iPhone arrives — but consumers told delay buying to force tariff cuts

CONSUMER champions last night urged would-be buyers of the new Apple iPhone to hold off purchasing one and put pressure on phone firm O2 to reduce the prices of the tariffs.

The device, which exclusively went on sale at O2 stores yesterday, is priced at €399 (8GB) and €499 (16GB) for the handset, with a monthly bill of €45 to €100 for up to 700 minutes of calling time.

Cork telephone specialist Pat Phelan, of Cubic Telecom, has warned buyers they could get a similar phone from another manufacturer for a lot less.

Ten days ago he hit the headlines when he said O2’s tariffs were up to four times more expensive than those charged to iPhone users in the North and Britain.

At 8am yesterday, a handful of buyers were waiting outside O2’s Experience shop in Grafton Street, Dublin, to be the first in the Republic to get their hands on the phones.

Sales staff at Cork’s O2 store in Patrick Street said about 40 to 50 phones had been “pre-booked” by customers, who called in to collect the devices when they went on sale.

O2 spokeswoman Fiona Dowling said trade had been brisk, but declined to say how many of the phones had been sold or ordered in advance.

“We’re not releasing sales or booking figures,” she said.

The Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI) said yesterday Irish buyers were getting a raw deal from the iPhone, which is only available through O2.

“This is a perfect opportunity for consumers to delay and hold back and put pressure on O2 to reduce the tariffs,” said CAI chief executive Dermott Jewell.

“There’s no choice and no competition as only O2 are providing the phone, so the only way rates will come down is through direct pressure from consumers.”

O2’s cheapest deal, for a €399 phone and a €45-a-month bill for 175 minutes’ call time, compares unfavourably to the same company’s deal in Britain and the North.

Over the Irish Sea O2’s cheapest deal costs customers 350 for the iPhone and 45 a month for 600 minutes — almost four times as much calling time.

O2 has said the Irish calling rates on the Apple iPhone are in line with the costs charged in continental Europe.