Spinmasters
The news that Vodafone Australia is offering the 8GB iPhone 3G for free on a 24-month contract isn’t surprising. With a new iPhone almost certainly being announced at WWDC in June, carriers are looking for ways to clear their existing iPhone stock before it becomes significantly less attractive to consumers. What is surprising is Vodafone’s press release, which is so full of spin I’m shocked that several high profile Australian sites managed to paste the quotes into their coverage with a straight face. Read on for our deconstruction.
The press release claims “Vodafone offers the best price in the market for iPhone 3G.”
Virgin Mobile has been offering a free iPhone 3G on a 24-month contract since July 2008. How Vodafone’s free 8GB iPhone 3G on a 24-month plan is a better price than Virgin’s free 8GB iPhone 3G on a 24-month plan is beyond me, and presumably anyone who isn’t a Vodafone employee being quoted in a press release.
OK, so they might be talking about the value provided in the cap. Let’s have a look at that.
Vodafone’s $69 plan gives $340 worth of service and 250MB of data.
Virgin Mobile’s $70 plan gives $520 worth of service and 1GB of data.
And the call/SMS rates? Exactly the same – 40 cents per 30 seconds, 25 cent SMS.
Vodafone’s flagfall of 35 cents versus Virgin’s 40 cents is the only difference, and would require you to make far more than $340 worth of calls to make up the $180 difference in the cap.
Admittedly, the Optus 3G network (which Virgin uses) isn’t renowned for speed, coverage or reliability, but that doesn’t magically make Vodafone’s price better.
Finally, what happens if you want to break your contract on the $69 Vodafone plan? (You think you won’t, but 12 months of drooling over a third-gen iPhone followed by 10 months of drooling over a fourth-gen iPhone will make your second-gen iPhone look pretty lame…)
You’ll pay $69 per month left on your contract. That’s right – you won’t just be paying them back for the phone, you’ll be held to ransom for calls and data you won’t use. Ouch. Virgin Mobile will charge you $31 per month left on your contract (that $31 figure is the $744 cost of the 8GB iPhone 3G divided by 24) with an additional $250 fee if you do it within the first six months of your contract.
The first time…
Vodafone Australia’s GM of Consumer Markets, Edward Goff is then quoted as saying “Vodafone is thrilled to be offering iPhone 3G for $0 on the $69 iPhone plan, the first time this has ever been offered in Australia.”
Yes, it’s the first time a free iPhone has been offered on a $69 plan. It’s also nine months since someone has been offering it on a $70 plan. I doubt Goff could spin that one any harder without breaking his wrist.
Never been a better time to buy?
Goff also says “There has never been a better time to buy an iPhone.”
And to put it bluntly, he’s full of it. Vodafone isn’t the first carrier in the world to start trying to unload their existing stock by June, and you can expect to see more and more desperate attempts to do so before then.
Nice job, Vodafone Australia.
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One Comment
Let em have it Tim, as if the telcos don’t deliberately make it hard enough to work out what the best deal is without resorting to barefaced bullshit. Vodafone’s inner city network is its strength, nobody in Aus can touch Virgin for value on an iPhone plan.