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Thread: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    On AppleStore at least, the UK do get it pretty bad when it comes to iPods:

    UK: GBP 189 (USD 312)
    US: USD 249 (I think that they have the best student discounts though)
    HK: HKD 1888 (USD 244)

    And even if we bunch HK and China together and assume they benefit from economy of scale, Japan does not and is still not that much more expensive than HK.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Iphones in the US come with a $80-170+ monthly contract. Compare that to vodaphone's most expensive plan at 40GBP, and over a 24 month contract it's actually more expensive in the US, even before considering different costs of living.

    Cell Phone service is stupidly expensive here, as the lower population density results in higher infrastructure costs per customer.

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    dbh
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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Quote Originally Posted by Perfectionist View Post
    telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/6712089/The-Motorola-Milestone-will-Google-Androids-take-over-in-2010 sounds interesting indeed, might be iPhone killer in more than name...

    Windows phone? I do remember the old Palm PCs but they never quite caught on did they - I'm imagining something similar to the above link but with a stripped down Windows or even maybe the full version of XP or something?

    Ah: engadget.com/2009/11/25/htc-hd2-review
    Looks like nothing revolutionary to me, in fact looks pretty similar to the iPhone's interface, doesn't really look like Windows
    On the contrary they are very popular you should have a nosey around the website xda-developers you'll find sooo much custom software / hacks / add-ons for window mobile phones its quite impressive what you can do with it. I decided on getting a HTC Touch Diamond 2 back in April when I was torn between getting a netbook or a smartphone for my trip to Japan. The windows phone won out simply for the fact I could get all the apps I needed... mapping software downloading google maps etc for offline use... around the country... 800x480 web browsing etc... without the need to edit any system / jailbraking and the HD2 is even faster now with a 1GHZ processor

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Quote Originally Posted by Perfectionist View Post
    BTW, would be interested in any opinions of people here on the Blackberry v iPhone question? One thing I'm slightly worried is durability, iPhones seem a bit flimsy, and a bulky kind of proective case would kind of defeat the point (my current nokia 6230i's a bit old, but it's been dropped MANY times with no problems). Apparently Blackberries can survive being run over by a van (there was a youtube link in one of those).

    Edit: Ah thanks madduck, good find.
    Yes can confirm BBs are pretty tough, my Bold has certainly been through allot of wear and tear over the last year or so. Have used both the iphone and Blackberry, and personally prefer the BB. Best thing is to look through the features for both and work out what seems best for your purposes. I found that the BB worked out best overall for both work and play.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    I wouldnt read any comparison articles which are dated before november, and are not using the Bold 9700, the best BlackBerry IMO.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Quote Originally Posted by TeePee View Post
    Iphones in the US come with a $80-170+ monthly contract. Compare that to vodaphone's most expensive plan at 40GBP, and over a 24 month contract it's actually more expensive in the US, even before considering different costs of living.

    Cell Phone service is stupidly expensive here, as the lower population density results in higher infrastructure costs per customer.
    I was always under the impression that the UK doesn't have it that bad when it comes to mobile phones relative to other items. At worst, I'd say that mobile phone here are averagely priced, and I am inclined to think that it's even below average compared to other countries I've been to.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Quote Originally Posted by dbh View Post
    On the contrary they are very popular you should have a nosey around the website xda-developers you'll find sooo much custom software / hacks / add-ons for window mobile phones its quite impressive what you can do with it. I decided on getting a HTC Touch Diamond 2 back in April when I was torn between getting a netbook or a smartphone for my trip to Japan. The windows phone won out simply for the fact I could get all the apps I needed... mapping software downloading google maps etc for offline use... around the country... 800x480 web browsing etc... without the need to edit any system / jailbraking and the HD2 is even faster now with a 1GHZ processor
    I have the same phone and i've just bought my wife one for xmas (shush!) it really is that good. I'm using a custom ROM in mine and i love it to bits - it's tiny compared to the iphone, the battery life is surpisingly good and i'm shocked that the UI (sense) is something i've stuck with (been a big fan of spb mobile shell for years) on this phone. Opera 9 was good, Opera 10 is sex wee good. I've been trying WM 6.5.1 a fair bit but currently my fave rom is the http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=580 which is very stable and very refined. Bing maps mobile is worth having too btw

    It pays to play with things yourself - simply making assumptions from afar isn't very smart and it's pretty easy to walk into a shop and get some hands on experience with a variety of the latest and greatest. I've spent good time on the pre, iPhone and HTC WM phones and i've happy with my choice - it's the only way to make a good decision really. As I said, it's incredibly subjective as to what suits you, or your budget.
    Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719


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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    When I was over in the States last august the student (or employee) discount apple gave was the same, the products were a lot cheaper though, an iPod nano 8gb was in the UK something like £150 and it was $150 there.

    Tempted when I get the money to do an electronics shop with the price difference on portable electronics like cameras, ipod, mobile (sim free of course) etc.

    and their tax (at least in california) was 8% on goods, but not included in the ticketed price, nearly caught me out!
    H3XU5 Social FAQ
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    I do like a bit of hot crumpet

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Sales tax varies by state. I believe there's a way you can claim the tax back. Oregon and New Hampshire (Live Free or Die) have no sales tax.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Thanks dangel, probably the best advice so far yeah. Can't remember the last time I went in a bricks and mortar electronics shop, guess it's the best way to decide on so varied a thing. The annoying thing is the only shop that sells the Motorola Milestone/Droid is expansys.com so I don't think I'm going to be able to compare that properly.

    What chain tends to have HTC WMs and Blackberries in stock? I guess I can pretty much take iPhones for granted.

    BTW, you mention pre and iPhone, but have you tried a blackberry before? This is the first I've heard of the HTC WM. It does seems a little large, a bit like a tablet PC rather than a phone. Can it actually run normal Windows applications?

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    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Quote Originally Posted by Perfectionist View Post
    BTW, you mention pre and iPhone, but have you tried a blackberry before? This is the first I've heard of the HTC WM. It does seems a little large, a bit like a tablet PC rather than a phone. Can it actually run normal Windows applications?
    Windows Mobile != Windows

    The old Pocket PCs and Windows CE palm tops grew into Windows Mobile smartphones. They really are very slick devices these days, especially with the aditions HTC have made to the interface. The Touch Diamond 2 which I have is a lot smaller hean the iPhone. Actually closer in size to the iPod Mini I think. It works very very well. I love mine. Unlike Dangel I haven't tried any of the custom ROMs that are available.

    The HTC HD2 is a large device, slightly larger than the iPhone, but it is the highest spec'ed and most powerful handset out there at the moment. period.

    I'm apparently getting a Blackberry from work, it's just a cast off from one of the management dudes and not looking forward to it. I haven't used a BB in earnest, but from what others have said they make terrible phones. Yes they do email well (if set up correctly) but calling and text are poor.

    As for software, on one hand the iPhone has an advantage because it is the platform to develop for at the moment, and has an increasing market share that people want to tap into. On the other hand, it is very restrictive. Windows Mobile is a very well understood platform, which is easy to develop for and the whole OS can be massively customised. don't like the way the call dialer works? find another and install it. Don't like the text message handling? Install another app that will take that functionality and enhance it. It really is like a proper OS that can be augmented and added too if youi or the handset manufacturer wants to.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Quote Originally Posted by DeludedGuy View Post
    I wouldnt read any comparison articles which are dated before november, and are not using the Bold 9700, the best BlackBerry IMO.
    Was just looking at the Bold 9700, nice review score.....
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...00-review.html

    Not heard anything at work yet, but hopefully we get upgraded from the old Bold in the new year. Battery life looks really good, (says if you for example used media player non stop would last upto 38 hours) -pretty impressive.

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    Senior Member Perfectionist's Avatar
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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    Anyone who's tried the other stuff also tried the *new* BB (9700) which is supposed to be much better and/or the Motorola Milestone (/Droid in US, uses Android OS)?

    def seems hard to find the newest stuff in shops, have looked around.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    If nobody bought the overpriced piece of toot then perhaps the message would get through that people in the UK have had enough of getting diddled.
    Unfortunately there are always plenty of conditioned 'consumers' willing to part with ridiculous amounts of cash for tomorrows landfill contents.
    Humans, the only animal stupid enough to pay to live on the planet Earth.

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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...


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    Re: UK customers charged twice as much for an iPhone as Americans...

    One of the areas that has fascinated us the most, is the approach that Apple and the iPhone fans have had to the product, and the energy they have spent defending the product despite the shortcomings and limitations of both past and present versions of the iPhone.
    What I find equally fascinating is how much energy some people who on to bashing Apple products/users. People have different priorities/needs and no product is perfect. Weight the pluses and minuses of each products according to your needs, and care less about what others are using.

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