Reponding to your questions about the iPhone pricing

Forums › One NZ (including Farmside) › Reponding to your questions about the iPhone pricing

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

355 posts

Ultimate Geek

#145553 9-Jul-2008 17:08

Now maybe everyone will realise what the poor N95 users felt like for so long

paradoxsm

3000 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#145556 9-Jul-2008 17:13

Ahh good to see they have responded, it's basically a continuisation of my post. I think the plans are ok, nothing wildly fantastic but are anytime, any network and give a higher discount on the hardware.

You can use the iPhone on any plan you like but you will only get voice and SMS, the data will not work unless you load a data plan which has access to the capable APN which are 1GB and 200mB both on 24 month contracts only and only accessable to customers on 3 recent plans, youchoose ad talkzone for example.

What is the APN? i'll update the database with this info.

I said goodbye to Vodafone two weeks back simply due to the fact i was oly using a vodafone mobile just so a few prepay users coud sms me cheap.

Beretta

27 posts

Geek

#145562 9-Jul-2008 17:19

These plans are expensiveThese plans are the best value Vodafone offers

That will not go down well with most people. Firstly, it is evident that what Vodafone considers to be better value, other people most certainly do not.

Secondly, to reply to universal complaints about poor value with the reply that "hey, it's better than the value of our OTHER deals," kinda paints your own company in a very unflattering light.

– and we are offering the biggest subsidy ever on a new release device.

This is true, but of course it's not quite relevant, as the very thing people are complaining about is the massive price of PLANS . The only way to get the large subsidy is to spend $6000, and that is what people are objecting to, not to the price of the phone itself.

Why are your data caps so small?
The plans have been developed based on the usage of the existing iPhones (2G) that we have on our network. As you know we have a 3Gig 3G Broadband plan in the market and based on uptake and usage of our existing plans we may open this to the iPhone.

So? The question is not "are your other plans low on data," the question is why this plan is so low on data.

And low it most definitely is. Nobody believes that a single gigabyte is a decent amount of data. So the question remains: Why are the data caps so very small?

You are ripping us off compared to international pricing.
In terms of recommend retail pricing for the device the 8GB device only in NZ is currently mid table see here. Note I haven’t fully checked this table but I know you have previously referred to it. In terms of the usage elements, these plans are the best value plans we have in the market.

Yes, we know, that's the problem. This is the best value you can provide. And compared to international pricing, Vodafone's "best value" is a rip off. This answer does nothing to appease that very real concern.

bonkiebonks

389 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#145564 9-Jul-2008 17:27

KurstenShalfoon:

In the ‘iPhone 1GB’ plan I don’t want 600mins of calling therefore I am paying for something I don’t need.
We have a range of options for people so they can choose the best voice, txt and date plan to suit their needs and budget. It is possible for customers to add the 1Gig data add-on to their existing You Choose Plan. The minimum cost for this is You Choose 20 and 1Gig of Data ($69.90). In this situation the subsidy for a new customer would be $160

Could you clarify on how you arrived at the subsidy of $160? Based on your FAQ, the You Choose 20 gives a subsidy of $80, and Broadband 1GB gives a subsidy of $150. Shouldn't it then give a total subsidy of $230 based on your method of calculation, or am I missing something here?

FAQ Link: http://vodafonenz.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/vodafonenz.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=6511

Would it be possible to port a number over to the You Choose plan for iPhone?

bonkiebonks

389 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#145566 9-Jul-2008 17:29

NZ has one of the worst pricing for the iPhone, but since we can now bundle it with any You Choose plans, I believe we have the most flexible iPhone plans in the world. :)

Kitanai

81 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#145576 9-Jul-2008 17:47

Pathetic.

If you guys had let me go on a $19 You Choose no term with the $1/month casual data I would be in line for a full price 16GB right now.

Similarly if you had provided a $500 8GB on a $50/month plan, I would also be queueing.

Instead, you guys are trying out marketing for Sheep on SMART PEOPLE. Your argument about no casual data rate is the one that really annoys me here. If i'm stupid enough to go over it, it's MY PROBLEM and will arrive on MY BILL.

Tomorrow nigh, I'm going into a vodafone store to remove all addons from my account, and pay you the minimum I can until my contract runs out - OR you provide us with better pricing. If you don't, I'll be jumping ship the moment Telecom has GSM.

I'm very disappointed - Apple should be ashamed to be affiliated with Vodafone NZ.

Lego

Shop now for Lego sets and other gifts (affiliate link).

Madmax77

152 posts

Master Geek

#145580 9-Jul-2008 17:55

Kitanai: Pathetic.

If you guys had let me go on a $19 You Choose no term with the $1/month casual data I would be in line for a full price 16GB right now.

.

I can only assume you mean a dollar a day casual data?

Never ask what sort of computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If not, why embarrass him?

Tom Clancy

Kitanai

81 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#145585 9-Jul-2008 18:02

*$1/day

:-D

MattD

663 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 1
Inactive user

#145697 9-Jul-2008 20:23

bonkiebonks:
Could you clarify on how you arrived at the subsidy of $160? Based on your FAQ, the You Choose 20 gives a subsidy of $80, and Broadband 1GB gives a subsidy of $150. Shouldn't it then give a total subsidy of $230 based on your method of calculation, or am I missing something here?

Looks like a simple error using the 3G subsidy from the 200GB plan (eg $80) instead of the 1GB plan ($150) - most likely pair used in many scenarios this week as it represents the cheapest monthly plan $50.

DAMOKOSH

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#145710 9-Jul-2008 20:38

HAHA as im reading through these posts I only commonly see words like APN and the qoute regarding the PRE PAY lol this obviously shows the community of fans are not interested in the on account plans at all, I must say this is a huge failure for the marketing department in VFNZ to scare away customers instead of spark their attention.

I wonder if VF will allow us to just buy the phone without going on contract so we can secretly take it home and use our prepay sim cards and use wifi at wifi hotspots like starbucks and hoyts to browse the internet? wifi routers for home arent that expensive nowadays neither.

if thats so this renders data plans completely useless imo. If worse comes to worse its you choose 20 ($18.95/month) and phone outright for me.

ANYWAYS thanks Kursten for posting this however you sound just like Mark, going on about how its comparable and how its a good deal, in my opinion Kursten, its obviously not a good deal because fans are not smiling, they are frowning and also even if it IS comparable according to our trackrecord you could of atleast made it almost marginal to the plans in our neighbour OZ I mean, really even if it does mean losing some money to keep Kiwis happy, the ugly posts and dieing reputation just wasnt worth it in my opinion.

MattD

663 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 1
Inactive user

#145714 9-Jul-2008 20:40

bonkiebonks: NZ has one of the worst pricing for the iPhone, but since we can now bundle it with any You Choose plans, I believe we have the most flexible iPhone plans in the world. :)

Interesting... at the moment of 19 countries and the known plans... the NZ TCO is 16th with three countries with higher minimum TCO (France, Norway and Canada)

We are pretty much on par with Japan and USA are less than 2% better off ($43 difference over 2years)

Essentially there are 8 countries that are up to 25% cheaper than NZ

Good point on the flexibility, however the data volumes are certainly out of whack with the capability of the device and yes we will certainly see a number of cases of people with extremely high data bills. Only saving grace is the excess usage charge was dropped a little (still not good!)

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

MattD

663 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 1
Inactive user

#145716 9-Jul-2008 20:43

DAMOKOSH:
I wonder if VF will allow us to just buy the phone without going on contract so we can secretly take it home and use our prepay sim cards and use wifi at wifi hotspots like starbucks and hoyts to browse the internet? wifi routers for home arent that expensive nowadays neither.
if thats so this renders data plans completely useless imo. If worse comes to worse its you choose 20 ($18.95/month) and phone outright for me.

Is there an underlying agenda to curb 3G usage until the network can bolster its capacity? pure speculation

DAMOKOSH

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#145727 9-Jul-2008 20:59

I don't know much about VPN's or wifi but if I'm correct my friend use to own a PSP which has wifi capabilities, and it required no contract or vpn codes you just find a frequency then your off surfing the internet

MattD

663 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 1
Inactive user

#145731 9-Jul-2008 21:05

DAMOKOSH: I don't know much about VPN's and wi fi but if I am correct my friend use to own a PSP and that has wifi capabilities, and it required no contract or vpn codes you just find a frequency and wam your surfing on the internet

I think you are referring to APN not VPN. APN is for the 3G and GPRS network and is a different communication method than Wifi.

The pre-pay issue was referring to 3G and GPRS and not Wifi.

So having a pre-pay sim in an iPhone you could still use it in a Wifi environment (so long as you have access) and there are a number of free Wifi Hotspots around (libraries, Hoyts etc), or you can buy coffee, or pay per access per provider

DAMOKOSH

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#145736 9-Jul-2008 21:21

MattD:
DAMOKOSH: I don't know much about VPN's and wi fi but if I am correct my friend use to own a PSP and that has wifi capabilities, and it required no contract or vpn codes you just find a frequency and wam your surfing on the internet

I think you are referring to APN not VPN. APN is for the 3G and GPRS network and is a different communication method than Wifi.
The pre-pay issue was referring to 3G and GPRS and not Wifi.
So having a pre-pay sim in an iPhone you could still use it in a Wifi environment (so long as you have access) and there are a number of free Wifi Hotspots around (libraries, Hoyts etc), or you can buy coffee, or pay per access per provider

Awesome thanks for clearing that up! Great! if I could only set up a wifi hotspot at my house I could be able to surf for free wouldn't I

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

News and reviews »

New ECOVACS DEEBOT T80S OMNI Available Now
Posted 9-Apr-2026 11:11

Ring Brings 4K Video to Battery-Powered Doorbells
Posted 9-Apr-2026 11:01

Synology Announces a New Privacy-First Home Monitoring Experience for BeeStation Plus
Posted 9-Apr-2026 10:02

GIGABYTE X870E AERO X3D DARK WOOD Redefines the Motherboard
Posted 7-Apr-2026 14:06

Datacom Acquires Auckland Data Centre from T4
Posted 2-Apr-2026 09:43

Spark Launches Satellite Service with SMS and data options
Posted 2-Apr-2026 09:16

Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.

Updates »

Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.

Support Geekzone »

You can support Geekzone with a one-off or recurring donation via PressPatron.