iPhone Japan and Other International Pricing
Japanese mobile carrier Softbank announced pricing for the iPhone 3G which will be launched on July 11th, 2008. Softbank will sell the iPhone 3G for 23,040 yen ($214.6) with a monthly charge of 7,280 yen ($67). The service plan provides unlimited data usage and also allows subscribers to talk free between Softbank subscribers for most of the day. This is 70% higher than the average rate plan in Japan of 4,310 yen ($40). Softbank believes they will be able to attract new users to their service:
"We expect users who pay a lot to migrate from au (KDDI's mobile arm) and DoCoMo," Son told a group of reporters. "There have been users who were just attracted to our low price, but the main point this time is feature attractiveness rather than price."
DoCoMo was also in talks with Apple and has "not given up on talks".
Softbank warns that they expect the first supply to "evaporate instantly" and "we in the company will probably fight to get one as well."
Meanwhile, details of other international pricing and service plans have been emerging, including (unconfirmed):
- UK PAYG iPhone priced at 370
- One Australian customer completed an online survey about phones and price plans and listed the iPhone at $220 upfront and $80/mo service plan but may just be speculative pricing.
- iPhone Mexico rates leaked?
- Vodafone and TIM (Italy) announced unsubsidized pricing 499 and 569 euro (8GB and 16GB).
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...