Virgin Mobile iPhone 4 plans best Optus and Vodafone
Virgin Mobile’s iPhone 4 pricing has narrowly beaten both Optus and Vodafone for value, and left Telstra’s iPhone 4 plans in the dust at the low end in Australia.
Virgin Mobile, who use the Optus Mobile network, have undercut Optus’ iPhone 4 plans at the low end of the subscriber market, with iPhone 4 Cap plans starting at $29 through $59. Virgin Mobile’s $59 iPhone 4 Cap plan is a slap in the face to Optus who had been seen as the best value option with their own $59 Cap plan that included a free 16Gb iPhone 4 and 2Gb of data. Virgin Mobile one upped Optus by including 2.5Gb of data in their own $59 iPhone 4 cap plan, which also includes a free iPhone 4.
Virgin Mobile’s iPhone 4 plans slice up their users into two psychographic profiles, ‘talkers’ and ‘mobile internet users’, and tailored two groups of iPhone 4 plans to suit each offering different value propositions. At the low end starting at $29, Virgin Mobile offers ‘talkers’ equivalent talk time to rival Vodafone but only 100Mb of download quota vs Vodafone’s 550Mb (50Mb + 500Mb ‘bonus’) but including the $15 handset levy for a 16gb iPhone 4 is $3 cheaper per month than Vodafone if you aren’t a heavy mobile data user.
When it comes to ‘mobile internet users’ Virgin Mobile bests both Optus and Vodafone for value, including 1.5Gb of data on their $39 iPhone 4 cap plan, 2Gb on the $49 iPhone 4 Cap plan and 2.5Gb on the $59 tier. Virgin Mobile seems content to play in the low-value side of the iPhone 4 market, by not having plans on pricing tiers above $59 per month.
Vodafone yesterday split the iPhone 4 pricing of rivals Optus and Telstra, coming in at price points which made direct comparisons difficult. Virgin Mobile today have further convoluted the choice of iPhone 4 plans by undercutting their network provider Optus (so, essentially providing the same network experience) but by not competing with Optus at the high value end of the iPhone 4 market. Virgin Mobile do however, aim themselves squarely at rival Vodafone, with a range of plans to suit both high mobile data users and talkers alike in the $29 per month to $59 per month cap plan space.
Business iPhone 4 customers should be able to take advantage of these Virgin Mobile prices, however some caveats may apply. Virgin Mobile is expected to announce full terms and conditions on their website tomorrow.
Virgin Mobile iPhone 4 plans (Click for full size)
Lets hope that 3 and T-mobile don’t face the same problems that Apple iOS has caused other UK consumers and their recently reported roaming costs.
It is another setback once again for Apple it will be interesting to see what’s next in the news regarding iPhone issues (antenna, manufacturing and now service charges) and their
Apples steps to refund cases won’t make up for the iPhone 4′s lack of function over form.
It’s a shame to see so many issues with the iPhone 4 after so many people waited for it’s release. What’s more of a shame is that it seems Apple knew about some of these issues already, such as the problem with reception.
But Apple have created such a loyal following that people may just put up with what issues there are for the sake of owning the latest Apple product.
Personally, I’d be happier with an older iPhone – at least then the issues are all ironed out.
However, it’s also interesting to see how much excitement new technologies can bring. New technology and innovation is important for new business, illustrated by entrepreneurship grants and new business competitions like http://www.ukesnc.com.
Guess it’s not all bad!