3G iPhone Contract
The iPhone is a popular phone from tech giant Apple. The phone came out last year and attracted a lot of consumers with it's ease of use and impressive list of features. From Youtube to Safari, the iPhone is capable of doing a lot, however the problem that plagued the original iPhone is that it ran on the EDGE network, a notoriously slow network. Apple claimed it would have 3G version out as soon as possible, and that time has finally come. On July 11th, the 3G iPhone will be released to multiple countries including all places that already have iPhone coverage.
The new iPhone boasts several new features, from a universal headphone jack to assisted GPS funcionality. One of the things Apple is touting is the new, lower cost of the device, coming in at only $199, as opposed to the original phone's $399 price tag. This price is a little deceptive, however, as the monthly costs are actually a little higher makign the 3G iPhone contract more expensive than that of the 2G version. For starters, the original iPhone's contract had a $39 talk plan that gave you 450 minutes, this is the same with the new 3G iPhone's contract. However, the data plan jumps from $20 to $30 with the new generation of iPhone. Also, the original iPhone included 200 SMS messages per month, with the 3G phone requiring a $5 monthly fee for texting. Finally, the end cost for the original iPhone after two years is $1,815, the cost of the new device is $1,975, putting the new device at $160 more after two years.
When looking at the other options, however, you see that this is still an affordable option when it comes to 3G phones, and the price is dispersed over two years, your initial purchase will still be $200 less. So ultimately, if you are purchasing the iPhone simply as a phone from Apple, and don't care about the faster data speeds or the GPS, the original phone is cheaper over the long term. However, at $200 cheaper initially and when paying very competitive monthly fees, the 3G iPhone has an attractive price point when compared to other 3G devices.
