Apple.es and Movistar (the carrier of the iPhone in Spain) have just published pricing and information on available contracts. First impression: SUCK! Movistar really knows how to take the fun away from 3G! They cap the maximum download speed to 200MB/s when you sign up for the basic iPhone plan for €15 a month.
€15 a month sounds good, eh? Well, take a look at this:
The big bummer is the minimum amount you have to spend on calls a month. I decided to go for the for the €20 option, which means I have to shell out €129 for the 8GB and €189 for the 16GB. I haven’t decided yet on which one to get.
Now if you decide to go for the iPhone Plus tariff, it’ll cost you €25 per month and give you 1GB/s download speed. But don’t get too excited, because you’re basically fucked:
As you can see, they want you to spend a minimum of €60 on top of the €25 monthly fee. So in order to get the higher download speed, you’d have to pay €85 per month — €60 just for regular calls! I mean, does a person who wants faster 3G usually make more calls? Of course not! What’s the logic there? It’s really frustrating — just a straight-up money grab.
I am willing to pay €25 Euros for faster speed, €20 on calls and €129-189 for the phone. But the €60-90 minimum consumption is too much.
Oh well, tomorrow morning, I’m going to get one anyway 
. Anyone else?
Link: Apple - iPod Spain
Ross wrote,
The phone launched here in Australia last night. The plans are also really sucky, but not as bad as NZ (they are really getting shafted over there). I am off to Beijing for 2 weeks on Sunday, gonna wait till I get back and the dust has settled and then get me a 16gb in white, and a 16gb in black for Mark… can’t wait.
Link | July 11th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Davide wrote,
Hi,
I’ve just had a look at movistar.es. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think the maximum download speed is not limited 200MB/s when you sign up for the basic iPhone plan for €15 a month. What I got is that it gets slower when you exceed the 200MB quota (for the expensive contract the quota is 1GB).
Davide
Link | July 11th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Mr. Bigby wrote,
So when it’s all said and done, how much per month is it gonna run you? Not counting the price of phone.
Link | July 11th, 2008 at 11:24 am
valencia blog wrote,
Davide,
yeah I think are right. Thank you for pointing that out. I owe you an answer in the forums. Didn’t forget you ;).
Big Bro Bigby - the plan I am going to pick is going to cost: 129 for the phone, 15 monthly contract fee (including the data) and 20 prepurchased on calls - so 35 Euros a month. Which is all together ain’t bad.
Link | July 11th, 2008 at 11:53 am
valencia blog wrote,
Update:
Only one Movistar store was selling the phone today and they only had a 100 or so. Which means they sold out and I wasn’t one of the lucky ones. SUCK!
Link | July 11th, 2008 at 11:56 am
skykid wrote,
I am hoping to get this phone - but when Vodaphone starts selling it . For some reason I do not like Movistar. Still do not know when this will going to happen - even if my Mom says that it wont take more than 2-3 months
Link | July 16th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
valencia blog wrote,
Skykid,
I think the iphone won’t come out with an other carrier in Spain any time soon. There are chances once Apple releases a new generation of that phone.
Link | July 16th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Erik R. wrote,
This is not true. It is what the initial pricing table implies, but you can get the 25€/month 1GB fast data limit with the minimum voice minutes. As the guy in the Telefonica store told me, “We’re always willing to let you get the more expensive option.” He said that once you choose the 25€ option, you can’t move back down to 15€, but you can move the other way if you find that 200MB of fast data isn’t enough. So the 15€ is the more reasonable thing to sign up for first. You can always move to the more expensive option later.
Link | July 17th, 2008 at 8:27 am
valencia blog wrote,
Erik,
thank you very much for clearing that up. I start off with the 15 Euros. Will changing to the higher download rate later effect the 2 year contract though?
Link | July 17th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Tommy wrote,
Is it possible to buy the iPhone in Spain as a foreigner, unbound by a carrier?
Link | August 4th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
valencia blog wrote,
Tommy,
I am afraid that is not possible. But I assume if you pay the monthly fee and min call time they should unlock it for you. Not really sure how that will be in praxis.
If you find out more, let us know.
Link | August 4th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Katie wrote,
I am thinking of buying the Iphone in Spain. I live in an area where WIFI is not common. So will it only work in the house alongside my adsl?
Link | August 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Mickey Mouse wrote,
Interesting article and comments. Valencia Blog et al… try not to make the mistake of attempting to apply logic or common sense to anything that happens in Spain, especially when it comes to telecoms, and even more especially when it comes to dealing with Telefonica/Movistar!
Link | August 18th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
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