O2 have made some changes to their pay monthly contracts for iPhone users. The changes will result in customers on the £35 per month contract now getting three times as many minutes and just over double the number of texts they currently are entitled to each month.
There’s also a new £45 per month tariff that allows customers to enjoy the same amount of minutes and texts as the £55 plan it replaces. There is also a new £75 tariff for those who need around 3000 minutes and 500 texts per month.
So, the cheapest contract you can take out with an iPhone is still £35 per month, although you now get more minutes and texts for your money. For ‘super users,’ there is a new £75 per month contract.
It’s also worth pointing out that O2 is still giving all iPhone customers unlimited data browsing which is worth quite a bit in itself although before buying we’d advise that you look at the small print – often services which compete with services the mobile network offer (i.e. SMS, MMS, VoIP such as Skype etc.) are not included in the unlimited data bundles. So you may well be charged for use of services such as Skype or MSN/Windows Messenger. This varies from contract to contract. All iPhone customers still receive unlimited data browsing and access to The Cloud’s Wi-Fi hotspots through free ‘bolt ons’ (O2’s term for bundles) onto their contract which is valued at £15 per month. For those who are unaware, The Cloud provides wi-fi access in numerous places, including many McDonalds restaurants in the U.K.
In a press release, O2 has reassured existing customers that they won’t miss out – they will be transferred to the new iPhone tariffs sometime during this month (February) and according to the same press release, all customers should be benefiting by mid March.
On February 5th, Apple added new iPhone and iPod touch models to their line-up. These new models give users twice the amount of memory as older versions, which double their music, photos and videos respectively. The new iPhone now comes with 16 GB of memory. UK iPhone lovers will have the chance to purchase these newer versions immediately after their release this month. These new versions are expected to sell for £329 (inc VAT). This joins the original iPhone model which sells now for £269 (inc VAT). The iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for £329 (inc VAT), which is slightly higher than the original 16GB model for £269 (inc VAT) and the 8GB model for £199 (inc VAT).
The newer 16 GB iPhone is currently available through the Apple Store, many Apple retail stores and the O2 and Carphone Warehouse retail stores, as well as their online stores. The new 32 GC iPod touch is available worldwide immediately for the suggested retail price and will be sold through all Apple authorized dealers. While iTunes movie rentals are still available in the United States only, iPhone and iPod users in the UK will still have access to music, photos and other videos.
These newly released versions of Apple’s products will require a Mac with a USB 2.0 port and an operating system of X 10.4.10 or later. Users can also use a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or XP to load their music and videos. Both new versions will feature the multi-touch user interface and the latest software enhancements that are available. The ability to automatically find your location with the new Maps application, create web clips for websites and customize the home screen are also features of the newest versions of the Apple line-up.