Thursday, January 15, 2009

iPhone for richer or poorer?

People assume that iPhone owners are rich or at least well off, but what about the argument that the iPhone would be just the ticket if you were unfortunately broke? I have heard it mentioned in more than one podcast, that iPhones are quite popular with those of us who are not so well off.

A 16Gb iPhone 3G on pay as you go in the UK costs £391 which sounds a lot, but there are several points that put this price into perspective.
  1. The cost of a years worth of unlimited data and use of the cloud wifi hotspots are included in the price. This usually costs £10 per month, which is an excellent deal from O2. So taking this cost off the phone brings it down to £271.
  2. The iPhone 3G is a portable computer with phone capabilities, very useful for finding a job, making appointments, push email, using the web.
  3. The iPhone does the job of several devices. If you can't afford a computer, it is your computer. If you can't afford an internet connection at home, it is your link to the world. If you want to play games, it is your games machine. If you want to watch movies and educate yourself watching podcasts, it is your portable media player. If you need a radio, Wunder radio from the app store will sort you out. Need to get to that interview? The iPhone is your GPS unit and city guide.
  4. A PSP costs £129 an Archos PMP equivelent media player costs £188 a 2MP camera costs £45 taking this away from the £279 iphone and it is free ;)
If you find yourself short of cash, investing in one device that can do many things can be the sensible choice, besides its great fun.
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1 comment:

Kane said...

An interesting concept. A cheap mobile and a netbook with a mobile data contract would be a terrific alternative for people who need to do real work.

However looking on ebay it is possible to get an early eMac for £25 to £35 inc. carriage with OSX pre-installed. G3 iMacs are also available at very low cost and later versions with a decent level of RAM they can run OSX up to Tiger. So with an iPhone and one of these for work that needs a keyboard there you are set to go. I was surprised that during my research that older really capable Apple computers are in real terms a better buy that Windows machines of a similar age which often come without a monitor. Later G3 iMacs seem to be a really good deal as is the eMac.

I was sceptical about the utility of the iPhone and iPod touch until I got the latter just before Christmas. Now I, whilst I still have reservations, I think that they are powerful devices. Perhaps as they stand they are ideal for the Facebook generation. Add bluetooth and the ability to connect an Apple BT keyboard and make one with a 9 inch screen and you have the ultimate netbook.

Kanus

January 20, 2009 at 7:12 PM

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