Etisalat iPhone Start Selling Tomorrow, Pricing Details Revealed

[Mushroom]

You are correct, that individual data usage must be considered when making a final decison. That is why in one of my earlier posts I said that for those people are not concerned about data use Etisalat's iPhone is a bad deal. That is because you can buy an iPhone for less that Plan #1 price and just pay as you go without using data.

However, for people who use data, iPhone plans are sweet. If they use more than what iPhone package provides, they can always subscribe to one of the data plans I mentined few posts above.

iPhone is limp and numb without internet connection. Most of it sweet features and programs loose their functionality. GPS, instant messaging and Facebooking, hehe.

I can't tell how much data an average person uses. It will vary too greatly to be able to come up with an average. It highly depends on things you like to do. You can, however, test and see what kind of Kbs you are pumping in yourself. In your iPhone's general settings there is a usage button. Simply reset it, connect to WiFi and play around with the phone. Load up few pages, check your facebook, message a few friends, upload a pic or two, send a few e-mails, check local movie listings and show times then go back to the usage and see how much you downloaded and uploaded.

Here is something else for you to think about...

If you are paying 2 fils per KB of data, 139AED is good enough for 6950KB. There are 1024KBs in 1MB, so 6950KB is a little under 7MB. To compare, you can just get 10MB generic data plan and pay 50AED.

Any way you look at it, its a good deal. We both want better and I am sure that sooner than later we will see it, but I am not going to hold my breath for it and enjoy this great offer right now.

[brunman]

gents.
I bought several iPhones in NZ, the current price for a 3G 16gb is 1129 NZ$ unlocked, that equals 2110 AED with the todays exchange rate, I am using the 50mb dataplan for 95 AED, so far I never used the 50mb cos I am most on a wifi.

in my opinion the etisalat is a total rip off, I didnt expect anything else from them, they have no clue about marketing or customer service and their 3G network is way too slow, was in south africa last month and the 3G speed over there was unbelivable fast, I am talking about africa here.

just get a grey import and a cheap data plan cos the 3G speed makes the user experience a pain in the a.. , wish steve jobs would come over here and give it try.

[sunnfun]

Yeah, right... That's why they have over 100 providers all over the US, operating on all known types of networks, offering unlimited EVERYTHING plans and more different types of plans and services than even I am willing to list on any given day.

Total semi-monopoly...

There are four network providers in the US: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint. That's it. And in most rural areas you can be pretty much limited to only one that has decent coverage. That's a lot of choice, right.

I will look into Euro prices though.

You do that.

[DXB Law]

You are correct, that individual data usage must be considered when making a final decison. That is why in one of my earlier posts I said that for those people are not concerned about data use Etisalat's iPhone is a bad deal. That is because you can buy an iPhone for less that Plan #1 price and just pay as you go without using data.

However, for people who use data, iPhone plans are sweet. If they use more than what iPhone package provides, they can always subscribe to one of the data plans I mentined few posts above.

iPhone is limp and numb without internet connection. Most of it sweet features and programs loose their functionality. GPS, instant messaging and Facebooking, hehe.

I can't tell how much data an average person uses. It will vary too greatly to be able to come up with an average. It highly depends on things you like to do. You can, however, test and see what kind of Kbs you are pumping in yourself. In your iPhone's general settings there is a usage button. Simply reset it, connect to WiFi and play around with the phone. Load up few pages, check your facebook, message a few friends, upload a pic or two, send a few e-mails, check local movie listings and show times then go back to the usage and see how much you downloaded and uploaded.

Here is something else for you to think about...

If you are paying 2 fils per KB of data, 139AED is good enough for 6950KB. There are 1024KBs in 1MB, so 6950KB is a little under 7MB. To compare, you can just get 10MB generic data plan and pay 50AED.

Any way you look at it, its a good deal. We both want better and I am sure that sooner than later we will see it, but I am not going to hold my breath for it and enjoy this great offer right now.

I agree with you - the iPhone plan pricing is not that bad considering what other things cost in Abu Dhabi. I guess what I am thinking about is that if you are going to use iPhone to its full potential, then pay-as-you-go is probably not cost-effective. I frequently get emails with attached PDFs that are 3 to 4 MBs in size. (For the non-business user, think about downloading songs from iTunes - each song about 5MB). And push email means your device is always exchanging data with the network 24/7. If you are on Wi-Fi, no problem but if you are on 3G then all that data upload and download starts to add up quickly.

What I am saying is that the iPhone plan pricing is not bad, but if you think you are going to be a heavy user, a standalone data plan might well be worth it. And if you are bringing in an unlocked iPhone from overseas, the standalone plan is your only choice, and could well offer you some savings because (1) the device itself is cheaper and (2) you don't need two plans (the iPhone plan plus a back-up data plan for overage) you can just choose the standalone plan that suits your usage level.

You are 100% correct that AED 139 for 500MB is certainly better than AED 295 for 200MB/month, but if you think your usage is more like 700MB/month then AED 460 for 10GB is probably better than AED 434 (139 iPhone plan + 295 data plan to cover your anticipated overage).

(I think I am trying to convince myself, since my friend in Rome just bought me an Italian unlocked phone and is shipping it to me tomorrow; I therefore have no choice but to buy a standalone plan if the information on this forum is correct).

I am currently using an (ancient) Treo 650 and subscribe to the low-end 2MB data plan from Etisalat. I just checked back at several old bills and realize that I am paying between AED 100 to AED 150 per month in overage charges. That means I must be using somewhere around 7MB to 10MB per month. But, and here's the big but -- I know I will use much more data on my iPhone than on my Treo. Treo syncs with my Mac via bluetooth; my iPhone will sync over-the-air using Mobile Me. Downloading attached files on the Treo is so painfully slow that I never bother to do it. Web browsing on the Treo is primitive. The Treo doesn't offer me Google Maps let alone the ability to stream internet radio.

Use Wi-Fi for all of these things and of course it's cheaper. But if I am on Wi-Fi I could use my MacBookPro. The whole point of the iPhone is to have access to these services when I am walking around town, or in a taxi or café, or in somebody else's office. That will more often than not be over 3G and count against my monthly usage.

I did a bit of digging over the net and it seems the usage statistics are all over the place. Some report 100MB to 200MB per month for their iPhones. Others seem to talking about 2GB or even 5GB.

It seems to me that for my Italian iPhone I should get something like a 120MB plan for AED 195/month and carefully monitor usage; if it looks like I will be routinely using more than that I can always upgrade to a 200MB plan or even the unlimited 10GB plan.

[Magnus]

I did a bit of digging over the net and it seems the usage statistics are all over the place.

I know, different stories everywhere. I've put the question to Etisalat PR and they've passed it on to Etisalat, let's see if I get an answer.

[Magnus]

wish steve jobs would come over here and give it try.

So you agree with Crystal then?

[nosferatu2412]

So you agree with Crystal then?

Crystal and medopal escorting Steve Jobs to Etisalat? ... oh boy!

[Mushroom]

List of United States wireless communications service providers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

180... Thats not semi-monopoly. That's you being semi-misinformed.

Check your facts. I did same mistake before and Ultra corrected me, so I am not correcting you.

[sunnfun]

List of United States wireless communications service providers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

180... Thats not semi-monopoly. That's you being semi-misinformed.

Check your facts. I did same mistake before and Ultra corrected me, so I am not correcting you.

So you're clueless then. No wonder you're ok with the iPhone price plans.

Service provider ≠ Network provider.

Service provider are just repackaging minutes and bandwith they buy from the network providers. I'm sure you have been to the US and when you were there you have seen at the most two or three (Depending on your phone) network providers on top of your display while you were roaming.

[Mushroom]

I live in US. I am just here right now. There no just 2-3. There are a lot. I'd say easily 20 bigger ones and I am talking California only. East coast has lots more. Thats where 180 come from.

Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, ATT, Boost Mobile, T-Mobile... These are just 6 I see everyday at the little mall near my house. 2-3... Give me a break... Mobile guru..

Prices to end customers are set by service providers. Not network providers. Pricing, services and packages are sold to end customers by SERVICE providers. Even though ATT and Verizon owns the majority of the network, their pricing is very different from that offered by providers they sell "bandwidth" to.

Further argument is pointless. You are clearly stuck on something you feel is right and bring absolutely nothing to the discussion table other than blunt unsupported statements.

Use facts and numbers if you want to prove me wrong...