Ireland and Austria get iPhones, and the shaft

[wraggster]

As we expected, Apple just loosed the iPhone into Ireland and Austria. €399 nabs the 8GB model while €499 takes the 16GB unit home. T-Mobile has the honors for Austria as it does in Germany while O2 carries the flag in Ireland as it does in the UK. Interestingly, Irish subscribers are not entitled to Visual Voicemail or free WiFi even though you get both on O2 UK -- neither country offers an unlimited data plan. Tsk tsk. Regardless, early adopters from those countries already had their unlocked iPhones months ago which makes the launch just a formality at this point.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/14/ireland-and-austria-get-iphones-and-the-shaft/

[mrquiteaguy]

Shafted isnt the word.
More about the Iphone & terms here in Ireland
Taken from RTE news.

"There have been calls for a boycott of the devices when they go on sale next week until the discrepancies are addressed.
iPhone tariffs north and south of the border are divided into three price brackets. All customers have to sign up to an 18 month contract.

In Northern Ireland, users paying £35 sterling (€45.65) get 600 minutes of call time and 500 texts.

By contrast the basic €45 subscription here gives only 175 minutes and 100 texts.

Northern subscribers on the middle tariff of £45 (€58.70) get 1,200 minutes and 500 texts, compared to the 350 minutes and 150 texts for people paying €65 a month in Ireland.

The high end subscription of £75 sterling (€97.83) gives users 3,000 minutes of talk time and 500 texts. In the Republic of Ireland, o2's highest iPhone tariff costs €100 and gives 700 minutes and 250 texts per month.

In addition, Irish consumers using the iPhone to access the internet are subject to a 1gb data limit each month, before extra charges are applied, regardless of their subscription plan.

In the UK, users on all tariffs have unlimited data allowances."

It takes the gloss off the iphone for me. :(