iPhone pricing and data plans in Australia will probably disappoint those who have been waiting to use what has very quickly become an iconic piece of technology that is far more than just a mobile phone, or a “piece of technology” for that matter.
Many would-be iPhone buyers aren’t too worried about the technological “bells and whistles”, they simply want one, because like iPods and the MacBook Air, they are cool. Simple as that. End of story.
Sure you get to make phone calls, surf the net, and play music, but really that’s a bonus. The biggest attraction of the iPhone is simply having one.
To date phone companies in Australia, apart from one, remain cagey about their iPhone pricing and data plans, with Optus offering the 8GB model for a hefty A$730, no strings (contract) attached.
Hefty when you consider the same iPhone costs US199 (with a two year contract though), or about A$207, in the United States.
Australian phone companies know that iPhones will sell themselves but seem to have misunderstood what this means exactly.
A$730 is too big an ask. Make them available for say A$350, or even A$400, and even with a two year contract attached (something sensible mind you, like 5GB data for A$50 a month), and there will be people camping out in the streets waiting to buy it.
John Allsopp of Web Directions also makes the point that Australia stands to be left out when it comes to developing mobile based web applications on account of data charges for mobile, with one carrier charging A$150 a month for just 1GB of data.
To me this will actually have a huge impact on Australia’s capacity to become a serious player in the next wave of web innovation - mobile web applications and services. People simply won’t use mobile web services (except the “free” access to carriers own services - my bet is that this will come soon enough). Which means little if any incentive for local companies to innovate in this, a space with almost limitless potential. In markets with inexpensive data charges, all the innovation will take place, and when affordable mobile arrives here, those innovators will be ready to swoop on our market, with local companies in no place to play catchup.
Also bear in mind that in the US the iPhone has seen “mobile browsing surge 89% in the past year, with mobile page views increasing by 127%”. Food for thought.
