iPhone 3G Plans: Cheapest in Belgium, Most Expensive in Canada

guess what… just unlocked my 3g… now i can downgrade my ATT plan and lose the data package and revert my ATT line to just a regular cell plan… then I can plug in my T-Mobile sim into my 3G and get unlimited data through my company’s blackberry plan… so I get exchange mail through an unlocked 3g iphone. (I unlocked it using the sim hack)

Dapat sana iPhone 1st gen diba? Basta mura.

I agree with Jervis. The buying capacity of the target market is definitely a factor.

I also agree with Jervis. I can live without an iphone for some time more, until it finally settles at the right price! Now, what kind of a marketing person will not consider the buying capacity of his/her target market when doing his marketing plan?

i saw you on bandila yuga!

on top of the expensive price of iphone here in canada, you have to add an extra $7.00 for your call display, $6.95 system access fee, and 11% tax for british columbia residents.

incoming and outgoing calls also have a fee of $0.30/ minute, and now network companies will be implementing extra charge for incoming text which is also $0.30/text.

if you are on a pay as you go plan (prepaid)and does not have a load, your phone is useless no incoming and outgoing calls can be made. iPhone on a prepaid plan here in vancouver will suck big time.

I agree that, in comparing world price differences, one should factor in purchasing price parity (PPP). However, that approach should be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak. PPP assumes many things, ceteris paribus – that commodities have the same manufacturing costs anywhere and that they have to be tradeable goods, to name a few.

The problem with goods such as the iPhone is that it caters to a niche market, often characterized by price discrimination, high demand, and low supply (again, to name a few. haha). In addition to this, the iPhone 3G is a relatively new product which means that prices are not yet in equilibrium. That is, of course, without even touching upon the benefits of Apple’s dominance based on intellectual property alone.

Am I making sense? What I’m trying to say that we can, being free individuals, compute and adjust for iPhone prices worldwide but it can only provide us with a snapshot of how hard we have to work for it compared to our other gadget salivating friends abroad.

@jedd, uhh, prepaid phones here in the US cost between $14 and under $100… i’ve never seen prepaid phones cost more than a $100… kasi if they did, no one would buy a prepaid phone except those who can’t qualify for a regular line (bad credit,no credit history, no social security and/or illegal immigrants).

Wow, talk about victim mentality at its finest.

Price adjustment vis-a-vis GDP is feasible only for products where raw materials are sourced locally, e.g., Coke, McDonalds, KFC, etc can be made cheaper because local suppliers do sell their products at a cheaper price.

However, Starbucks can’t do that, at least not as much. Why? Because the source of their coffee beans is the same all over the world. The only thing that they can source locally would be water, sugar and milk: all of which are only peripheral to their main product line.

Same banana with the iPhone. It all comes from China, and perhaps the only factor that can help cheapen it would be shipping costs. Do we know where an iPhone has gone before reaching the Philippines though? I’m sure it doesn’t get to here from China direct.

Software for the iPhone would also cost the same all over the world. Would you demand software developers to cheapen their products for you just because you live in the Philippines?

Besides, this is a luxury product. Stop bitching about not being able to afford it if you cant: it’s not for you. There are a billion things more important than an iPhone that you can spend on.

@jon, mabuhay ka, agree ako sa’yo,kung walang pambili, makuntento,lalo na yung last part, the best yung sinabi mo! sana tinagalog mo, para mas malinaw sa iba..

last year me and my brother bought an iPhone 3G. it is a great phone with lots of functionality and great styling too.