The pricing diversity around the world—or even within Europe—is staggering: you can pay anywhere from $94 to $377 for an 8GB iPhone 3G and between $24 and $128 for plans that may only have a (few) hundred MB worth of data or are "unlimited." Denmark isn't as bad as it looks, because the minimum contract is only six months and prices drop by a third if you stay after that. The Netherlands is pretty good, especially considering that you can have your iPhone unlocked for free after 12 months.
Update: added Canadian iPhone prices; Belgium is no longer getting the iPhone this Friday; added Telstra; added Vodafone Portugal plans.
Update 2: added prices and plans for New Zealand, Mexico, ONE in Austria.
Country | Carrier | 8GB | 16GB | Plan | Minutes | SMS | Data | Contract |
Australia | Optus | uncomparable pricing | ||||||
Australia | Telstra | no prices yet | ||||||
Australia | Vodafone | no prices yet | ||||||
Austria | T-Mobile | no prices yet | ||||||
Austria | ONE | uncomparable pricing | ||||||
Canada | Rogers | $199 | $299 | $60 | 150 | 75 | 400MB | 36 months |
Denmark | Telia | $298 | $426 | $128 | 300 | unlimited | 300MB | 6 months |
Finland | Sonera | $250 | $385 | $50 | 100 | 100 | 100MB | 24 months |
Germany | T-Mobile | $94 | $236 | $77 | 100 | 40 | Unlimited | 24 months |
Hong Kong | Three | $377 | $479 | $24 | 500 | unlimited | 500MB | 24 months |
Ireland | O2 | $265 | $360 | $71 | 175 | 100 | 1GB | 18 months |
Italy | Vodafone | $313 | $423 | $93 | 400 | 400 | 600MB | 24 months |
Italy | TIM | no prices yet | ||||||
Japan | Softbank | uncomparable pricing | ||||||
Mexico | Telcel | $331 | $454 | $44 | 200 | 100 | 100MB | 24 months |
Netherlands | T-Mobile | $126 | $252 | $47 | 150 | 150 | Unlimited | 24 months |
New Zealand | Vodafone | $414 | $527 | $60 | 120 | 600 | 250MB | 24 months |
Norway | NetCom | $275 | $452 | $79 | 100 | 100 | 100MB | 12 months? |
Portugal | Optimus | no prices yet | ||||||
Portugal | Vodafone | ??? | ??? | $47 | 100 | 100 | 250MB | 24 months |
Spain | Movistar | no prices yet | ||||||
Sweden | Telia | $284 | $451 | $50 | 100 | 100 | 100MB | 24 months |
Switzerland | Orange | no prices yet | ||||||
Switzerland | Swisscom | $249 | $349 | $25 | - | - | 100MB | 24 months |
United Kingdom | O2 | $196 | $315 | $59 | 75 | 125 | Unlimited | 18 months |
United States | AT&T | $199 | $299 | $70 | 450 | - | Unlimited | 24 months |
Here come the caveats: although I think I managed to decipher plans on non-English language web sites, I may have made a mistake here or there. I've chosen the cheapest usable plans. The dollar conversion was taken from earlier reports in some cases, so it may not reflect the most current conversion rates, and for Canada and Switzerland, I've used a one-to-one conversion rate because the difference was only two percent or less. In some countries (Canada...) basic services incur extra fees, while in the US and Canada there are significant extra fees that come on top of a plan, as well as sales tax, which is included in most European countries. Use the links to see all the details.
Note: You can get your phone repair, iPhone unlock and unblock by the leading mobile phone repair specialist Omni Tech Limited, 378 Great North Road, Henderson, Auckland. Tel: (09) 8383943, info@omnitech.co.nz