So we're getting screwed on the Blackberry Storm -- so what?

It is not just Vodafone that is slapping a massive premium on us with its Irish/British Blackberry Storm price differentials. All the operators are doing it.

For example, O2 charges €100 up front plus €65 per month for the 8GB iPhone 3G with 350 voice minutes and 1GB of data. But for the same phone in Britain, the operator charges nothing up-front and just £45 (€57) per month for a whopping 1,200 minutes talking and unlimited data.

Then there’s 3 Ireland, which charges €300 and €400 for the Nokia N96, plus a monthly tariff plan of between €20 and €100. In Britain, it offers the phone for free and gives unlimited on-net (‘3-to-3’) calls.

But hey, what’s the fuss? Let’s be honest -- you, the Irish consumer, are more than willing to pay these prices. You always have been.

Comments

[Orlaith]

It's a clear and simple rip-off. For years I've been holding on to my pay-as-you go phone because there just isn't the same degree of control and transparency with bill phones. I've been accused of being too tight but I've seen my friends phone bills and they're astronomical. I reckon a lot more people will start going back to pay-as-you-go unless the ridiculous tariffs come down.

[Justin Mason]

I don't know if Irish consumers actually _do_ pay those prices!

Of the people I know with fancy smartphones, 7 of the 8 of them got them through work, so aren't paying for them. And these are well-off 20 or 30-something techies -- the target market, I would assume. I don't know anyone outside of that market who use that kind of phone.

My guess would be that these kind of business customers produce enough revenue that the operators don't have to bother with consumer-level users -- so the prices are a kind of "PFO" price...

(me, I'm on a Pay As You Go Sony-Ericsson k550i. basic enough. I try to avoid using data, as it'll typically empty my top-up in one sitting...)