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Home » iPhone 3G Plans: Cheapest in Belgium, Most Expensive in Canada

iPhone 3G Plans: Cheapest in Belgium, Most Expensive in Canada

Update: Check out our iPhone 3G Review.

While everyone who’s interested in an iPhone 3G is frustrated by Globe’s pricing plans, it’s also surprising to learn that Globe’s postpaid plan is the 6th cheapest among 18 countries surveyed.

Based on Total Minimum Commitment (TMC) cost which computed how much a customer will have to spend upfront and during the entire contract, the 8GB iPhone 3G from Globe has a TMC of Php53,476USD 911INR 77,251EUR 868CNY 6,636 (iPhone 3G Plan 1599). Compare that to Japan with Php86,400USD 1,472INR 124,813EUR 1,402CNY 10,722 and Canada with Php97,920USD 1,669INR 141,455EUR 1,589CNY 12,152.

See the chart I made below for 18 countries:

Chart is based on CBC Radio Canada’ iPhone iNdex map here. Exchange rate at Php45USD 0.77INR 65EUR 0.73CNY 6:$1PHP 59INR 85EUR 0.95CNY 7.

Of course, there are differences in the lock-in period, 3G usage (from 200MB per month to Unlimited), free voice minutes and SMS. All other countries limit 3G usage by bandwidth, unlike Globe’s time based charging. However, at 384kbps, the 40 hours could translate to 7GB of bandwidth.

A lot of people were also referring to the $199PHP 11,678INR 16,865EUR 190CNY 1,448 price in the US with AT&T but forgot the 24-month contract and $69PHP 4,049INR 5,848EUR 66CNY 502 MSF. That brings the TMC cost of the iPhone 3G in the US to Php83,160USD 1,417INR 120,133EUR 1,350CNY 10,320.

Belgium came in at #1 because MobiStar does not have any contract months locked-in to the iPhone. In essence, you can grab an iPhone 3G in Belgium for just Php30,555USD 521INR 44,140EUR 496CNY 3,792. With Globe, the contract-free price is Php33,087USD 564INR 47,797EUR 537CNY 4,106 + 12% VAT of Php4,512USD 77INR 6,518EUR 73CNY 560 or a total of Php37,599USD 641INR 54,316EUR 610CNY 4,666.

Abe Olandres
Abe Olandres
Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.
  1. Most of the countries listed here generally belong to the list of 1st world countries. I think that the pricing for Asia esp. where people earn lower should be adjusted accordingly.

    Let’s just wait and see until it gets released in other countries.

  2. guess what… just unlocked my 3g… now i can downgrade my ATT plan and lose the data package and revert my ATT line to just a regular cell plan… then I can plug in my T-Mobile sim into my 3G and get unlimited data through my company’s blackberry plan… so I get exchange mail through an unlocked 3g iphone. (I unlocked it using the sim hack)

  3. I think this price comparison will be much useful if the country’s earning rate is factored in.

  4. Dapat sana iPhone 1st gen diba? Basta mura.

  5. @jervis – I don’t think Nokia, Samsung or any other mobile manufacturer does GDP Per Capita factored in when they price their high-end phones.

  6. I agree with Jervis. The buying capacity of the target market is definitely a factor.

  7. If we factor in buying capacity, then everything in the Philippines is expensive.

  8. I also agree with Jervis. I can live without an iphone for some time more, until it finally settles at the right price! Now, what kind of a marketing person will not consider the buying capacity of his/her target market when doing his marketing plan?

  9. i saw you on bandila yuga!

  10. A liter of Coke in the States cost something around $1.50 or P70. That is probably just the right price considering that Americans earn $8 minimum wage. But can you imagine if they sell soda at that price here in the Philippines?

    This comparison of where the iPhone is much cheaper is not really that accurate because it doesn’t consider differences in markets.

    I would be much more interested in comparing PREPAID/PLAN-FREE iPhone prices across countries because more or less it should only be taxes affecting the price. The rest is up to the vendor’s, ahem, greed? Hehe

    See, prepaid iPhones cost $600 in the U.S, or P27,000. Here it’s P37,599. Since 12% of that is for VAT, Globe is only really charging us P33K. Still, that’s already a P6000 easy profit in there, assuming Globe is paying Apple P27K for each iPhone, which I don’t think they are.

    I don’t know… maybe I’m missing something.

    Let’s have the WorldWide Prepaid iPhone Price Chart.

  11. on top of the expensive price of iphone here in canada, you have to add an extra $7.00 for your call display, $6.95 system access fee, and 11% tax for british columbia residents.

    incoming and outgoing calls also have a fee of $0.30/ minute, and now network companies will be implementing extra charge for incoming text which is also $0.30/text.

    if you are on a pay as you go plan (prepaid)and does not have a load, your phone is useless no incoming and outgoing calls can be made. iPhone on a prepaid plan here in vancouver will suck big time.

  12. I will get my iPhone 3G from globe for only 10k+ plus the 1200 plan i already have for only 2 years

  13. I agree that, in comparing world price differences, one should factor in purchasing price parity (PPP). However, that approach should be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak. PPP assumes many things, ceteris paribus – that commodities have the same manufacturing costs anywhere and that they have to be tradeable goods, to name a few.

    The problem with goods such as the iPhone is that it caters to a niche market, often characterized by price discrimination, high demand, and low supply (again, to name a few. haha). In addition to this, the iPhone 3G is a relatively new product which means that prices are not yet in equilibrium. That is, of course, without even touching upon the benefits of Apple’s dominance based on intellectual property alone.

    Am I making sense? What I’m trying to say that we can, being free individuals, compute and adjust for iPhone prices worldwide but it can only provide us with a snapshot of how hard we have to work for it compared to our other gadget salivating friends abroad.

  14. Abe, wait until they see the price in Brazil….

  15. @jedd, uhh, prepaid phones here in the US cost between $14 and under $100… i’ve never seen prepaid phones cost more than a $100… kasi if they did, no one would buy a prepaid phone except those who can’t qualify for a regular line (bad credit,no credit history, no social security and/or illegal immigrants).

  16. @kim, by prepaid you mean contract-free right? Globe calls them Prepaid Kits, when you pay for the phone at ‘full’ unit price and don’t have to commit to regular monthly payments for years. You just buy phone minutes as you need them.

  17. Wow, talk about victim mentality at its finest.

    Price adjustment vis-a-vis GDP is feasible only for products where raw materials are sourced locally, e.g., Coke, McDonalds, KFC, etc can be made cheaper because local suppliers do sell their products at a cheaper price.

    However, Starbucks can’t do that, at least not as much. Why? Because the source of their coffee beans is the same all over the world. The only thing that they can source locally would be water, sugar and milk: all of which are only peripheral to their main product line.

    Same banana with the iPhone. It all comes from China, and perhaps the only factor that can help cheapen it would be shipping costs. Do we know where an iPhone has gone before reaching the Philippines though? I’m sure it doesn’t get to here from China direct.

    Software for the iPhone would also cost the same all over the world. Would you demand software developers to cheapen their products for you just because you live in the Philippines?

    Besides, this is a luxury product. Stop bitching about not being able to afford it if you cant: it’s not for you. There are a billion things more important than an iPhone that you can spend on.

  18. @Jon, couldn’t have explained it better. You hit the nail on the head with this one. ;)

  19. @jon, mabuhay ka, agree ako sa’yo,kung walang pambili, makuntento,lalo na yung last part, the best yung sinabi mo! sana tinagalog mo, para mas malinaw sa iba..

  20. @Jon Limjap
    that’s a lot of B$

    iphone retails in the US for $200
    here it’s sold for P30-40k

    a netbook that retails $400 in the US
    will be sold for P20k here

    Is your stupidity assembled offshore with raw materials sourced from different countries before it eventually landed here?

  21. last year me and my brother bought an iPhone 3G. it is a great phone with lots of functionality and great styling too.

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