Subscribe3 Hong Kong Doubles the Price of 3G iPhones
Written by Angus Lau June 30th, 2008 . Tags: 3G iPhone, Apple, Hong Kong.We all know the 3G iPhone will be a hit, I’ve waited knowing they had plans to release a 3G version after the launch of the 2G version. In Hong Kong, the sole provider, 3 Hong Kong, is taking advantage of this and have jacked up the prices. As a clueless consumer (not reading fine print), I only care about price tag and when I see the price tag of $2938 HKD (~$380 USD) for an 8GB iPhone and $3738 HKD (~$480 USD) for the 16GB, there is something fishy with how 3 HK is operating. On top of that, who knows what the Prepayment Price mean, it’s not clearly stated and doesn’t have any notes, so will that be charged too? Who knows, but wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Yes, there are other plans, but they are still considerable expensive to the Apple price.
Prices in Hong Kong Dollars
From what I can gather with the little attention I’ve given the iPhone, Cingular offers them at the Apple price, I don’t see why 3 HK has jacked up the price. Does Apple allow carriers to adjust pricing as they like? I have no clue and would like to know.
Yea, I do plan on getting the iPhone, but not at that price and definitely not through 3 HK. I don’t think consumers should either, but we are in Hong Kong, where most of the youths are willing to pay any premium to have the latest and greatest gadgets.
Update: What I forgot to mention is that all the other 3G plans here from 3 and other carriers are priced $40-50 HKD less than the iPhones. Now if it’s coming from a US consumer perspective, $188 HKD is cheap.
The way I’m reading this, if you get the maximum plan at $498 per month, get a two year contract and prepay 9 months in advance, the 8 gig iPhone is free and the 16 gig iPhone is $138. If I’m correct, that’s well in line with US pricing for the service and much cheaper for the handset, so not bad at all.
We know that certain countries will be selling the iPhone unlocked - e.g. Italy will sell the 8 gig for 500 euros and the 16 gig for 600 euros. These are bound to get over here on the gray market. So that’s HK$7,400 for an unlocked 16 gig iPhone - before the local guys mark it up.
So as much as I hate to say it, Three’s plan might not be so bad. I’ll stop into a 3 shop this week to try to get more details.
It’s not so bad - the $268 price works out to about the right US$ amount that Apple said (US$199 and $299 respectively).
Prepayment price is paid up front in addition to the handset price and is divided by 24 - and that much is knocked off your bill each month. So if the handset was $2000, prepayment was $2400, then you would pay $4400 up front, and $100 would be credited to your account every month.
The prepayment thing is to deter people from cancelling contracts, since OFTA prohibited carriers from locking HK phones unless there was a security reason (e.g. rental phones) or if the carrier had subsidised the phone.
I would assume therefore that HK iPhones can have other sims inserted when roaming, but it would be worth confirming that with 3.
I think 500MB is actually pretty reasonable. I know other phone packages have better pricing plans; but if that’s the case, then get another phone. You pay a premium for new technology.
Crunch Gear says that the HK plan for the iPhone is the world’s cheapest.
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/06/30/want-a-cheap-iphone-3g-datavoice-plan/
They’re reading it the same way I am.
Thanks for some insights Spike and Walnut. Yea, if you do the math, it is cheaper and I’ve been getting this, “cheaper than other carriers in the world” and the “if you add it all up, it’s still cheaper than US”, from all my friends as well. Unfortunately for me, I’m not in US and not making the salary I was back then (IT jobs gets no respect here), so the $188/month can add up.
In comparison, my current plan has similar talktime with the basics, and I have unlimited wifi access (at certain locations), all for around 100HKD. I can even knock it down if I wanted to.
I’m also not excited about contracts in HK. Call me silly (from experience), but I have this negative view on all HK companies, they are always trying to milk every penny possible from their customers.
I guess the bottom line is, I am unwilling to pay a premium for technology (not in HK), but in HK, people jack the prices up on everything and I mean everything. Guess I’ll wait til the frenzy is over, it’s only a phone, that’s what I’ll keep telling myself.
Just saw the plans for AT&T in the US. OK, so Hong Kong isn’t so bad after all. So, this $199/$299 pricing is what….
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/01/att-iphone-3g-pricing-revealed/
Having recently moved back to the States from HK, I have to say the options and costs you are paying are a lot better than here.
Hey Angus,
Agree with your thoughts on HK companies and their insistence to bind you into contracts, but one thing that I’ve found that the Telcos have over the other providers (ok, despite most being owned by the same people) is that the cell companies don’t force you into further contracts after yours runs out.
For example, Now TV (who I like to refer to as “bunch of useless a-holes” refuse to let you go on a month by month contract after your term expires. You either pay for another contract or you disconnect the channel or service. So, you might have 6 channel contracts each ending at different times. Ridiculous and greedy.
On the contrary, I’ve gone through an 18 month and 24 month contract with 3. Both times at the end of the contract they flicked me onto month-by-month payments, and I could terminate at any time with 30 days notice and no penalty fee. That sort of flexibility has kept me with them. They may cost a little more but I’ve found their service to actually be quite good. I’m not a heavy user (I spend around $300 per month, but more if roaming) but the fact that they only require you to go into contracts if you are buying a discounted handset and the fact that you can walk in with your own phone and not require a set term contract to get hooked up is quite something when compared with other HK practices.
The news over the wires this morning (particularly with Ars Technica) is that HK is by far the best place to be re 3G iPhone purchases. Have you seen the shafting that Canada is getting? They have to pay minimum CDN$60 per month, another CDN$7 for “Spectrum licensing fee” (it’s not a tax - it’s the HK restaurant equivalent of a service charge I guess, CDN$15 to activate CALLER ID (unreal, huh?) and their minutes are separated into off peak and peak minutes - with sod all allowance on either side. Check out www.ruinediphone.com
So, all in all I think we get it pretty good, esp if the SIM is exchangeable (for overseas roaming).
Amazing what a little competition can do, especially when there is a body to actually regulate it (OFTA). Imagine how good HK would be if other shady HK dealings (e.g. property) were also regulated?
Hey Angus, I’m in HK and working in IT too! I’m fortunate, I suppose, in that my company pays my mobile bill, but that will come to an end soon.
I’m not sure if I will go with 3 for the iPhone because some people claim their network coverage is spotty and I live in an odd spot. And it may be too expensive to get out of my current contract with SmarTone. Maybe I’ll wait for the madness to die down and then see how much an unlocked iPhone sells for in Mong Kok.
On the other hand, I was in a place tonight that didn’t have WiFi, I needed to access a web page, and it was taking so long on my 2G iPhone that I eventually gave up.
Will other operators in Hong Kong also sell IPhone soon? I thought I read it somewhere that for the 3G phone, it is not exclusive outside US..
Is the 3 Hong Kong version that is on sale now unlocked?
I’ve heard that the phone from 3HK will work on other carriers. Someone might want to confirm this.
double checked with 3HK salesman. iphone purchased from 3HK can be used with any carrier SIM.