Optus iPhone will cost me over $58,000?

It’s no secret that I’m not a normal Australian mobile phone user. At the moment I have a hiptop with unlimited data and a 6gig 3G mobile data plan. I am continually connected to IM, have and push eMail and I religiously read my RSS feeds on the go. I also regularly create a mobile hotspot with my 3G plan so I can use my iPod touch as a pseudo iPhone on the road (without voice). Thanks to this I stream quite a bit of audio and video, rapidly taking chunks of data away from my monthly plan.

In preparation for choosing an iPhone plan I took the time to calculate how much 2G & 3G data I use per month. Not surprisingly I average about 7 gigs between the two services. I often use my Macbook with mobile broadband so to be realistic I’m going to assume I use around 3 gigs a month on the iPhone.

From what I can see, there are no excess data charges for prepaid – you seemingly have to top the phone up. So, if I happen to have $40 in my pocket and use that to top up, I’d get 50 megs of data. If I were to top up my phone in $40 instalment to get my required 3gigs of data, I’d have to spend $2400.

This also suggests the $30 Turbo Cap plan has NO data available – rendering the iPhone useless.

Right?

Below is a table showing how much I’d spend over 24 months at 3 gigs of usage per month. Detailed calculations can be seen here.

So I guess I’m not getting an iPhone.

Or am I?

The answer is – maybe.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I have a 6 gig mobile data plan. This plan has no voice calls (incoming and outgoing calls are barred) however it does have SMS and the SIM card can be used in any 3G mobile device.

If I were to buy the iPhone from Optus for $849, it would cost me $80 to unlock it. Slip in my existing SIM card and pay no extra.

Oh, If I *really* wanted to get voice, I could simply jailbreak the phone and install a VOIP client.

Total price: $929 with no ongoing extra cost to myself.

Confused?

Shit yeah.

Disclaimer:

I might have been completely wrong about my calculations- these plans are incredibly confusing, vague and reading the terms and conditions is almost impossible with the brain having a tendency of switching off after the 1^st paragraph of text.

I’m kinda hungry and slightly sleepy.

I tried calling Optus for clarification comment and was thrown in call centre limbo. I gave up after the 15 minute mark of waiting.

I also do not comment on voice calls or SMS rates - frankly, I rarely use voice calls. When I do, I use my work phone.

I had a shocking headache whilst writing this.

Phone plans are calculated based on the 16 gig version of the iPhone over a contracted 24 months.

Details have been taken from the optus website at: http://www.optusiphone.com.au

I suck at maths