News - Three reveals iPad subsidies – no better than Orange

[HEXUS]

The prices are all remarkably similar, but you get more data for your money from three.

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[Brewster0101]

And a plus for three over Orange is they have better and faster 3g/3.5g coverage.

[tickedon]

And a plus for three over Orange is they have better and faster 3g/3.5g coverage.

That likely won't be the case for long. T-mobile and Three have had a network sharing arrangement for some time where they put all their sites into a joint venture company (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...ecoms.telecoms) and with the merger of T-mobile and Orange, Orange has been brought into the fold (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11199786).

I believe some sites are kept exclusive for use of each network, but, by and large you're going to be seeing nearly exactly the same coverage across Orange, Three and T-mobile in the not too distant future.

That said, I'd pick Three over Orange too

[5867dude]

I would never get one of these deals. A 16GB 3G iPad costs £529. So you 'save' £330 by getting this contact. But the contract costs £600 in total. So you spend £270 more getting this contract. Its not bad, but unless you are always on the move, you don't need 3G.

In my opinion they are doing this to appeal to parents whose children want iPads for Christmas, but they can't afford them outright. Sort of like the TV + phone contacts.

[tickedon]

I would never get one of these deals. A 16GB 3G iPad costs £529. So you 'save' £330 by getting this contact. But the contract costs £600 in total. So you spend £270 more getting this contract. Its not bad, but unless you are always on the move, you don't need 3G.

In my opinion they are doing this to appeal to parents whose children want iPads for Christmas, but they can't afford them outright. Sort of like the TV + phone contacts.

I'd disagree. You're not comparing the same thing - you're comparing a 3G iPad without a contract to a 3G iPad with a contract.

3G iPad: £529.
The cheapest monthly contact I can see is £7.50 per month for 1GB usage (various operators).
If you did want that for 24 months, you're looking at £180 which totals £709 including the iPad purchase price.

This deal:
£25 x 24 = £600 + £199 = £799 total. And that's 15GB of 3G use per month. So it's all of £90 more expensive and includes more usage.

The cloest I can see in terms of data would be Three's 10GB iPad plan for £15 per month - so over 24 months that's £360, plus your £529 iPad, totalling £889.

If you wouldn't use the 3G element... then get a wifi only iPad for £429 and you'd save even more. Otherwise, I think the Three deal is an *excellent* one IF you'd want a 3G contract with your iPad.

I'd be tempted to get it if iPad v2 wasn't out early next year.