So is the iphone really worth it?

Lenny

hello, thinking of getting an ihpone 3gs next week,
on o2 it is 199 for the 16gb one & the minium price contract is €45 pm for 175 mins & 100 texts + 1 gb of data
I know about internet data, does many people go voer the 1gb a month? is it possible to check my data used online?
Should i take out insurance for €9.50 per month, or would I be better putting it on the house "all risks" insurance?
€20 a month would do me on my meteor(free texts & all friends on meteor)
Should I bother jail-breaking it, I don't know yet the advantages, but I was told this will void the warrenty
do they have many problems?

brianwalshcork

I'd say it' worth it - and I have little interest in music / the iPod side of it. If you've got an iPod and a mobile, then there's an advantage straight away.

It's great for email and web surfing, plus all the time wasting apps you can download.

Re. the insurance - are you accident prone? It's expensive, but so's a replacement phone. I doubt if house insurance would cover it.

You'll be hard pressed to use the 1 GB per month allowance, especially if you have wifi at home - 02 don't allow tethering yet. I don't usually get over 50-100 MB / month.

If you're moving from an older phone, I'd compare it to going from Sky to Sky+. If you've experienced that you'll know what I mean!

iKeith

short answer? yes its worth it. when you get your phone, register in o2.ie and upgrade to a higher level access so that youll get the paperless billing. download "my bill" to check your inclusive units. you can also check this by going to settings> phone> o2 services. but my bill is more useful, imo, coz you can see how many days you have left before the next refresh.

personally, i only use about 150mb per month on data coz i have wifi at home. and insure your phone. you never know whats gonna happen.

they dont have any means to check the phone if it has been jailbroken or not. just make sure you restore before returning it.

Leiva

iKeith wrote: »

short answer? yes its worth it. when you get your phone, register in o2.ie and upgrade to a higher level access so that youll get the paperless billing. download "my bill" to check your inclusive units. you can also check this by going to settings> phone> o2 services. but my bill is more useful, imo, coz you can see how many days you have left before the next refresh.

personally, i only use about 150mb per month on data coz i have wifi at home. and insure your phone. you never know whats gonna happen.

they dont have any means to check the phone if it has been jailbroken or not. just make sure you restore before returning it.

even shorter answer: YES

Lenny

brianwalshcork wrote: »

I'd say it' worth it - and I have little interest in music / the iPod side of it. If you've got an iPod and a mobile, then there's an advantage straight away.

It's great for email and web surfing, plus all the time wasting apps you can download.

Re. the insurance - are you accident prone? It's expensive, but so's a replacement phone. I doubt if house insurance would cover it.

You'll be hard pressed to use the 1 GB per month allowance, especially if you have wifi at home - 02 don't allow tethering yet. I don't usually get over 50-100 MB / month.

If you're moving from an older phone, I'd compare it to going from Sky to Sky+. If you've experienced that you'll know what I mean!

Some nice points there lol
What do you mean by tethering?
I was thinking the 1gb would be kinda hard to go over if I was just using it for web surfing when out, unless I was watchin lots of youtube videos(if its possible?)
I'd like the insurance alright but it is quite steep to be honest, i've never lkost of phone the 10 years I have them. also is there an audio jack plug on the iphone, like on the ipod so I could connect to the audio in on the car radio?
what other insurance options is there? I see the o2 uk price plans, its a shame our's are so more expensive.
I read in another topic vodaphone may be doing it now, but on there website "comming soon" is just mentioned.
Could

model                                          jailbreakable
iPhone 3GS (with iBoot-359.3.2) 	Yes (tethered)

So what doens't work so right if I jailbreak my model?

Creamy Goodness

tbh i actually dont think the iphone is worth it when bought in a contract.

200 euro
810 euro (45 x 18).

1010 euro for phone and calls is a lot.

now dont get me wrong i love my 3G S and my first gen iPhone, wouldn't swap them for any other phone but in contract they just aren't worth it for me. 18 months is a long contract.

Lenny

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

tbh i actually dont think the iphone is worth it when bought in a contract.

200 euro
810 euro (45 x 18).

1010 euro for phone and calls is a lot.

now dont get me wrong i love my 3G S and my first gen iPhone, wouldn't swap them for any other phone but in contract they just aren't worth it for me. 18 months is a long contract.

I know, its quite a lot I am trying to work out, which is best value for money too, because on the350 plan you get the phone free, but (18 x 65=1170)
Its a little dearer than the 45 plan, but you get an extra 3150 mins & 900 mins per contract.
I do send more than 100 messages per month, maybe around 175-200
So if I went on the cheaper plan, I'd have to be paying more for those extra messages.
I used to use the landline in work to make all my person calls, I've been let go 3 weeks ago so I don't have that facility anymore.
Did you pay 519 for yours PAYG creamy?
I'm assuming if I went on the cheaper plan, I'd have to pay €200 for the phone + 1 maybe 2 months upfront?
never went on a bill before

Creamy Goodness

first off, install eirtext, allows you to send your webtexts from your phone, so whatever contract you get +250 messages on that.

i bought my 3G S in the states the day it came out.

i was working over there and bought it for $300, cancelled the contract after 30 days (any sooner they asked for phone back) and paid the $175 cancel fee, so in total i paid $500 for my iphone. but i realise very few people can do that.

i'm not a big fan of contracts that's why when i unlocked my iphone i went to meteors bill pay lite 30 euro a month, one month rolling contract. i get 200 minutes 200 texts plus a 10gig internet bundle for 15 euro. so i pay as much as the iphone contract but i have the added bonus of canceling with 30 days notice.

i know this isn't much help to you, maybe someone with an actual o2 iphone contract can help you.

on the note of vodafone, they have the rights to sell iphone now as well but not until o2 exclusivity ends, which i think is in march, but then again over on the vodafone forum on boards it seems like people are already getting iphones of vodafone suppliers. it's odd i tell ya.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

first off, install eirtext, allows you to send your webtexts from your phone, so whatever contract you get +250 messages on that.

i bought my 3G S in the states the day it came out.

i was working over there and bought it for $300, cancelled the contract after 30 days (any sooner they asked for phone back) and paid the $175 cancel fee, so in total i paid $500 for my iphone. but i realise very few people can do that.

i'm not a big fan of contracts that's why when i unlocked my iphone i went to meteors bill pay lite 30 euro a month, one month rolling contract. i get 200 minutes 200 texts plus a 10gig internet bundle for 15 euro. so i pay as much as the iphone contract but i have the added bonus of canceling with 30 days notice.

i know this isn't much help to you, maybe someone with an actual o2 iphone contract can help you.

on the note of vodafone, they have the rights to sell iphone now as well but not until o2 exclusivity ends, which i think is in march, but then again over on the vodafone forum on boards it seems like people are already getting iphones of vodafone suppliers. it's odd i tell ya.

Do meteor offer smaller data bundles than 10gig? seems a bit like overkill,

nice contract thou

SteelyDanJalapeno

Lenny wrote: »

hello, thinking of getting an ihpone 3gs next week,
on o2 it is 199 for the 16gb one & the minium price contract is €45 pm for 175 mins & 100 texts + 1 gb of data
I know about internet data, does many people go voer the 1gb a month? is it possible to check my data used online?
Should i take out insurance for €9.50 per month, or would I be better putting it on the house "all risks" insurance?
€20 a month would do me on my meteor(free texts & all friends on meteor)
Should I bother jail-breaking it, I don't know yet the advantages, but I was told this will void the warrenty
do they have many problems?

I'm in the same situation as you, i want one but i dont know if its worth it,

thinkin about spendin the extra on the pre pay package, but then to get any use from the apps your gonna need a decent data bundle plus calls and texts,

when these are added up its probably just as expensive over 18 months as the cheapest contract available.

i think i'll wait till after christmas, i'd imagine there will be lots of unwanted iphones for sale.

Lenny

Well ya see, I can't jump on a plane and buy an iphone form the states lol.
Your lucky, you have your ihpone to hand.. that s a nice meteor contract you're on with the 10gig allounce(nice!) do you also get free texts?
I was in an o2 store, one of the staff didn't have a clue about the iphone tarrifs, couldn't even tell me the base price of it. asked me to wait an she would get someone else over, waited for 20 mins of them helping everyone else that walked in an left.
Yea I think the vodaphone iphone is a hit an miss, no point in going into the stores looking for one.
I used to have a program that could send free texts on my current phone(webmonekys?) didn't know there was another release.
Also is it possible to run .exe's on the iphone, for such as the eircom WEP key generator to jump on someone's net quickly
What do you think of the meteor 3g anyway? the gf has it on her sony phone(rarely see the 3g icon, so assume its not great)

SteelyDanJalapeno

Lenny wrote: »

Also is it possible to run .exe's on the iphone, for such as the eircom WEP key generator to jump on someone's net quickly

Isn't that called stealing?!?;)

Lenny

Well if I'm in a mates house, he ain't gonna have a clue what his wep key is for his internet so i could just tell him I'm using it!!
And hasn't your mother ever told you don't answer a question with a question!

cnocbui

No, it is not worth it. Given a whole cost of ownership on contract of €1010, I bought a new Sim free Samsung Jet on eBay for €220. Apart from the apps and the slicker OS, it can do all the iPhone can but with a better screen and better camera.

I have 4 Apple computers at home in various conditions of functionality so I am not averse to Apple products, but the iPhone is one of the biggest gouges of all time. The estimated build cost of the 3GS is €124.

The iPhone is a brilliant combination of hardware and OS. Since apps don't interest me at all, but I do have uses for an excellent camera and video capabilities, I would say I have 100% of the utility of a 3GS - or greater - and saved myself €600 or more given my phone calls and such on prepay.

Lenny

I understand what you say snobbui alright.
From reading on the o2 forums, it seems its possible to downgrade to another contract after the first 6 months.. so it is pobbiel to take out the €65 for the first 6 months(with a free ihpone) and then downgrade to the €45 month, without penality

Nonoperational

cnocbui wrote: »

No, it is not worth it. Given a whole cost of ownership on contract of €1010, I bought a new Sim free Samsung Jet on eBay for €220. Apart from the apps and the slicker OS, it can do all the iPhone can but with a better screen and better camera.

I have 4 Apple computers at home in various conditions of functionality so I am not averse to Apple products, but the iPhone is one of the biggest gouges of all time. The estimated build cost of the 3GS is €124.

The iPhone is a brilliant combination of hardware and OS. Since apps don't interest me at all, but I do have uses for an excellent camera and video capabilities, I would say I have 100% of the utility of a 3GS - or greater - and saved myself €600 or more given my phone calls and such on prepay.

My bill is around 75 a month with unlimited texts, and plenty minutes and data and insurance. You'd want to be a serious serious user to spend 124 a month.

ktulu123

Hey, I bought the iphone 3gs about 2 weeks ago on o2. I took the €45 per month contract as i thought €65 was a bit too much a month because like yourself i was only spending about €20 a month on credit before.

The main reason I went for the bill option was because the internet costs alot more on the prepay option. I have used the internet on it alot and I think my download allowance is still above the gig.

The apps for the iphone are great, yes there are alot of ****e apps but also alot of usefull ones too like eirtext (use your webtexts), mybill (View your billing information, usage, minutes etc) and dessid which allows you to use eircom broadband wifi (kinda like the wep key generator) when your out at a friends or somewhere. Also theres some pretty good and adictive minigames that you can get for it.

I dont know about jailbreaking myself and am curious to know what are the advantages of it?

Cheers

CamperMan

the iPhone is the best phone I have ever had..

Jax Teller

Yeah paid 609 for my 3gs unlocked it put my meteor bill pay sim In happy days

Buffy the bitch

Lenny wrote: »

Also is it possible to run .exe's on the iphone, for such as the eircom WEP key generator to jump on someone's net quickly

How does that work?

The iphone is a great phone and well worth the money..

zAbbo

Lenny wrote: »

Well if I'm in a mates house, he ain't gonna have a clue what his wep key is for his internet so i could just tell him I'm using it!!
And hasn't your mother ever told you don't answer a question with a question!

There's an app for that! - http://daniel.ie/dessid/

Or you could just use the online generator over 3G

cnocbui

gpf101 wrote: »

My bill is around 75 a month with unlimited texts, and plenty minutes and data and insurance. You'd want to be a serious serious user to spend 124 a month.

What are you on about? The €124 I mentioned was what it cost Apple to make a 3GS. I doubt I spend even €100 a year on calls.

Brian

What annoys me about the iPhone is that most of its most expensive components, ie screen, memory and processor are also in the iPod touch, which can be had without any kind of binding contract for half the price of a PAYG iPhone. I refuse to buy an iPhone purely because of this blatant profiteering.

The iPhone has GPS, 3G radio, camera and magnetic compass... anything else?

Lenny

gpf101 wrote: »

My bill is around 75 a month with unlimited texts, and plenty minutes and data and insurance. You'd want to be a serious serious user to spend 124 a month.

who is that & what price plan?

MarkN

hi Lenny - got one last Sat. I was paying for it SIM free as the company I work for pays my bill and while they won't pay for staff to get iPhones in current climate it wasn't worth my while going back to my own bill so I coughed up the 519 (actually had a voucher for 150 quid) so it wasn't too bad all in.

As I had a Blackberry the company also pays for my data package but I find sitting in work for 8/9 hours a day with wifi and then when at home too it'll be very hard to use the 1 gig allowance.

The push every 15 minutes is a bit lame compared to the Blackberry but apart from that I am very impressed. I was able to VNC into my computer and save a journey last weekend and the iPhone was able to save the day.

I got a mate to jailbreak mine during the week and there's some nice apps like Fifa 2010 etc that I was able to get. Up to you if you want to risk the warranty, (I've chipped cars in the past worth a lot more than a phone with warranty also being risked so a phone wasn't too much of a life changing choice to be honest!).

I think o2 are doing an add on for 65 a month line rental and it's unlimited texts, can't go wrong with that IMO and I would've gone for that one if I'd gone back to my own account.

I don't think you'll be disappointed, last time I was this impressed by a phone I had just bought a Nokia N95 - great phone at the time.

Lenny

whats the push every fifteen mins thing?

iKeith

mail maybe?

DublinWriter

cnocbui wrote: »

No, it is not worth it. Given a whole cost of ownership on contract of €1010,

Ouch.

I'm currently using a Chinese IPhone knock-off called a Hi-Phone.

It looks exactly like an IPhone, It's got full-bluetooth (IPhone only has voice), it can take and operate two SIMS simultaneously, plus I can watch regular analogue TV on it!

Admittedly build-quality isn't up to Apple standards and the on-board Java is borked, but who's complaining for €80!

MarkN

Lenny wrote: »

whats the push every fifteen mins thing?

Push is a feature which checks for new mails, blackberry constantly check but the max the iPhone will do is every 15 mins. You can check it manually as much as you like obviously but a more regular push would be nice.

That all said I'm typing this post using BT's eircom wifi with dessid and you can't argue with that kind of brilliant stuff.

aidan_walsh

Push is instant as long as your account supports it (Yahoo, Exhange or MobileMe). The other timed settings are for Fetch, meaning the phone checks the server for new mails.

ShadowHearth

well i am planing tommorow to go to cork and get iphone for 519 prepay, and use mine current o2 prepay card...

But i am strugling with it... do i really whant iphone... I love iphone, becouse it has briliant web browser and games, but i abselutly hate that it is as uncustomizable as a rock!!! to change sms ringtone you need to jailbreak the f*cking thng!

I am actually thinking to get n900 instead... Or ill just buy 3gs now, and see how it will work out, if i dont like it , it will go to donedeal.ie for 100eu less, and ill get n900...

btw, can you put Peters Griffins lought as a ringtone on iphone? or iwill need to jailbreak it, to do that?

Block (8

ShadowHearth wrote: »

well i am planing tommorow to go to cork and get iphone for 519 prepay, and use mine current o2 prepay card...

That's what I was thinking of doing it too but I'll have to unlock it but it seems easy enough to do.

Surely unless you make a lot of calls it's much cheaper to just buy a prepay iphone unless I'm missing something?

ShadowHearth were in Cork will you be buying it from, I'd like to get it from somewhere where I can go back to easily if the phone develops a problem and they won't shrug me off for not being on contract.

ShadowHearth

Block (8 wrote: »

That's what I was thinking of doing it too but I'll have to unlock it but it seems easy enough to do.

Surely unless you make a lot of calls it's much cheaper to just buy a prepay iphone unless I'm missing something?

ShadowHearth were in Cork will you be buying it from, I'd like to get it from somewhere where I can go back to easily if the phone develops a problem and they won't shrug me off for not being on contract.

i just bought it, came back home, and logged in mine pc too earrly.. got invited to raid in WoW ( for those who understand ). So i still havent even unpacked it yet!!!

I got it in cork, patrick street, took the 519eu prepay one. the box is rerally tiny for 519eu :P

Lenny

Just an update, I bought it yesterday eveing.
went on the €65 per month with free texts.
its quite a slick phone I have to say, but one problem I seem to be having, its after being activated this morning, grand got sync'd with itunes..
but on the phone now, the apps that I downloaded & installed when I click to open them on the iphone they open real quick an close again?
turned the phone off a few times, any ideas why?

*edit*
wierd, was just activating the computer and clicking around on a few things, seems to be ok now.
just another question, is it possible to view & control the ihpone within itunes? when I view mine I can't click anything
If I delete an app that I paid for, can I just download it again at no cost?

deep1

Lenny wrote: »

Just an update, I bought it yesterday eveing.
went on the €65 per month with free texts.
its quite a slick phone I have to say, but one problem I seem to be having, its after being activated this morning, grand got sync'd with itunes..
but on the phone now, the apps that I downloaded & installed when I click to open them on the iphone they open real quick an close again?
turned the phone off a few times, any ideas why?

*edit*
wierd, was just activating the computer and clicking around on a few things, seems to be ok now.
just another question, is it possible to view & control the ihpone within itunes? when I view mine I can't click anything

Just watch the Fw compatibility , some apps are still not compatible with new fw.
You can only delete and move apps within itunes, go to itunes, click on your phone and then go to apps and make sure the icon on left top is ticked.( it's something called sync apps)
you can also control your itunes music library, play music , stop pause etc from your iphone, app called remote does that.

Lenny

thanks, but when I view my iphone(like a simulator) everything on it is just blanked out..
is it possible for me to send a text message within itunes like?

Luckycharms_74

I switched over from Nokia. In the past I have had Nokia N95 and more recently the N86. I have top say the Iphone blows them away. If Iphone can incorporate multiple apps to be open at the same time and include radio function with next update it will leave Nokia in it's wake.
So the answer is a resounding YES

ShadowHearth

well i finnaly had a go on it, and honestly.... ITS FREAKING AMAZING YOKE!!!!!

i allready spended 10eu on apps , its just so freakingamazing!Games are just pro on it!!! 520eu well spent, thx to santa in a from of mine misses . Had to go to shop and get her angel perfume set for 90eu, as an extra on her present allready!

i was strugling between iphone and n900, but now i knw i made a right choise, i got a phone with really really solid functions, wheres n900 would had been a mini laptop with option of making phone calls...

Still bouth great products, but i like a more polished stuff!

mikemike

DublinWriter wrote: »

Ouch.

I'm currently using a Chinese IPhone knock-off called a Hi-Phone.

It looks exactly like an IPhone, It's got full-bluetooth (IPhone only has voice), it can take and operate two SIMS simultaneously, plus I can watch regular analogue TV on it!

Admittedly build-quality isn't up to Apple standards and the on-board Java is borked, but who's complaining for €80!

I have one also , twin cards at the same time is a brill idea .. but it doesn't seem to have a 'sent' box for the texts , so whenever I send a text and later need to check what I typed , I can't !!

Does your one have a sent box ? just curious ..

mondeo

mikemike wrote: »

I have one also , twin cards at the same time is a brill idea .. but it doesn't seem to have a 'sent' box for the texts , so whenever I send a text and later need to check what I typed , I can't !!

Does your one have a sent box ? just curious ..

I always wanted to use one of those knock offs for a laugh... Dual sims is something I would love instead of carrying two phones.

DublinWriter

mikemike wrote: »

I have one also , twin cards at the same time is a brill idea .. but it doesn't seem to have a 'sent' box for the texts , so whenever I send a text and later need to check what I typed , I can't !!

Does your one have a sent box ? just curious ..

I don't ever txt outwards, but it does have an outbox.

I have two SIMS in mine now with different ringtones for both.

The TV function of the phone came in handy during the World Cup.

To be honest, I'd feel very nervous walking around with €500+ of Iphone in my pocket, so the hiPhone suits me.

mikemike

damn right ,, too expensive ..

i saw one recently after it fell from a fairground ride ,, not very pretty , and expensive to replace

pokerface78

invested in one of those hiPhones from china last year for my daughter...she loves it and it does the job..100euro which suited my budget so it was a win win! only one problem, last week she broke the charger and we cant get it fixed. Anyone got any ideas what charger i could buy for it as the standard ipod/iphone charger is too big for it...help please!

mikemike

pokerface78 wrote: »

invested in one of those hiPhones from china last year for my daughter...she loves it and it does the job..100euro which suited my budget so it was a win win! only one problem, last week she broke the charger and we cant get it fixed. Anyone got any ideas what charger i could buy for it as the standard ipod/iphone charger is too big for it...help please!

when you say the charger , do you mean the actual battery housing/charging unit which holds the battery (looks like a pager) and which you plug into the wall socket ? or do you mean the lead that goes from the bottom of the phone into the usb port of the laptop ?

pokerface78

the lead that goes from the end of the iphone. the end with the usb part on it fine but the part that goes into the end of the phone is crushed..i rolled over it wth the computer chair haha silly goose

DublinWriter

pokerface78 wrote: »

the lead that goes from the end of the iphone. the end with the usb part on it fine but the part that goes into the end of the phone is crushed..i rolled over it wth the computer chair haha silly goose

They are almost impossible to get in Ireland and can differ from hiphone to hiphone.

Was hers the smaller pink hiphone? The missus is selling hers.

oppenheimer1

Lenny wrote: »

hello, thinking of getting an ihpone 3gs next week,
on o2 it is 199 for the 16gb one & the minium price contract is €45 pm for 175 mins & 100 texts + 1 gb of data
I know about internet data, does many people go voer the 1gb a month? is it possible to check my data used online?
Should i take out insurance for €9.50 per month, or would I be better putting it on the house "all risks" insurance?
€20 a month would do me on my meteor(free texts & all friends on meteor)
Should I bother jail-breaking it, I don't know yet the advantages, but I was told this will void the warrenty
do they have many problems?

No real point in discussing whether you should get an iPhone on this forum tbh. Its like asking a group of priests do they believe in god.

There was only ever going to be one answer

pokerface78

DublinWriter wrote: »

Was hers the smaller pink hiphone? The missus is selling hers.

The one she has is the standard looking iPhone..it looks identical to the iphone 3gs and she received several different covers for it. Ive just ordered a universal charger on ebay from China, 3euro including P&P so heres hoping it works!

evenmicheal

If the iphone had a radio it would be the perfect phone, relying on apps to listen to the radio is annoying, coverage can be patchy in areas which is annoying when you are listening to a song

naasrd

evenmicheal wrote: »

If the iphone had a radio it would be the perfect phone, relying on apps to listen to the radio is annoying, coverage can be patchy in areas which is annoying when you are listening to a song

It is odd that there's none alright but I must say that the choice I get from Wunderradio more than makes up for it. I'm lucky in that I have really good coverage so don't suffer any drops.

mikemike

pokerface78 wrote: »

The one she has is the standard looking iPhone..it looks identical to the iphone 3gs and she received several different covers for it. Ive just ordered a universal charger on ebay from China, 3euro including P&P so heres hoping it works!

I know it's probably too late now , but I ordered the following lead as a spare to see if it was any good before I recommended it to others , and it works fine .. in case you ever need to order another one , here's the link .... 99p not f*cking bad at all !!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-USB-Data-Cable-CECT-phone-i68-i68-i9-i9-/230514875996?pt=UK_Mobiles_Accessories_RL&hash=item35abc1de5c