcos living in a comfortable duopoly. Telecom isn't offering anything that really undercuts vodafone. And that vodafone 3GB, 3 mnth offer just looks like a big con job at this point in time.
Serious competition would be something like a matched offer from telecom at a clearcut saving. ie take the iphone 80 plan, match it line for line. Boost the data to 1GB a month, and price it at $60. That is competition. Right now it's a yelling match.
Either party gets serious about 'competition' and I'll happily change my mind. But I'm not holding my breath.
You say that when the 3 month offer expires, you will offer "something else". How do I know that "something else" will suit me. Maybe you will offer extra calls or text messages which I don't need. There are no guarantees.
I am moved to write because of GDBDB's post. He is totally right. It's the best post I've read in a long time. I was highly insulted by Paul's comment that in three months there will be "something else". As a customer handing over a lot of money to a company I expect certainty and respect - not carrots being dangled in front of me. Why not tell us now what that "something else" is now. And if you don't know, then make a decision about it and tell us. We are sick of being ripped off by two large telecommunications companies that to our face pretend as if they are doing us favours with great deals. So either stop ripping us off, or be honest about how average your prices and plans are.
Everyone here has got the above point 100% correct - but Paul, we need to know what this offer is at least month and a half before the end of the 3GB promotion as I know people will be ending the contract early at the end of three months. Why at least a month and a half early? Because the contract T&C's say we need to give Vodafone at least 1 month's early termination notice. If we don't hear anything soon, people will be giving their 1 month notice in less than two months (if not now).
A $600 account credit is nothing to be sneezed at. Thats 7.5 months of free service!
You get an hour extra to chat per month
240MB Data
Better coverage
Ok so you have to pay for txt/pxt... whoopee chook!
~7.5 months of free service vs 3 months of 3GB downloads?
I don't think I could download that much on an iPhone if I tried!
You shouldn't be using that much data on a mobile device. I'd much rather be burning my bandwidth on real broadband and not on mobile. 250MB-500MB is pretty good for moderate mobile data.
Can anyone get through more than 240MB on an iPhone in a month?
I was issued with a company iPhone on the corporate 1GB plan!! At first 1GB sounded like it was a rediculously small amount of data, but no matter how much I tried I could never get over 100mb in a month.. I was on the damn thing day and night when I first got it, downloading apps, tube clips, TradeMe, and Geekzone of course .. also the screen is too small to be bothered with any serious surfing .. but I'm getting off track.
240MB a month is about right I reckon for an iPhone IMHO...
Tohe: A $600 account credit is nothing to be sneezed at. Thats 7.5 months of free service!
You get an hour extra to chat per month
240MB Data
Better coverage
Ok so you have to pay for txt/pxt... whoopee chook!
~7.5 months of free service vs 3 months of 3GB downloads?
I don't think I could download that much on an iPhone if I tried!
Notice how the $600 nearly matches the 'discount' vodafone offers on the handset (32GB on iphone 80). I'm not ignoring the dollar value. But I restate my point. This is not competition. Telecom are very carefully pitching this to maximise their own 'profit margin' and they're using the values set by vodafone. They could 'compete' a hell of a lot more agressively if they wanted. But they choose not to.
PaulBrislen: Hello the Mantis: to answer your questions:
1) XT does have a 3GB plan if you want it - only an idiot would consider using a 240MB plan for 3GB of data and paying the overage charges..
Yes, but that's not what Telecom is offering. Instead you're on the 180 plan which includes 240MB of data. The 180 plan then goes to an overuse rate of 50c/MB. Ouch.
As much as it pains me, I have to agree with Brislen on this, VF used to have their data plans so the first GB was $50, second was $10 (data insurance) and the third GB was $10,240. It was a confusing trap for customers which resulted in a lot of panic and pain.
VF are now a lot fairer on their data usage from memory, I was was suprised at the higher rate for XT.
I think if a network has overage charges of 1000%+ of the bundle pricing then it's just trying to confuse and trick customers.
As for the iPhone XT add, classico... Let the battle of the giants begin
Tyler - Parnell Geek - iPhone 3G - Lenovo X301 - Kaseya - Great Western Steak House, these are some of my favourite things.
chiefie: You shouldn't be using that much data on a mobile device. I'd much rather be burning my bandwidth on real broadband and not on mobile. 250MB-500MB is pretty good for moderate mobile data.
My 'real broadband' is slower than my XT handset broadband
Tyler - Parnell Geek - iPhone 3G - Lenovo X301 - Kaseya - Great Western Steak House, these are some of my favourite things.
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