With the Vodafone iPhone up for grabs at last, we bet you want to know the best way to nab the cheapest deal, whatever the network. So we’ve lined up Vodafone, Orange, Tesco and O2′s cheapest offerings, alongside those all important extras, to see just who has the biggest bargain.
Cost:
Vodafone, Orange and O2 all offer £30 a month deals, so there’s nothing to separate them in the monthly stump up stakes. But you’ll need to pay £59 to get a basic iPhone 3G on Vodafone on a two year deal. That goes up to £99 for an 18 month contract. Orange’s £30 a month, two year deal won’t cost you a penny up front and neither will its 18 month one. O2′s 18 month £30 deal will hit you for the £99. O2 doesn’t have a two year long, £30 a month offer. Tesco, however, has the cheapest monthly plan, costing £20. That said, you’ll need to pay £222 for the phone. Its two year package costs £60 a month, with the iPhone 3G thrown in free.
Winner: Orange
Texts:
The £30 a month Vodafone deal will get you unlimited texts on a two year deal, or 250 a month on the 18 month plan. Orange’s 24 month deal gets you 250 texts a month, Tesco’s 200 texts, while O2′s cheapest package comes with a measly 125 messages.
Winner: Vodafone
Read our Vodafone iPhone review now
Minutes:
There are 75 minutes up for grabs on Vodafone’s 18 month £30 deal. Sign up for two years and that rises to a generous 300. Tesco has lined up 200 minutes, while Orange gives 150 minutes on its 24 month plan, the same as its two year one. O2 comes in last with just 125 minutes.
Winner: Vodafone
Tethering:
Vodafone and Orange charge the same for tethering: £5 for 500MB, £10 for 1,5GB and £15 for 3GB. That’s a monthly fee, not a one off payment. O2 asks for a tenner a month for 3GB and £30 for 10GB. But the latter wins out with its offer of free home broadband if you take up the 3GB package. Tesco does not have a tethering deal yet.
Winner: O2
Extras
O2′s tethering offer, with free home broadband, is a corking extra. And its O2 Priority offering, which gives you first dibs on tickets at O2 Academies around the country, including the forthcoming 3D Six Nations screenings is also a winner. But grab a Vodafone iPhone on all but the cheapest 18 month offering and you get unlimited texts. Orange Wednesdays is a great incentive to get the Big O’s model, but isn’t exclusive to the iPhone, even if the dedicated app is. That said, you do get 2-for-1 at Pizza Express with it.
Winner: Tie
Coverage:
Orange claims to have the best 3G coverage in the UK. O2′s 3G network has come in for a hammering of late, with its CEO even making an appearance on this Friday’s Today programme on Radio 4 to defend its performance. The Vodafone model we’ve used is good, and its network remains solid. We’re discounting Tesco as it piggybacks on O2′s network.
Winner: Orange and Vodafone
Overall winner: If we were buying an iPhone today, we’d plump for Vodafone, just. Orange’s deal’s are ace and the free iPhone 3G on a £30 deal is sweet. But Vodafone’s unlimited texts and added minutes make it the deal for us.
For more detail, have a gander at Fonehome.co.uk‘s iPhone price comparison orgy.
