I'm guessing you started right at the end of the month, or something?

No, I started on about £80 a week... and my rent was £55.

I am but as you say lets see what the tariffs are. I think that they will be a little better but it is the 12 month contract that appeals then I can drop to a cheaper deal. I am a low user and that can make a difference.

Ah I see!

My rent is £280.

Not when Apple are the only company who are able to dictate contract length. 18 month contracts were uncommon (12 month being the norm) until the iPhone 2G came out, then 24 month contracts became the norm around the 3GS.

They are also the only phone manufacturer who refuse subsidised tariffs on their devices, if you get a new device you won't be getting a reduction in your contract monthly payment as a renewal/retention deal. Other phone companies don't do that, speaking from experience (currently on a 40% monthly reduction on my current tariff)

I was referring to the 18 month contracts.

I never said it wasn't, though can the 4g have customised SMS tones yet?

I haven't gotten my phone yet, I said I was looking at one..... I am waiting until my contract is actually up, well probably a month after the 4G lands then I'll upgrade. Not that bothered by the Droid X, it won't be on a UK contract, just like the Milestone.

Either way at least I don't have to pay over £200 for the phone AND a contract on top, for that money I would buy an iPod Touch 3rd gen and get a Desire to compliment it. At least then I will get a better deal overall (and potentially have a 64gb SSD based iPod to use)

You pay £1120 a month in rent?

No, £280 per month.

Did you mean £55 per week, JJ? £25 isn't much for fuel, bills, clothes, etc etc.

Yes I did. Money was tight but that did include water and power. The £25 left over basically paid for food, tobacco and cheap cider. I didn't buy new clothes, I mended old ones. Annoyingly, I was £15 a week worse off with a job than I was on benefits...

That was in 1995. Food is actually about the same price (Happy Shopper: 60p bread, 40p baked beans) and the rent on that place is now £60 a week. Tobacco and booze have gone up a lot, and public transport prices have roughly doubled.

You can imagine how annoyed I was when the company insisted I buy my own mobile phone. I forget what it cost, but I do remember it was on Orange and £35 a month for 60 minutes. There was no such thing as PAYG.

Technology is so much cheaper now it's insane. Children can afford things which only the mega-rich could have in '95

Do you mean that there is a law of good iPhones like Star Trek movies, that only the good ones are the even numbered versions?

That's disgraceful!!

I guess that must have been before the minimum wage was introduced??

Fin, I'm not convinced of that argument at all. Orange were offering an 18 month contract deal long before they were carrying the iPhone.

Yes, but I was basically an apprentice so I'm sure you could still do something similar... despite working a 96 hour Friday at least once

What was this thread about...?

Long contracts came with stupendously expensive phones, for very obvious reasons. The iPhone was not the only one, but it's the most obvious example.

Long contracts are also a problem if your circumstances change. There is an element of cross subsidy going on with most phones. It would explain why some phones are free and others considerably more expensive. Apple are probably making a fortune off each iPhone even without the payback that they got from AT&T and others. Though I doubt that is the case now. Personally I want to go with tesco because of the short contract, I could then switch to a PAYG option should I need or want to. The TCO will be lower then.

I said they were uncommon, not non-existant