You might get stung by the excess data usage of iPhone 3G if you’re not careful with your data usage. That means phone bills hitting the three digit and even four digit mark!
Telcos such as Telstra are charging $2 per megabyte over the data allowance ($2000 per gigabyte) and Optus are charging $0.35 per megabyte over ($350 per gigabyte).
Google Maps on the iPhone 3G is not actually fully installed onto the device but rather downloads the data through the Internet. I have met quite a few people thinking that Google Maps usage is actually free.
Also with the massive closure of Starbucks stores around Sydney, Telstra will be loosing a big chunk of their free wifi hotspots. However, Telstra still has a big partnership with McDonalds that offers free wifi access.
There are rumours that the 3 network might be able to get their hands on the iPhone 3G as Virgin Mobile has already done so.
As more and more telcos are starting to enter the iPhone market, you should be seeing pricing plans dropping as the competition heats up.
It’s quite a big disappointment to see the three large telcos coming up with pretty crappy iPhone pricing plans and data allowance. I personally would wait another month or so and see if anything drastic happens.
But if you can’t keep your fingers in your pocket, then start heading over to the Sydney Apple store. It can take up to 2 hours to process so best bet to get in early.
I’m surprised anyone ran their iPhone through Optus, considering the terrible network quality and the shoddy systems that the company runs everything on. Plus even though there is a legitimate chance of exceeding your data plan by using Google Maps (a lot of sales staff don’t bother to mention excess data charges), the metering systems are incredibly unreliable anyway. You might see 5MB on My Account, and 3MB on your iPhone, but you’ll get charged for 10MB. And you can’t dispute it either, even though you’ve been watching your data using the tools Optus gave you.