o2 confirmed launch of iPhone in Ireland – March 14th

And now to wait for the details…

You are cordially invited to attend a media briefing with O2 Ireland Chief Executive, Danuta Gray, to launch the Apple iPhone in Ireland, exclusively on the O2 network. Danuta Gray will also discuss O2 Ireland’s Q4 Financial Results issued today.

WHEN: 11.15am, Thursday 28th February, 2008
WHERE: O2 Ireland HQ, 28 – 29 Sir John Rogersons Quay, Dublin 2
WHAT: Launch of the Apple iPhone exclusively on O2 Ireland’s network

Update:
Thanks to Brian

Pricing:
€399 for 8GB
€499 for 16GB
(In the States these are in dollars, bit of a difference there)

Tariffs:
Monthly charge €45 €65 €100 Units
Anytime minutes included* 175 350 700 Mins
Texts included* 100 150 250 Texts
Data included** 1GB 1GB 1GB GB
Additional calls 20c 20c 20c Per min
Additional texts 10c 10c 10c Per texts
Voicemail*** 15c 15c 15c Per min

* Unused inclusive minutes and texts cannot be carried over to the following month
** Data use in excess of the 1GB allowance will be charged at 2c per MB excluding roaming
*** Visual voicemail is not currently supported.

All iPhone tariffs are subject to an 18 month agreement. It is a requirement that when purchasing iPhone that you pay your monthly bill by Bank Direct Debit or Credit Card Direct Debit.

To guarantee availability of iPhone, you can place a pre-order at any O2 Store between 28th February and 13th March. You will need to pay a deposit of €100, provide proof of identity and provide proof of residence.

Thoughts: No unlimited data. In fact even with the 100 quid a month package you still only get 1GB. Stingy! Pricing of handsets is too much when you can get them in the States for $399 and $499 dollars. Premium of 140%?

Further thoughts: If you have an unlocked iPhone you got say from the States or even from o2 could you put in an existing sim and add their 10Gb data package to it?

42 Responses to “o2 confirmed launch of iPhone in Ireland – March 14th”

  1. […] Update 1: Announcement to be made at 11:15am in O2’s Dublin HQ (via Damien Mulley) […]

  2. Who will be live blogging this I wonder? If only I was still unemployed I’d follow it second by second!

  3. […] If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my site using a feedreader or email. Thanks for visiting – Damien.Updated 2: Full details of iPhone in Ireland […]

  4. Damien B says:

    Important thing to remember about the US prices is that they’re pre-tax – depending on what state, you’ll pay a small premium of 5-7% in tax. Here it’s 21%, which takes you a good way towards the Irish price.

    Quite surprised by O2’s plans, disappointed. I think I’ll stick with Vodafone for the time being anyway.

  5. roosta says:

    what a complete rip-off.

    great product sunk by horrible pricing. no thanks.

  6. Liam says:

    Here’s a comparision of the o2 Ireland versus o2 iphone tariffs:

    Ireland:
    €45 – 175 mins, 100 texts, 1GB data
    €65 – 350 mins, 150 texts. 1GB data
    €85 – 700 mins, 250 texts, 1GB data

    UK:
    £35 – 600 mins, 500 texts, unlimited data
    £45 – 1200 mins, 500 text, unlimited data

    Once again, the Irish consumer is getting a raw deal!
    £75 – 3000 mins, 500 texts, unlimited data

  7. Adam says:

    Or you could cross the border and get one for €353/€431 respectively…

  8. Eoin O'Leary says:

    I for one am crossing the iPhone off my wish list, there is no way I’m paying THAT for 18 months, for the “privilege” of owning an iPhone.

  9. Carlos Quinoa says:

    Personally I think, if these are the prices, that is a joke. … for a GSM mobile.

    I think the best option still is go to US, or even buy in eBay as free sim and stick inside a pay as you go sim, under no circunstance I would pay 45€ for 175 min and 100 texts.

    No way !!!

  10. Wendy says:

    Could one purchase an iphone in the us have it unblocked to use on 02 network if one wanted?

  11. Mark says:

    @ Wendy – yes. Google it or here is a good starting point http://iphone.unlock.no

  12. Niall O Broin says:

    Although you COULD happily (until an update bricks it) use an unlocked iPhone here with another O2 SIM (or any other, for that matter) presumably only the iPhone plans will give you the very good integration of phone and voice mail which the iPhone has.

  13. Liam says:

    [Correction of my previous post]

    A comparision of the o2 Ireland versus o2 UK iphone tariffs:

    Ireland:
    €45 – 175 mins, 100 texts, 1GB data
    €65 – 350 mins, 150 texts. 1GB data
    €100 – 700 mins, 250 texts, 1GB data
    NO visual voicemail, NO wifi hotspot access

    UK:
    £35 (~€47) – 600 mins, 500 texts, unlimited data
    £45 (~€60) – 1200 mins, 500 text, unlimited data
    £75 (~€100) – 3000 mins, 500 texts, unlimited data
    Visual voicemail, access to UK-wide wifi hotspots.

    IMHO, a total ripoff! Once again, the Irish consumer is getting a raw deal!
    It’s well known that iphone sales have been poor in the UK because of the cost of the iphone itself and the mandatory 18-month contract. The o2 UK tariffs above are an improvement on what was originally on offer at the time of the UK launce. I think these phones are being dumped on Irish consumers.

  14. Damien B says:

    @liam – You think they’re being dumped on Irish customers, by charging us more both for the handset and then for usage? That’s the exact opposite of what is generally considered “dumping” in economic terms.

    If the iPhones were selling poorly in the UK, and they wanted to get rid, surely they’d make either handsets or usage cheaper here?

    The O2 tariffs are very, very disappointing. I picked one up in the north a few weeks ago, and am using in on Vodafone. I had intended to bring it on to O2 when the tariffs were available, as I assumed that they’d have visual voicemail (I get a lot of voicemail) and unlimited mobile data. Appartently not.

  15. Carlos says:

    …… thats a good point, we are talking about the data, voicemail and so. What about the network …. I cannot imagine seeing my emails in the country side.. .. I don’t think the network is prepared.

    That could be a good explanation for the high price data and so on .. routers gonna start to be burned as soon as you sell 10k mobiles, if you not contain the demand.

    Anyway … who want an iphone, bring it from outside, but don’t pay 1200eur ( between contract and monthly price ) …

    Thats my opinion

  16. Liam says:

    @Damien B – Yes, they’re being dumped (from ilounge: “… the current EDGE iPhone platform is being ramped down earlier than expected to “clean” inventories.” http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/ubs-infineon-chip-to-power-3g-iphone-coming-mid-year/13532). Irish consumers are happy to put up with bad value and if they’re not, they won’t complain. The Irish mobile market is a real cash cow for the Irish arm of the o2 group. Value for money is not a phrase that Irish mobile companies are familiar with.

  17. McAWilliams says:

    Well I for one am going to write a letter of complaint about this supposed competitive pricing structure. The price of the phone does not bother me at all but I am fucked if I am going to pay 45 euro for 1gig of data.

    The Itouch is looking very very attractive at this stage 32 gig for less then the price of the 16gig, I think I could do with out a camera and phone tbh.

    I could not wait for this to come out as I use the internet quite a bit on my phone but this is scandalous.

  18. Carlos says:

    Here we go, just look at this …. another theory about the network from 02 in Ireland … “visual voicemail is not currently supported.”

  19. Declan says:

    Will O2 try to push us into using iMode on the iPhone? 😉

    I was seriously considering buying one but now having seen these comparisons between here and the UK I’m having second thoughts.

  20. So does anyone think Apple will achieve its global sales targets for the iPhone with the help of the O2-Ireland marketing strategy?

  21. Declan says:

    They wont need a marketing strategy, the media is giving them enough free advertising already just talking about the release.

  22. DNoelD says:

    I have to agree with the sentiments expressed here.
    I am extremely surprised at the Phone pricing.
    8 GB -£269 Sterling at todays rate = €352 against €399 Here – €47 Difference
    16 GB – £329 Sterling at todays rate – €431 against €499 Here -€68 Difference.
    (Are they taking the mickey or what???)
    Then….. to add insult to injury:-
    No Visual Voice mail!
    No Unlimited Data!

    Ireland:
    €45 – 175 mins, 100 texts, 1GB data
    €65 – 350 mins, 150 texts. 1GB data
    €100 – 700 mins, 250 texts, 1GB data
    15c for each voice mail !!!
    NO visual voicemail, NO wifi hotspot access

    UK:
    £35 (~€47) – 600 mins, 500 texts, unlimited data
    £45 (~€60) – 1200 mins, 500 text, unlimited data
    £75 (~€100) – 3000 mins, 500 texts, unlimited data
    Visual voicemail, access to UK-wide wifi hotspots.

    Guys… any way you look at it..WE are getting a raw deal.

    BUT .. let me tell you my situation.
    Bought a iPhone last November, Updated to current 1.1.4 version (which includes edge data for O2 Ireland) and Jailbroken, Unlocked and using my current tariff which includes a nice chunk of Data …and I’m sticking with that and waiting until a 3G model comes out before even dreaming of changing!

    Great Phone – Ruined by Bad Pricing Structures.
    C’mon Apple – Cop on!!!!

  23. […] O2 are launching the iphone in Ireland at why-don’t-you-just-rape-me prices. Smart move. They’re targeting the sucker generation with the ultimate sucker device. It’s a device designed for suckers. The iPhone relies on people being blinded by first-mover technology and uses that as an excuse for a business model that is the phone-contract equivelant of going around to the users mothers house and giving her a bit of a beating. […]

  24. Adam says:

    erm… odd.

    Just reading John Collins’ piece in tomorrow’s (friday’s) Irish Times and it keeps referring to 12 gigabytes… an o2 spokesperson is even quoted saying 12 gigabyte.

    So is that just a mess up on John’s part, a mess up on o2’s part (either with John or with their press release) or is it that you get 12 gigabytes a year/18 months as opposed to 1 gigabyte a month?

  25. […] facility for your Catholic guilt. Result! We’ll take ten – does it come in cerise? more: o2 Confirmed Launch Of iPhone In Ireland (Damien Mulley) 3G iPhone By End Of Year? (Silicon […]

  26. Sinéad says:

    I’m not at all surprised by these rip offs.

  27. Agreed, the tariffs are terrible. And to top it all off Danuta Grey is calling her potential customers freaks.

    Definitely going to hold out for a while now and see how this plays out. My 3 contract is suddenly looking like even better value now!

  28. Justin Mason says:

    this is hilarious. I can’t imagine what they think they’re achieving with this, considering how it’s relatively simple to buy one elsewhere and jailbreak it….

  29. […] we have a large multinational carrier pulling a fast on the Irish consumer. This time its O2 in the guise of the launch of the long awaiting […]

  30. Can’t believe the ‘freaks’ comment … not a way to endear yourself!

  31. Jeff Mason says:

    o2 are a complete ripoff.

    I bought an iphone from PhoneVolts.ie – sim free and not a bad price!

    even thougn i am on o2 its much better value to buy it unlocked without a bill/contract

    Br
    JM

  32. Stanper says:

    Not that up to date on the whole internet usage over the mobile phone thing, But am i correct in assuming that one can connect to a wifi connection for email and internet usage on the iphone with the o2 package without using up the monthly allowance of 1GB

    Also how much usage will 1GB amount to in sites visited?

    Will this phone sync with you m/s outlook 2007 getting conflicting info from the phone shop guy.?

  33. Joe Lennon says:

    Stanper: Yes you can connect to a Wi-Fi network when available without using up the 1gb allowance.

    If a web page is 140kb in size (suggested average size at http://www.optimizationweek.com/reviews/average-web-page/) then you would be able to visit 7,314 web pages with 1gb. Mind you if you use YouTube, Maps, have your emails download regularly or download software with Installer.app this allowance would diminish much more quickly.

    Yes, the iPhone will sync with Outlook 2007 – http://www.apple.com/uk/itunes/sync/iphone.html

  34. Justin Mason says:

    1GB is utterly pathetic. here’s some figures.

    First off, 1GB per month translates as 33MB per day.

    Browsing to Google Maps, and zooming in a couple of steps, used up 3430KB of network traffic over the course of 10 seconds for me just now. So using Google Maps, alone, for only 1 minute and 36 seconds each day would hit the limit.

    MP3s nowadays would typically be about 5MB each in size. so a gig limit means you could download or stream 6 MP3s per day before hitting the cap. not much use for online music then either.

    Using Google Reader to read some blogs eats up about 270KB per 10 seconds. So you could read blogs for 20 minutes per day before you’d hit the cap.

    Obviously, these combine — so that might mean that 2 mp3s combined with 5 minutes Google Reader use, plus 20 seconds of mapping per day, would be enough to breach the limit.

  35. Stefan says:

    I’m with Juston here.

    1GB is pathetic. why does the uk get much much more than us in Ireland? once again another reason for me to leave this pathetic country. Don;t get me started on the road tax ripoff!

  36. Carlos says:

    … for me since the beginning is a network problem, they physically cannot offer more than 1Gb for this network…. Do we have 3G in this network? or is only GPRS, it is the second one, who can imagine loads of us surfing at the sametime with this or another device ? I cannot.

    As well, they will not offer visual voicemail, because again, we need improvement from the network … as Danuta Grey called us, “freaks”, lets gonna show them we are freaks, but not stupid.

    Lets see how long gonna take until the prices drop ….

  37. John Bosco says:

    I’ve cancel my order for the iPhone and o2 with their no brain CEO can go and walk the plank.love cockney slang hahaha.No cash from me to them..I’ll wait until the 32Gb is on the market and by then we’ll have a better idea of who can give us the best deal.Look at patphelan.net He’s the man 🙂

  38. Molly says:

    I am considering buying the iphone 3G from the U.S.A and getting it unblocked and using my vodafone net as the tariffs from 02 are very expensive.
    Does anyone have any information on where to get it ulocked and the price to do so.
    Many Thanks .
    Molly

  39. Fergus Brophy says:

    Hi Guys. I got a BlackBerry Storm from vodafone there not bad you can pay your bill in four ways /bank / credit card /Bill pay/Post office/which is not bad. If you are thinking of geting a BlackBerry Storm heres some things i think you should know at the moment there is no tv on vodafone live for the blackberry theres a sortware problem but vodafone are geting it fixed
    the battery is not that good it drains very quick. all and all not a bad fone
    the price plan i am on is /100/ 49 a month the tv is in that as well as 1GB
    and theres 1GB email as well.