Vlad

Everybody is talking about it: the iPhone 3G was officially announced. And although until now I tried to stay out of this frenzy, the new specs and availability to global markets is making it more and more appealing.

Of course, it took less than a couple of hours for Nokia fanboys to raise their voice. And since the tech specs are pretty much hard to top, they picked on the price.

So, is the new iPhone more expensive?

More expensive than what? The old iPhone? Can’t really compare apples to oranges Nokia handsets? Actually, the only Nokia which comes close to the iPhone in specs is the N82. So let’s see how this compares.

But before we start, let’s take a look at the assumptions I’ve made:

• All prices are on Euro and based on existing prices on the local market (for the N82) or expected prices (for the iPhone 3G I expect Orange to charge 199 Euros not USD)
• The “standalone” Nokia N82 is for the really cheap type using a prepaid card for voice (mostly receiving) and WLAN for data and outbound calls (VoIP).
• The Vodafone subscription fee is for 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, quoted from their website.
• The Orange 30 Euro / month is an expected subscription (similar to confirmed AT&T 30 USD / month)

That being said, let’s see how they stack up:

As you can see, the ideea that the iPhone is more expensive is simply preposterous! Unless you’re cheap enough to be getting a 500 Euro phone and using it with a prepaid card.

Otherwise, at a similar cost you get a phone that’s much better looking, with a larger screen and easier to use, especially on the Internet. The real downside is the camera, this is where the N82 rocks. But then again, I don’t see too many miracles on N82 Flicker.

Ok, done my part of looking like a mac fanboy, will get back to my Nokia E61 which suits me just fine! (at least ’till July 11th)