Vodafone hikes iPhone 4 pricing
The joys of being an exclusive carrier.
The NZ dollar may be shooting up, but iPhone 4 prices aren't coming down.
In fact, Vodafone has hiked the price of an iPhone 4 bought on contract.
A16GB iPhone 4 on a $40.85-a-month, two-year contract used to cost $619. It now costs $949.
A 32GB model on the same plan used to be $799. It now costs $1129.
On the plus side, Vodafone has doubled the number of calling minutes bundled with each plan (see its full pricing page here).
Apple NZ's website, which offers direct sales (with free delivery) sells a 16GB iPhone 4 for $1123, and the 32GB model for $1328*.
Vodafone is the only phone company to officially carry the iPhone in New Zealand (meaning it can offer cheaper iPhones for customers who commit to contracts, and that features such as laptop tethering, are guaranteed to work on its network after iOS upgrades - although no software upgrades have "broken" any features for other carriers recently. In Australia, Apple has three carriers - Vodafone, Telstra and Optus).
But with the price-grap narrowing between a Vodafone-subsidised iPhone and one bought at full whack from the Apple store, buyers now have more reason to consider buying a handset online, then use it with a Telecom XT or 2degrees Micro-SIM (both networks are iPhone-compatible).
No iPhone price increases for new customers have been reported overseas, bar one tied to a sales tax change in the UK.
Pundits expect Apple to release its next iPhone around September. The company has not given any timeframe.
* The iPhone buying section of Apple's website was returning an error message when NBR visited this morning to confirm pricing.
NBR staff
Thu, 02 Jun 2011
Thu, 02 Jun 2011
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Vodafone hikes iPhone 4 pricing
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