Also take into consideration that those minutes are only for calling, not for receiving like in the US.
For at least, here in Portugal, we can receive as many calls as we want, and we don't pay more! So, it's only important to see the minutes Vodafone gives us to call...
250MB = straightjacket => all the fun is taken away from using the iPhone
There are a few situations we can resort to in order to live with such minimal plans but 250MB of data really is unacceptable. Why?
Because it places the iPhone as a cellphone that can do internet like all the Nokias and HTCs.
Vodafone is showing Apple and the world they don't get the product they are selling.
The iPhone is a handheld computer that also takes calls, not otherwise!
So the plans should better be based in equal voice/sms numbers and different scaling MBs of data such as 200 minutes/sms with 250MB, 500MB and unlimited / 1GB of data for the heavy / small business user.
They don't do that, they try to impinge on the customer the smart-ass trick of 250MB and then charging ?0.06/MB. This means that, if the client spends another 250MB he'll have to pay an extra ?15.
Orange's Optimus offers the same plan but with 500MB of data - so Optimus gets the iPhone AND is ?15 cheaper per month than Vodafone on the 500 plan! That is ?360 after 24 months!
There are a few turnarounds to this situation but they all lead to you being stuck for 24 months in a straightjacket that doesn't let you use the iPhone as the internet centric handheld computer with phone as well as many other capabilities that it is:
This way the iPhone won't serve its greatest purpose - to set you free from your office or home network and have you wonder around anywhere with always-on net access. 250MB of data per month won't let us users turn the iPhone into the center of our computing life - which is precisely the goal thought out by Apple's Steve Jobs for the iPhone!
The turnarounds are:
to buy a family pack where calls between two (i)Phones are free. That's ?10/month extra. If both are iPhones that's ?25 extra per month (presumably due to both getting 250MB data);
setting up an Airport network at home AND office connected to a landline net access;
resorting to iChat or GTalk instead of sms;
neither using Google Maps nor any other data driven application (WTF?!)
praying that your out-of-office and out-of-home iPhone data usage won't exceed 250MB!
But it obviously will! And that's the rape deal!
Vodafone is simply being outrageous. They have offered cheaper plans in Portugal than in Italy maybe figuring that the Portuguese are poor or simply more sympathetic with cheaper entry prices and would shun plans starting at ?60. Well, they were right on that one, we would reject it indeed!
Or maybe they thought that most Portuguese people will want the iPhone just to show off at their next classy restaurant dinner but the stupid Portuguese bloke/gal won't make much use of the net on it, won't use the Google Maps, won't get any email attachments, won't download any YouTube videos while on the road, won't won't won't because they are too retarded to do that. Well, guess what, for many years we've shown that it is totally the other way around - Vodafone knows that very well!
Or maybe it was that they've gotten fat and corrupt, fed up of being competitive and being seen as a serious company, and started enjoying conning their clients! Because to issue ALL-250MB plans is obviously a scam to suck the blood out of them by having them inadvertently pay at least ?15 extra every month or ?360 extra after 24 months!
Why do I keep insisting on the extra 250MB? Well, Orange of France has defined their unlimited data plans with a 500MB fair usage and their portuguese affiliate Optimus offers the 500MB plan for the same price as the 250MB Vodafone plan. Notwithstanding, I really believe the average iPhone user will easily outgrow 500MB of data transfer because the numbers have been out there for quite a while - record-breaking internet usage by iPhone users - and it really is exciting to have the internet and all the stuff like GMaps, email, YouTube videos etc. in your pocket anywhere you go - heck, that is the purpose of having an iPhone!
So it is obvious that Vodafone expects you to lose sight of your data usage, sign up for the iPhone plans on an emotional basis and find yourself with ?100 bills at the end of the month. And then you'll realize you're stuck with that lousy 24 month contract with no where to run!
It's the 900 porn numbers syndrome all over again. But this time it won't be the teenager kid that called the porn number on his dad's back, this time it'll be the dad with raging fury stomping at Vodafone's counters "heck, how is this %/%#&() bill possible?!"
And that guy will be blaming Apple and the iPhone alright!
I tell you, El Jobso should do something about this! Because, last but not least, buying the iPhone with 250MB of data and being forced to use it on a constricted basis such as this will take all the FUN out of it.
Having an iPhone will be NO FUN!
And it will NOT give users any enthusiasm what-so-ever to upgrade when the next model comes out!
Hi there! I couldn't agree more regarding your comments! This Vodafone's messy plans are kicking my ass up!
However, I'm not understanding what king of maths, you've just done! Where did you see Optimus's plans? Well, I have the Press Release from Sonaecom and actually the tariffs are slightly different from what yo said!
Comments
Also take into consideration that those minutes are only for calling, not for receiving like in the US.
For at least, here in Portugal, we can receive as many calls as we want, and we don't pay more! So, it's only important to see the minutes Vodafone gives us to call...
Cheers!
250MB = straightjacket => all the fun is taken away from using the iPhone
There are a few situations we can resort to in order to live with such minimal plans but 250MB of data really is unacceptable. Why?
Because it places the iPhone as a cellphone that can do internet like all the Nokias and HTCs.
Vodafone is showing Apple and the world they don't get the product they are selling.
The iPhone is a handheld computer that also takes calls, not otherwise!
So the plans should better be based in equal voice/sms numbers and different scaling MBs of data such as 200 minutes/sms with 250MB, 500MB and unlimited / 1GB of data for the heavy / small business user.
They don't do that, they try to impinge on the customer the smart-ass trick of 250MB and then charging ?0.06/MB. This means that, if the client spends another 250MB he'll have to pay an extra ?15.
Orange's Optimus offers the same plan but with 500MB of data - so Optimus gets the iPhone AND is ?15 cheaper per month than Vodafone on the 500 plan! That is ?360 after 24 months!
There are a few turnarounds to this situation but they all lead to you being stuck for 24 months in a straightjacket that doesn't let you use the iPhone as the internet centric handheld computer with phone as well as many other capabilities that it is:
This way the iPhone won't serve its greatest purpose - to set you free from your office or home network and have you wonder around anywhere with always-on net access. 250MB of data per month won't let us users turn the iPhone into the center of our computing life - which is precisely the goal thought out by Apple's Steve Jobs for the iPhone!
The turnarounds are:
- to buy a family pack where calls between two (i)Phones are free. That's ?10/month extra. If both are iPhones that's ?25 extra per month (presumably due to both getting 250MB data);
- setting up an Airport network at home AND office connected to a landline net access;
- resorting to iChat or GTalk instead of sms;
- neither using Google Maps nor any other data driven application (WTF?!)
- praying that your out-of-office and out-of-home iPhone data usage won't exceed 250MB!
But it obviously will! And that's the rape deal!Vodafone is simply being outrageous. They have offered cheaper plans in Portugal than in Italy maybe figuring that the Portuguese are poor or simply more sympathetic with cheaper entry prices and would shun plans starting at ?60. Well, they were right on that one, we would reject it indeed!
Or maybe they thought that most Portuguese people will want the iPhone just to show off at their next classy restaurant dinner but the stupid Portuguese bloke/gal won't make much use of the net on it, won't use the Google Maps, won't get any email attachments, won't download any YouTube videos while on the road, won't won't won't because they are too retarded to do that. Well, guess what, for many years we've shown that it is totally the other way around - Vodafone knows that very well!
Or maybe it was that they've gotten fat and corrupt, fed up of being competitive and being seen as a serious company, and started enjoying conning their clients! Because to issue ALL-250MB plans is obviously a scam to suck the blood out of them by having them inadvertently pay at least ?15 extra every month or ?360 extra after 24 months!
Why do I keep insisting on the extra 250MB? Well, Orange of France has defined their unlimited data plans with a 500MB fair usage and their portuguese affiliate Optimus offers the 500MB plan for the same price as the 250MB Vodafone plan. Notwithstanding, I really believe the average iPhone user will easily outgrow 500MB of data transfer because the numbers have been out there for quite a while - record-breaking internet usage by iPhone users - and it really is exciting to have the internet and all the stuff like GMaps, email, YouTube videos etc. in your pocket anywhere you go - heck, that is the purpose of having an iPhone!
So it is obvious that Vodafone expects you to lose sight of your data usage, sign up for the iPhone plans on an emotional basis and find yourself with ?100 bills at the end of the month. And then you'll realize you're stuck with that lousy 24 month contract with no where to run!
It's the 900 porn numbers syndrome all over again. But this time it won't be the teenager kid that called the porn number on his dad's back, this time it'll be the dad with raging fury stomping at Vodafone's counters "heck, how is this %/%#&() bill possible?!"
And that guy will be blaming Apple and the iPhone alright!
I tell you, El Jobso should do something about this! Because, last but not least, buying the iPhone with 250MB of data and being forced to use it on a constricted basis such as this will take all the FUN out of it.
Having an iPhone will be NO FUN!
And it will NOT give users any enthusiasm what-so-ever to upgrade when the next model comes out!
Hi there! I couldn't agree more regarding your comments! This Vodafone's messy plans are kicking my ass up!
However, I'm not understanding what king of maths, you've just done! Where did you see Optimus's plans? Well, I have the Press Release from Sonaecom and actually the tariffs are slightly different from what yo said!
Cheers!