Danny Gorog04 August 2008, 2:50 PM
UPDATED | Want to buy an iPhone 3G? We've gone through all the plans from all the telcos to find the best of the best.
Page 8 - Best plans for iPhone 2G and other smartphones
This section of the article by Dan Warne
Got a smartphone or a first-gen iPhone and wish you could get a iPhone 3G-like plan for it? A couple of the smaller 'virtual' mobile networks are coming to your rescue.
One of the undeniably sexy things about the iPhone is that all the telcos are vying to offer the best value they can -- and that means large amounts of data usage at rates that have never been seen on mobiles before.
For example, on a $79 plan, Optus offers iPhone users $550 worth of calls and 700MB of data. Sure, the data amount is small compared to what US-based iPhone users get ("unlimited") -- but then, the best deal Optus offers for other smartphones is $79 for $550 worth of calls and no data at all.
Usually, Optus charges $4.95 for 10MB, $9.95 for 30MB or $14.95 for 200MB usage per month on any phone except the iPhone.
However, several telcos offer a better deal for phone users who don't want to be ripped off on the data side of things.
Virgin Mobile's data bolt-ons are refreshingly affordable, and can actually offer iPhone-like value to users of any phone. Virgin charges $5 for 50MB, $10 for 300MB or $15 for 1GB. When you consider that to get 1GB on Optus with a regular smartphone you'd have to sign on to a $149 per month plan, Virgin's $15-for-1GB fee on top of any of their bring-your-own-phone plans is great. It only works on post-paid (monthly billed) plans for now -- but Virgin says prepaid data bolt ons are not far away.
Admittedly, Virgin's capped plans are a bit average in their voice calling value -- calls are charged at 80c per minute with a 40c connection fee, and a $45 plan only offers $250 worth of these rather expensive calls. However, if, like many tech enthusiasts, you use the net on your phone a lot and try to keep your calling down, the plans are pretty good.
Boost Mobile has also launched a pre-paid plan for users who want a decent amount of data on their handsets.
A $30 recharge on the Boost Mobile Super Cap gives "over $150 of value" for talk and text plus 50MB of data to use surfing the web from your handset.
For heavier usage, a $70 recharge gets you 300MB of data and $580 worth of calls.
Neither of the plans offer a huge amount of data, but at least they are prepaid, so you can't be stung with massive excess usage rates. You can roll over call and data credits if you recharge within 30 days.