And we thought the speculated prepaid price of Php25,000 was already expensive. According to Engadget, Vodafone Italy has just set an out-of-contract price for the iPhone 3G at €499 ($773) for the 8GB model and €569 ($881) for the 16GB models.
It’s common knowledge that the advertised $199 for the iPhone 3G is hugely subsidized by the telcos. In order to recoup that subsidy, they will have to put customers to a minimum lock-in period of 24 months.
So, if we followed the same pricing with that of Europe, an unsubsidized 8GB iPhone 3G will cost Php33,521 and the 16GB model will be as high as Php38,224 (based on today’s euro-peso exchange rate).
Here’s another catch — according to Macenstein, Apple will be doing “Mandatory In-Store Activation“. Meaning, the only way to get the new iPhone 3G is thru the authorized telco distributor. If you want to have your units unlocked, you’ll still need to buy them at their SRP and pay someone in Greenhills between Php2,500 to Php3,000 a pop.
How’s that for a solid revenue model? The cheap iPhone doesn’t seem that cheap anymore.
Useful information, thanks to the author.
umm Mahal pero maraming pilipino ang gstong magkaroon nyan and im sure madali din bababa ang value nyan, kgya ng mga ibang gadgets n nauso. di mo din ma eenjoy kc di mo nman mailabas sa bulsa kc kakaba kaba ka bka m snatch.
37ooo 8gb and around 43ooo ang 16gb… sana naman kahit maging 32ooo lang 8gb ok na e d nmn kailangan masyadong malaki memory….. sana bumaba pa!
yup! it’s so damn expensive! but i will buy it anyway.
35k is so expensive…is there any solution to make it heaper?
its actually P41,889 for the 8gb version
look here http://www.iphone3g.globe.com.ph/i/i?id=2256650