iPhone coming to Ireland next month without Visual Voicemail
Wireless carrier O2 said last night that it has partnered with Apple Inc. to launch the iPhone in Ireland next month.
The multi-function touch-screen handset will be available in the region beginning March 14 in an 8GB model for €399 and a 16GB iPhone for €499, O2 said during its fiscal fourth quarter conference call.
Similar to distribution in the UK, the iPhone will be made available through the carrier's retail stores as well as Carphone Warehouse stores.
Customers will be able to select between three monthly tariffs (calling plans), starting with a €45 option that includes 175 anytime minutes and 100 text messages. A €65 tariff includes 350 anytime minutes and 150 text messages, while the high end tariff offers 700 minutes and 250 text messages for €100.
All of the tariffs require an 18-month agreement and none include unlimited data or Visual Voicemail at this time. Instead, all three include just 1GB of data transfer and a 15c per minute charge for checking messages.
Ireland is just the fifth country to see an official rollout of the Apple handset and the first of 2008, joining the United States (AT&T), UK (O2), France (Orange), and Germany (T-Mobile), which launched last year.
Interestingly, word of the iPhone's arrival in the region comes just one day after eagle-eyed enthusiasts spotted references to O2 and Ireland in the latest version of the iPhone's firmware. The same firmware also included references to T-Mobile Austria.
The multi-function touch-screen handset will be available in the region beginning March 14 in an 8GB model for €399 and a 16GB iPhone for €499, O2 said during its fiscal fourth quarter conference call.
Similar to distribution in the UK, the iPhone will be made available through the carrier's retail stores as well as Carphone Warehouse stores.
Customers will be able to select between three monthly tariffs (calling plans), starting with a €45 option that includes 175 anytime minutes and 100 text messages. A €65 tariff includes 350 anytime minutes and 150 text messages, while the high end tariff offers 700 minutes and 250 text messages for €100.
All of the tariffs require an 18-month agreement and none include unlimited data or Visual Voicemail at this time. Instead, all three include just 1GB of data transfer and a 15c per minute charge for checking messages.
Ireland is just the fifth country to see an official rollout of the Apple handset and the first of 2008, joining the United States (AT&T), UK (O2), France (Orange), and Germany (T-Mobile), which launched last year.
Interestingly, word of the iPhone's arrival in the region comes just one day after eagle-eyed enthusiasts spotted references to O2 and Ireland in the latest version of the iPhone's firmware. The same firmware also included references to T-Mobile Austria.
Comments
Terrible plans, and no incentive to switch to O2 if there's another carrier you can use in Ireland with an unlocked iPhone.
Hell yeah! The Irish are getting screwed. This will later be known as The Irish Data Famine.
Disappointed with the price plans... And no visual voice mail? Whats the story with that?
I just bought a cracked iPhone last week and I'm toying with the idea of changing over to O2.. It's just hassle waiting for updates and cracking the software..
33Mb per day..
I wonder how much the average user would use per day?
Emails.. Internet browsing... Google Maps..
My gut feeling is that 1GB would be plenty of data usage.
"Visual Voicemail is not currently supported"
Correct me if I am wrong - but wouldn't proper grammar be
"Visual voicemail is currently not supported"
As they said in Casino Royal "Isn't it amazing what you can do with Photoshop ?"
Maybe that explains the poor data bundle too
1GB of data..
33Mb per day..
I wonder how much the average user would use per day?
Emails.. Internet browsing... Google Maps..
My gut feeling is that 1GB would be plenty of data usage.
That is up and down usage. So far I've used between ~3?10GB of data each month, according to the iPhone's usage info. I don't consider myself a heavy phone user (about 100-300 minutes per month) but I do use the data side quite extensively. It's a great way to pass the time. I can't imagine the horror if I had to watch my data usage.
1 GB of data per month?
Yes, it's laughably bad. But at least is shows Apple are willing to be flexible to get the iPhone in to new markets.
But the charges stink and 15c to check your messages is insulting. My money will stay where it belongs, in MY pocket, beside my perfectly good Nokia.
Ca Na Da.
Also probably not worth implementing this on a 2.5G system if a 3G system is coming along.
I certainly wouldn't buy this if I was in Ireland. (1) it is expensive for nearly nothing, and (2) 3G iPhone coming soon that might not have these restrictions.
Is charging for checking voicemail a standard practice for Irish carriers? These seems absurd.
It's ridiculous.. O2 have been at this for years..
All other Irish carriers don't charge for voicemail..
Is charging for checking voicemail a standard practice for Irish carriers? These seems absurd.
It used to be charged as a normal call to access voicemail but year or two back it became free.
I pay with a bill, I don't know what the story is for pre-pay.
I have three words for Apple on this...
Ca Na Da.
Ok, I'll admit it.
I thought, what is this new slang phrase I don't know. I don't want to be late learning the new (though negative) w00t. (In my own defense, I thought you were referring to the Irish data plan prices.)
So I Googled it...
...Google is much smarter than I.
Rogers still charges you $40/month for 0.5Mb in regular Blackberry plans.
In the other hand, they just launch unlimited MySpace or Facebook for $15/month... but they still prevent you to surf any other website.
Perhaps I shall mary an american woman and move south?
I have three words for Apple on this...
Ca Na Da.
How about 3.34 people per kilometer squared. While a good deal of Canada isn't populated the population density seems to have a direct effect on cell company rates and desire to upgrade their network.
Though this doesn't explain Ireland with 58.46/km^2.
It used to be charged as a normal call to access voicemail but year or two back it became free.
I pay with a bill, I don't know what the story is for pre-pay.
Meteor is free on pre-pay, Tesco and O2 charge.