With the new iPhone 3Gs being released shortly, I am again thinking of getting one. The camera has been improved, the capacity increased and it is now a lot faster (2x apparently).
The problem is that with Vodafone, you only get 3G in the main cities in New Zealand as the iPhone doesn’t support 3G on 900mhz.
However, Telecom XT has a nationwide 3G network on 850mhz which the iPhone does support but Telecom haven’t announced they will be selling it yet. Therefore you need to get one from Vodafone and port it over to Telecom XT. Without a phone subsidy the total cost over the contact is a lot more. See:
Cost wise, Vodafone obviously wins due to the phone subsidy. However, without full 3G support nationwide, is it enough to have 3G only in the city (I probably spend 95% of my time in the city)?
Hopefully Telecom will get the iPhone as its contact is a lot better.
I will update once the 3Gs prices are released.
* the prices are based on the current iPhone 3G 16g at Vodafone, not the iPhone 3Gs. It would be cheaper to get a parallel import one to use on Telecom since Vodafone probably wont support the warranty if you use it on Telecom.
