Hi Susan,
Ray Forma emailed me off list with these comments:
Ronni,
all correct except ... then if I decide to change to another Carrier
the new carrier's SIM would work on my phone.
Thank you Ray,
Ahh, now I 'think' I understand. So even though I can get the
iPhone 3G S cheaper through Telstra by going on a 24 month Plan (I
know their data rate & fees are not good).
"The $30 plan telstra will give me a iPhone 3GS 32GB for only
$549" ... Apple iPhone 3G S 32GB will cost me $1,040.
So you are saying, purchase the iPhone from Apple (at the higher
price), then I could put my current SIM card (which is Telstra) in
it and it will work, then if I decide to change to another
Carrier ... this SIM would work on that carrier?
But, if I purchase the iPhone from Telstra, I'm 1) locked into a 24
mth contract. & 2) when that 24mth contract ends, I would not be
able to use another SIM card from another Carrier?
Is this what you mean?
Many thanks for your advice I appreciate it.
Cheers,
Ronni
On 03/07/2009, at 6:31 PM, Ray Forma wrote:
Ronni,
If you buy your phone from a carrier they will supply a phone
locked to their network. If you buy your iPhone from Apple, it is
unlocked. That unlocked phone will then connect with whatever
network the SIM card in it is from. Change the SIM to one from a
different carrier, and you will connect to that SIM's network.
Change the SIM on a locked phone to a SIM from a different
carrier, and the phone won't connect because the phone is unlocked.
Moral: never buy a locked phone.
On 03/07/2009, at 9:21 PM, Susan Hastings wrote:
Hi Ronni, I looked at later emails, but there doesn't appear to be a
response to your question at the end about being locked to a carrier
in order to work.
Now, I am not sure, I would have thought not, since other mobile
phones don't have to be locked to a carrier. You can swap different
carriers' SIMS in these phones without any problems. For example, I
have a little Samsung unlocked phone that has used Telstra, Optus
and China Mobile SIMS without any problems.
However, the iphone is linked to iTunes, and this MIGHT change things.
I hope someone knows for sure because I would like to be able to use
a different SIM when travelling. My present iPhone is locked to
Telstra, so I haven't been able to use the China Mobile card.
cheers, Susan.
On 03/07/2009, at 5:42 PM, Ronda Brown wrote:
Thanks Susan,
The Telstra Representative that phoned me said this:
"The $30 plan telstra will give you a iPhone 3GS 32GB for only $549
(Currently The iphone 3GS 32GB is selling on eBay for $750- $1000)
This means you will be paying only $10 more per month for your plan
and you will receive $25 in calls, $5 for data and your call rate
will be the same as it is now."
I have thought about buying from the Apple Store unlocked, but
doesn't it still need to be locked to a carrier?
Cheers,
Ronni
On 03/07/2009, at 5:24 PM, Susan Hastings wrote:
Hi Ronni, I am on a 24 month plan, $30.00, with no extra data.
Which is why I avoid checking email when out and about. But, this
is an older plan, with a different phone, when the iphone came out
I bought one outright and put my SIM into it. The phone is,
however, locked to Telstra.
I like the idea of an unlocked phone that I can use with any SIM
card - so if going for the iphone 3Gs, I would buy it from the
Apple Store unlocked.
It would be nice to have a small amount of data included, so may
look at this type of plan in future.
cheers, Susan.
On 03/07/2009, at 4:49 PM, Ronda Brown wrote:
Thanks Susan, Marcus & Glenn,
I use my Mobile mainly for emergencies & SMS, I am currently only
on a $20 mth 12 month contact with Telstra.
I possibly wouldn't use the iPhone much differently, I would use
the iPhone for accessing my email as I do with iPod Touch (on a
Wireless Network), not using the Telstra 3G Network.
So I require a Private Plan not a Business Plan. I would prefer
to stay with Telstra, as I said previously I have stayed with
Telstra because of the better coverage when I travel through the
country areas. Also "the Devil you know" syndrome ;-)
Susan, are you on a Telstra 24mth Plan or a Pre-Paid?
Cheers,
Ronni
On 03/07/2009, at 4:36 PM, Susan Hastings wrote:
On the plans, I am sticking with Telstra because they provide
the best coverage outside of the city. I know you can switch to
roaming, but that hasn't been a very good experience in the
past, maybe it has got better.
But, I don't use my iphone for the internet or email very much
unless I have wifi access.
So, one idea would be to get an unlocked phone from the Apple
Store, then buy a prepaid SIM with Optus, and check out the
coverage. If it works well for you, then you could go onto a plan.
cheers, susan.
On 03/07/2009, at 1:27 PM, Ronda Brown wrote:
Hello WAMUGers,
Today I received a phone call from a Telstra representative (my
current contract expires with them on 30th July '09). We got
talking the new iPhone 3G S and he was continually pressing the
point that Telstra is "Australia's largest, fastest and most
reliable 3G network". He then sent me an email with Telstra's
new iPhone Plans.
I'm interested in your opinions on these plans in comparison to
other carriers please.
Telstra's monthly included data download is terrible I think,
$5 for the $30 & $40 plans which equates to 5MB of Data ...
excess data charged at $1.00/MB ... yikes!
And then there is this in Telstra's -Things you need to know:
1. iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G are configured to work only with
the wireless services provided by Telstra.
Does this mean you cannot access any other wireless network?
<http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/phones/iphone/pricing.html>
Optus still seems to have the better plans. I have stayed with
Telstra all these years for its better coverage, but I'm
seriously contemplating a change of carrier for an iPhone 3G S.
"Telsyte principal research analyst Warren Chaisatien says
Optus has again released the "most aggressive" iPhone plan
prices, increasing data allowances for the internet-savvy phone
and introducing plans with unlimited phone calls and messaging.
Optus iPhone 3GS plans include the company's popular $59 plan
with data boosted from 500MB to 700MB a month and so-called
"timeless" plans with unlimited calls and messaging starting at
$99 and including 1.5GB of downloads."
" And Telstra is the only carrier not to offer iPhone
tethering, allowing use of the iPhone as a modem."
<http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25717048-5016091,00.html
>
How I'm interpreting the information Optus 'whops' all over
Telstra ... or am I misinterpreting the information?
Of course 3 Mobile have not yet released plans for the iPhone
3G S. Expected in the coming weeks. Which might not give me
enough time as I only have to 30th July to decide if I extend
my contract with Telstra for another 12 months :-(
Cheers,
Ronni
17" MacBook Pro Intel Core 2 Duo
2.4 GHz / 4GB / 800MHz / 500GB
OS X 10.5.7
OS X 10.5.7
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