From
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4610626a28.html
LATEST: Many Kiwis are complaining that the eagerly awaited iPhone 3G, due
to go on sale on Friday, is too expensive.
Vodafone is selling Apple's 8 gigabyte iPhone 3G from $199, but to get this
price customers must sign up to a 24-month plan charging $250 per month. The
plan includes voice calls, SMS and 1GB of data per month.
Click here to see the plans.
Other plans charge $80 or $130 per month for 250MB and 500MB respectively,
with the 8GB handset costing $549 or $449 respectively.
The 16GB iPhone models cost $150 more in each case.
Vodafone isn't selling the iPhone on pre-pay in New Zealand.
An online petition has started up, asking Vodafone New Zealand to sell the
iPhone as a pre-pay device. It currently has more than 500 signatures.
Comments on Stuff.co.nz today were overwhelmingly critical of the prices.
"I was seriously considering buying an iPhone come Friday, but I would feel
like an idiot signing up for a $250 a month cellphone plan. Sorry, that is
ridiculous. I knew that Vodafone would aim high, but not that high," one
post read.
Another suggested an alternative to Vodafone's plans: "I'm just going to
unlock one from the States instead, should be much cheaper."
And another was more blunt: "One word - stupid"
The iPhone in New Zealand will cost from $2469 to $6199 over two years,
depending on the plan and how much is paid up front.
iPhone prices overseas are broadly comparable to this but often cheaper.
Direct comparisons are difficult because of varying plans and exchange
rates.
In Australia the 8GB iPhone will be free on a 24-month Optus plan, charging
A$79 (NZ$105) per month for 700MB of data. Over two years this works out to
$A1896 (NZ$2520).
Optus' 250MB plan costs A$49 per month, with a A$7 monthly charge for the
handset. This works out to A$1344 (NZ$1706) over two years, about NZ$800
less than Vodafone New Zealand's 250MB iPhone plan.
Optus will also sell the 8GB model pre-pay for A$729 (NZ$926), the 16GB
model for A$849 (NZ$1080), according to smh.com.au.
In the US AT&T will sell the iPhone for US$199 (NZ$264) on a US$70 (NZ$92)
per month contract, with unlimited data. Over two years this works out to
US$1879 (NZ$2494).
In the UK, carrier O2 sells the 8GB version for £99 (NZ$258), with an
18-month, £30 per month contract. This gives unlimited data again, and runs
at £819 (NZ$2137) over two years at current exchange rates.
In Canada, Rogers is offering a 400MB per month plan for C$60, selling the
8GB iPhone for C$199. This is a three year contract but works out to C$1639
($NZ2135) over two years.
NZ iPhone prices disappoint fans 
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