i'm quite disappointed with optus's price release actually. mayb due to the expectation i have from the earlier leaked prices..haha..
am now currently thinking of getting the virgin 16gb old iphone 3g. its on 45 cap for 24months. the plans suits me coz it have only 50mb data per month and alot of call time. i planning to use my uni's wifi so i guess its ok.
the problem is i kinda wanted 3gs but if all other carrier's pricing is similar to optus i dont think i'll get one(optus cap plan doesnt include international calls which is a big minus for me).
the virgin's offer is limited so i'm not sure if i should wait. what do you guys think? just extra opinions for me to consider.

This post has been edited by mrRighthand: Jun 23 2009, 08:08 AM

i will be staying in brisbane, australia by the end of this year for a period of 9 months. will this make me elligible for the optus pakages? i should be getting a working visa.
how does the prices compare to the maxis deals here in malaysia? i will definitely continue to use the phone when i get back to malaysia next year.

@hellfried,
At the moment, it's not comparable because Maxis has yet to release its pricing for the iPhone 3GS. However, from the last release, I believe it wouldn't be much difference; unless of course U sign up with a plan via Maxis.

For the eligibility, it depends on the visa. Let say if you are on 9 months visa (I dont think there is a vsia with 9 months period but assuming there is), you can apply for 12 months plan but you need to pay the remainder of the contract months that you dont have the visa for. Let say you take the 49 cap for iphone 3gs 16 gig, u need to pay AUD 49 for the phone usage (calls, text etc) plus AUD 49 for the phone so total AUD98 per month. You have 3 months that you are not covered for so u need to pay upfront AUD294 and then pay the rest with AUD98 monthly.

So for 12 months, you will be getting the phone for AUD588 ~RM1650and spend AUD588 for your calls, texts etc (provided u will not exceed the plan). All together you will spend AUD1176 ~ RM3300 over a year

For comparison with Maxis, let say Maxis will maintain the price (which I doubt so) for 16 gb and you choose iValue 155 plan and u take the 12 months contract.
Youll end up paying RM2160 for the phone and RM1285 for the calls, texts etc (provided u wil not exceed the plan). So total you pay over a year is RM 3445.
But, this is using the old iphone 3g plan. Im pretty sure that this number will be higher by at least RM300-Rm400 price for the new Iphone 3GS.

Overall, it is definitely cheaper to buy the iPhone in OZ but the only downside of buying iPhone oversea is the warranty only works in the country of purchase.
You also need to think about unlocking your phone if you buy it here. Optus will give u for free, Telstra will charge you freakin AUD150 while Virgin and Vodafone will charge around AUD40-AUD80 depending on the contract length.

i guess if u wan international call then i believe 3 is the only choice for u since they included international call in their cap..
if optus then u need sign up for another extra international pack which is $5,$10 n $15..b4 tht i sign up for $5 but then i cancel de coz i got skype..
n i can use my gf's 3 to make international call if i wan since she not rly use much

You know what will be great? If 3 release iPhone with free Skype like their Skype phone. You can directly call through skype without using your download data. Lot of my friends use skype phone and they never exceed the skype minutes even on 39 cap

i got heard about it but nvr rly bother..
3 provide them free credits from skype to call anywhr or just skype to skype call?

with '3', i believe that you can only use a partial of your "pretend money"

but with virgin, you can use the "pretend money" completely.

ok nvm i wouldnt b goin for virgin anymore they've just updated their website saying the 45 cap must be bundled with a 15 dollar data pack. n the white one is sold out. lol...guess i'll wait for 3, vodafone and virgin's new pricing then.

if you could be so kind, can you please point out the exact link which says so? cheers

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jun 23 2009, 10:56 AM

yup sure. here you go.
https://www.virginmobile.com.au/shop/iPhone...id=iPhone190609

because when i attempt to select the caps "manually", i am still able to checkout a 16GB iPhone 3G black without any data bundle.

yup i noticed that too.but maybe they are assuming you know that it'll b 45+15 dollar per month. actually the information is not complete, they did not even mention whether the data plan is in the contract for 24 months or you can remove it as you like after signing up.
they've just changed it an hour ago so mayb the information is not added yet. but its quite misleading to their customers.

anyway its clearly stated in the link that the data pack must be included.
I wonder what will happen to customers that signed up before the change.

if you wanna be extremely safe, go up to a virgin shop/booth on the high street.

if everything seems fine, you can go ahead and sign up for one.

yup planning too after my exam. will update here when i get the confirmation.
i have one more paper to go tomorrow..if anyone talk anything about probability, i think i'll puke.

well those were rumours, but this time its out on their front page and the customer care people have confirmed it when i spoke with them over the phone. its also reported in the news. previously, of course there were lots of hoo haa, but there was nothing official about it. definitely agree with you that they will probably have one of the best deals.

three's coverage aint the best, but they definitely have improved on it. when you first sign-up with three you should be aware that your first bill is charged on a pro-rata basis. its all in the fine print.

mobile broadband cap is inclusive of downloads and uploads.

@ n20nine

to me, '3' has the "bad" impression on me (just like those typical prom night flashbacks... adui!), carried forward from my years in the uk.

back then, '3' is really bad (central london coverage is terrible and rumour has it, that '3' didn't sign up an agreement with celcom. which explains why malaysian students on '3' couldn't send text messages to the celcom network and that lasted for quite a while)

it also actually painful to see how they scoop/degrade themselves so lowly. my senior actually got a contract with a free nokia phone (after taking into consideration the monthly cashbacks) for only 9 pounds/month with abundant of minutes. of course, for those who love a bargain (albeit the bad service) wouldn't complain much.

but of course, the '3' in oz and HK (for obvious reasons) are nothing like that.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jun 23 2009, 04:52 PM

apparently telstra pricing plans are up. however it is obtained from internal sources and since it is subjected to speculations. i will refrain myself from posting it up, until the plans are in black and white


stay tune guys!

You mean the one that posted in whirlpool. Seems that Telstra try to follow AT&T tho. Hopefully it becomes official.
They also leak the dealer price for the iphone 3GS.. VERY VERY interesting price.. You'll be shocked this coming from Telstra..

This post has been edited by al3p: Jun 23 2009, 07:10 PM

but it is believable la IMHO.

telstra is known to be more expensive than optus and i'm cool with the extra few hundred bucks (afterall you are paying for a more reliable network)

i'm just not cool with the AUD150 unlocking fees. 150 just to update an IMEI on the iTunes database? come on...

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jun 23 2009, 07:11 PM