iPhone 3G S pricing in Australia - surprise coming?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 10 June 2009 13:54

Opinion and Analysis

Although the iPhone 3G S launched with US dollar pricing known before the keynote was over, Australian telcos are making us wait on finding out exactly what an iPhone 3G S will cost to buy outright, upgrade to or have to pay per month on a 24 month contract - should we expect any surprises?

Australian telcos are trying to recapture some of the excitement and anticipation of the last year’s iPhone 3G launch, which originally centered on whether the new iPhone would even feature 3G or not, with every potential leak of code or clue to definite 3G status hailed as new evidence the iPhone 3G was coming.

Back then there were rumours that Telstra, Vodafone and Optus would all get the iPhone, all of which turned out to be true, with Apple HQ reportedly pleased at how iPhone 3G competition has worked in Australia.

Our market provides a nice contrast to that of several other countries where a single telco has the exclusive iPhone license - sometimes maddening users who want an iPhone but not that carrier.

This time around, the rumours centered around magnetoscopes and compasses, the ultimately false rumour of a front facing camera for video calls and iChat, a higher megapixel camera with video recording capabilities, a faster processor, extra memory and more besides.

While some have derided the “S” in 3G S as being “similar” or “same” and not “speed”, much faster operation and “speed” is Apple’s promise – even its TV commercial promises that it’s the fastest iPhone ever – and that’s presumably even when it’s loaded up with all your apps, digital media and everything else.

That speed comes from a new, more powerful processor, and the likelihood of more memory than the 128GB existing iPhones offer. Apple won’t confirm details, professing to want to keep the story simple and complicated by feeds and speeds for the consumer, saying simply that “S” is for speed.

If true, it will make every existing iPhone owner worldwide really think about upgrading, especially those who have been running the different new beta versions of iPhone OS 3.0 for months now and are annoyed that Apple is keeping voice command and video recording for the 3G S only, while enticing plenty of new users over to the iFlock.

So, what kind of prices might we see in Australia for the iPhone 3G S, seeing as the telcos are making us wait for pricing, when US customers know by the end of the keynote?

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