[Shaun]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Your ** is inaccurate, because the subscription includes unlimited data downloads.

Well if you want to look at it like that then they're charging a lot for data. They do a £35 tariff online that gives you 600 min and 500 tests - you're loosing 700 units (assuming both are weighted equally). That equates to ~£22 a month for data.

I don't know how you would factor that in as I'm not any kind of expert on mobiles (mine doesn't even have a camera, wap or MMS, and I like it that way!) but if you're going to postulate a nominal cost for calls and texts, you have to spread the subscription charge across everything it buys you, not just bits of it.

If you're working backwards from their "normal" £35 tariff you're paying ~3p per min/text but then paying £22 a month for data. Or if you take out the data from the package and assume they're throwing it in for free then the unit cost jumps to ~8p.

As for the functionality not working if you port the number or switch to PAYG - you're signing up for an 18-month tariff so presumably that's not going to be an issue for some time.

I like the be able to put another sim in my phone for various reasons. If I'm going abroad, I'm with friend and their battery dies or if I want a free ticket on Orange Wednesdays. I also like the fact that if my provider ups the cost of the package I'm on I can switch with very little hassle. Not possible with the iphone.

I will be extremely surprised if O2's exclusive deal with Apple is indefinite. I'd expect within a year or so to see it released to the other networks as well. Once the early adopter flurry is over, it is certainly not in Apple's interests to limit distribution, or the usefulness of the handset, in this way.

But you've got to agree the price with drop when this happens, which backs up my point - it's an extortionate price to pay for the latest gadget.

Once the handset is released from the initial 18-month contract it may also prove to be illegal under EU law to prevent its use on another network in any case.

But if they don't have the technology on the network many of the features won't work.