iPhone 5: The Plan of Attack
With all the evidence it’s now pretty certain that we’ll be seeing an iPhone 5 this October and after 2 years of the 3GS and the wonders that an iOS device can bring I can guarantee you that I’ll be getting it. The thing is, I’m not rich and I don’t want to spend the £40+ on contract tarriffs to get a free handset so what’s the best plan of attack to get the best deal? Well here are my rules based on the wisdom’s of the past 24 months.
Don’t Rush
The initial frenzy surrounding the launch of a new iPhone is pretty intimidating (cue scenes of people queuing for days on end and scrabbling punters). Now as much as I’d love to get a new iPhone on the day of release that’s one thing I won’t be doing. The craziness of the first few days, as far as I’m concerned can be left to the ultra-fanatic as there are no real ‘deals’ to speak of. Best thing to do is to wait for everything to calm down and wait for the dust to settle.
Put your money where your mouth is
2 years ago I walked into the Norwich Apple Store and bought my 3GS outright. Fair enough this is not the solution for all considering that an iPhone costs in the region of 500 notes but what you need to do is look long terms.
Here comes the science part:
So the best contract deal that I can find for an iPhone comes from Three. The iPhone 4 with 2000 anytime minutes, 5000 texts, unlimited data and 5000 minutes of free calls between Three handsets is a pretty good deal but it’ll cost you £35 a month plus as well as having to find an extra 69 quid to get your hands on the phone itself. A little to rich for my pocket but then you’ll probably say so is buying it outright. Well here is my theory.
I evaluated my usage and as strange as it sounds I don’t really use my iPhone that much for actual phone calls, it’s really the data services that I get the most use from such as internet and messaging so I don’t need the thousands of hours of calls on offer.
My situation is simple. I have an uninhibited, unlimited Wi-Fi connection at home and pretty much the same at work so the only real data connection I need is on the walk between job and home life and when I’m away but I certainly don’t need to be paying the premium for an all you can eat buffet of internet goodness. To be honest looking at my actual 3G data usage I never get close to the base limit of about 500GB. Also I do a fair bit of texting but don’t go overboard, maybe 50 or 60 a month, nothing close to 5000. So with this information and armed with a fully paid for handset I contacted my current provider O2 with a list of demands. I won’t go too much into the detail but I managed to wangle 300 texts a month, 500GB of data and my calls for a measly £10 a month.
So let’s do the math. Over 2 years an iPhone (and yes I know it’s the iPhone 4 opposed to the 3GS) on Three would cost me £909 whereas buying the phone outright on my current deal has cost me £690 a saving of £219 which isn’t small change and a considerable saving but that is compared to all the perks of the Three deal so it’s really up to you but there are a number of perks to buying outright. Mine was unlimited Cloud Wi-Fi which kinda made up for the lack of data but maybe you can squeeze a better deal depending on your supplier.
Options
Following on from my statement about not rushing into grabbing a new iPhone on day one which I still stand by you can also hold out for some other cool offers. A couple of months after the iPhone 4 was released Apple presented an offer where you could purchase the phone interest free over six months which might be more suitable for those who can’t fork out the cash all in one go. I would be surprised if the same offer isn’t extended to the iPhone 5.
Do what is best for you
For some of us a contract is the best way to get the handset we desire but if you are looking to make some kind of saving then there are options out there for you (check out GiffGaff for some sim-free offers if what I suggest is not for you). The most important thing is to be happy with your handset and the deal that comes with it. A contract is great but you’ll be tied in 2 years. The sim-free options means that you can move to a better deal whenever you like. You have been warned.