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The iPhone: Orange vs. O2

Published 24 November 2009 in Get the best deal

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Szu Ping Chan

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19 comments

The iPhone is now available on Orange. How do its tariffs compare with O2's?

So it's finally happened. The iPhone, so long shackled to mobile operator O2, has decided to break rank and jump into bed with the other networks.

First to announce the move in September was Vodafone, and its iPhone will hit the shelves early next year.

It was closely followed by Orange, which quickly released its iPhone deal on November 10.

But if you're thinking of ditching your current handset in favour of an iPhone, which network offers better value for money? Here's what you need to know.

Monthly cost of O2 and Orange iPhone deals

The first thing we should do is look at price, and what both networks are offering for your cash.

Here's how the networks compare on an 18 month contract:

Monthly Cost

£30*

£35*

£45*

£75*

O2 iPhone 3G 8GB

75 minutes, 125 texts, £96.50 handset

600 minutes, 500 texts, £96.89 handset

1,200 minutes, 500 texts, FREE handset

3,000 minutes, 500 texts, FREE handset

Orange iPhone 3G 8GB

150 minutes, 250 texts, £96.89 handset

600 minutes, 500 texts, £96.50 handset

1,200 minutes, 500 texts, FREE handset

3,000 minutes, 500 texts, FREE handset

O2 iPhone 3GS 16GB

75 minutes, 125 texts, £184.50 handset

600 minutes, 500 texts £184.50

1,200 minutes, 500 texts, £87.11 handset

3,000 minutes, 500 texts, FREE handset

Orange iPhone 3GS 16GB

150 minutes, 250 texts £184.98

600 minutes, 500 texts £184.98

1,200 minutes, and 500 texts, £87 handset

3,000 minutes, 500 texts, FREE handset

O2 iPhone 3GS 32GB

75 minutes, 125 texts £274

600 minutes, 500 texts £274

1,200 minutes, and 500 texts, £175.19 handset

3,000 minutes, 500 texts, £96.89 handset

Orange iPhone 3GS 32GB

150 minutes, 250 texts £274.23

600 minutes, 500 texts, £274.23

1,200 minutes, and 500 texts, £175 handset

3,000 minutes, 500 texts, £96.50 handset

*Price plan costs have been rounded up. All plans include unlimited data and email (fair use cap of 750Mb on Orange applies)

As you can see, there is very little difference in price between the two networks, and at best you can hope you save yourself about £1 over the life of your contract.

However, there is one deal that gives Orange customers a better deal. If you want an iPhone 3G or 3GS on a £30 contract, you'll get double the minutes and texts on Orange than with O2. If you opt for a 24 month plan, you'll even get a free iPhone 3G.

Also remember that Orange gives you a free 'Magic Number' when you sign up. This means you can make unlimited calls (of up to three hours a day) to an Orange number of your choice, free of charge.

Coverage of O2 and Orange on the iPhone

Good 3G coverage is a must when it comes to smartphones.

According to Ofcom, Orange offers superior coverage to rival O2. However, maps with a few coloured dots aren't likely to tell you much about what your experience will be like in the real world.

Put your postcode into Ofcom's coverage checker to see what reception is like where you live and travel to, or better still, ask feedback from a friend who's got a smartphone for their opinion.

A matter of text

If you are a heavy texter, it may be worth considering Orange's unlimited text bundle (which has a fair use policy of 3,000 text messages), and costs £7.34 per month. If you send more than 562 texts per month, it's worth adding on.

O2 offers a text bundle at a similar price, though you'll only get an extra 500 messages for the same money.

One thing I don't like about the iPhone is that it doesn't tell you when you've tipped over the 160 character text message limit into another message.

iPhone apps such as CharCounter combat this problem by showing you how many characters you've used. You'll have to be bothered enough to copy your text message into the app. But it's free, and could help those pennies you'll save turn into pounds.

Where O2 comes up trumps

One good thing about O2's tariffs is that it takes text messages sent from abroad from your regular allowance.

One text or picture message sent from overseas is equal to four sent in the UK. This compares to charges of up to 50p for messages sent via your Orange iPhone.

As an O2 customer, I can tell you this has proven very handy in the past, and is something to bear in mind if you're a jetsetter.

One final point on taking your iPhone abroad: Make sure you turn that data roaming button off when travelling.

Whatever your network, roaming abroad is NOT cheap, and you will get a nasty shock if you start surfing while on holiday.

Perks of the network

As well as worrying about the best add-ons to make your deal worthwhile, the biggest perk for Orange customers is Orange Wednesdays, where you can get 241 cinema tickets up and down the country every Wednesday.

Orange has created a new iPhone app to make it easier to get the code sent to your phone, and check out cinema times and reviews.

For O2, its Priority ticket service allows you to book tickets for popular acts such as Leona Lewis up to 48 hours before they go on general release.

You sign up online, and alerts are sent direct to your phone and email. A priority iPhone app is also on its way soon.

O2 iPhone customers can also get three months worth of Sky Mobile TV free, which includes Sky News, and Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3.

Text SKY to 2020 from your phone to get a code for the deal. Just be sure to cancel it at the end of your trial if you don't want it, or you'll be charged £6 a month for the service.

A new dawn?

As the list of O2's competitors gets longer, prices will only come down.

After Orange's disappointing offer on price, I doubt Vodafone will be causing more than a few ripples when it jumps on the bandwagon in the new year.

But as with all technology, when there are more providers to choose from, the perks will eventually wear off, and providers will have to find better ways to distinguish themselves from the rest.

And how better to do this than through price?

Tell us what you think

Is the iPhone good value for money? What do you think of Orange and O2? Are you holding out for cheaper tariffs? Tell us your views using the comments box below...

More: Make money from your mobile phone | Get free stuff from the internet!

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Comments

caisteal said

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Hi,

thanks for the article, it's good to see how they compare.  I notice though that you don't mention wireless hotspot coverage, do Orange provide access to hotspots round the country?  O2 provide free access to The Cloud and BT Openzone wireless hotspots, that's 9500 hotstpots around the UK.

I'd be surprised if Orange didn't offer a similar service.

cheers

24 November 2009

thanet04 said

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what is important is customer service. I've just migrated from 3 to O2 due to terrible customer service, mainly due to indian call-centre and having to repeat the same information time after time, being told there was a problem with my handset causing calls to fail, despite four members of my family having identical problemss at the same time. I have spoken to O2 customeer service 4 times so far and been deeply impressed

24 November 2009

lindleytvr said

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If you live in a more rural area, O2 is often the best bet for coverage in my experience.  And their Customer service is excellent compared with most of the other mobile companies with whom I've dealt.

And my advice is to ask several friends on their experience of coverage, especially in built-up areas.  One street can have excellent reception but another nearby may not and that doesn't show up on the computer-coverage programmes.

24 November 2009

MrsTrellisOfNorthWales said

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I'm with Orange already, and in my experience their Customer Service is pretty good.  When you eventually get to speak to a human being (believe me, it IS possible!) the call centre is UK-based and the staff are helpful and courteous.

BTW, thanet04, I hope you told 3 your reason for leaving them!

24 November 2009

Impossifool said

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As a happy loyal Orange premier customer, I was really surprised to find that I would have to change my plan, which I'm happy with, and I would have to take a 24 month contract or spend more money to get the phone free. 

I am relieved to know that the Orange guy wasn't lying when he said that it would cost the same on O2. 

Thanks for this article, right when I needed it. 

24 November 2009

jdbrown said

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I had the roaming shocker with my new O2 iphone - on my 1st bill.  £180 for data charges in Italy.  My old phone was an HTC smartphone on Orange with windows mobile.  When travelling I could switch off pictures and also set a limit for incoming emails as low as 2kb from memory.  I never had a surprise on my bills.  It seems that with the iphone you cant make any of these restrictive settings.  I dont think its good enough just to recommend 'switching off roaming'.  If you have been on holiday for a week and someone calls you to say theyve sent an important email, your only option seems to be to switch on roaming and immediately receive the last weeks emails in totality - including those with 10mb attachments.

I dont know if this is a problem of O2 or the i-phone, but I am finding the combination either highly restrictive or very expensive!

24 November 2009

JoanieC said

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I'm not sure that suppliers can be compared on price alone. My experience with Orange had been great until I upgraded to an iphone. It arrived two weeks ago, worked for 4 hours and packed up. It has taken me nearly two weeks to get it repaired and today I missed the courier.

I am not convinced that Orange staff were fully capable of supporting the product when they launched it, and I spoke to many in over 11 hours of phone calls to them.  One implied that I had caused the problem by downloading unauthorised applications. None of the Orange iphone support team knew anything about the troubleshooting suggestions given on the Apple website.

A trip to the Apple shop eventually moved the issue on, although I was advised against doing that by Orange.

24 November 2009

paulgillam said

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jdbrown:

whilst i agree that the data roaming situation isn't ideal, you can set your email to only retrieve one day on the iPhone, so you don't get a week's backlog. also, in my experience of attachments, you opt to download them within the email, rather than them coming through automatically.

the other thing that can be done with O2 is to tell them you were unaware of the romaing charges, and claim it is a shock bill. My colleague had his £250 bill struck off, thus paying nothing for that. Again, this is not a forwarding strategy, as it can only be done once, but if you do get stung, there is away out.

As a veteran iPhone user (I now have the 3GS), the main problem with signal coverage is that iPhones in general are not very good at holding signal. The 3GS is better than the 3G, and certainly better than the 2G, but is not a patch on the ancient Nokia no frills phone i used to have.

O2 insurance is very good in my and my friend's experiences. no questions asked, next day new iPhones, for lost iPhones on drunken nights out etc, well worth having if you do take out insurance.  customer service has been good too.

JoanieC - I am amazed Orange would have the audacity to advise you not to go to an Apple shop! Apple look after their customers and products very well.

24 November 2009

juniper said

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I have an iphone with O2 and can't sing their praises highly enough. The product is amazing and the service is great. I use it abroad and haven't had any shock bills. Downloading emails and web browsing is free if you go to a wi-fi cafe. I had an urgent project and needed to download emails without wifi and it cost around £1. (Obviously depends on content, but it doesn't download attachments without you agreeing.)

Apple are the best people to talk to about it, their knowledge, helpfulness and commitment to service is almost shocking in this day and age.

24 November 2009

jdbrown said

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paulgillam

thanks for your response.  I have been so wary since this first bill I have not really been experimenting.  Part of the problem was a colleague who sent me an email with a 5mb attachment.  Unfortunately his BT internet provider also had a problem and the email was sent out 20 times!  My roaming was on so I got them all.  I deleted them without opening so it seems that unlike windows mobile where you are given the warning and option to download, with iphone it just all arrives! 

When you say set the iphone to receive a day at a time, does this work in sequence (ie you cant have today till youve downloaded yesterday) or does it only download they day you are in (and ignore anything older)?

24 November 2009

delinear said

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Am I the only person who finds it infuriating when companies impose limits on paid-for unlimited services? "Unlimited internet" and email... limited to 750Mb, or "unlimited texts"... limited to 3,000 texts!

Why not just be honest and say you're paying for 750Mb and 3,000 texts respectively? Surely it's the very definition of false advertising to claim a limited service is "unlimited"?

Also, while I'd struggle to hit 3,000 texts a month, 750Mb doesn't seem overly generous for an "unlimited" internet service, especially not if you're using it to watch video content, surely a fair use policy should stop people abusing a service, not be so limited that it starts to infringe on normal everyday usage?

24 November 2009

Szu Ping Chan said

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Beautiful comments, keep 'em coming.

I did write a section on the 750Mb limit, but the article was getting hideously long so I decided to get rid of it.

I did a quick search of other studies and found this: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/29304/orange-unlimited-data-iphone-3gs on Pocket Lint.

Personally, I think it exaggerates slightly. In my experience, YouTube videos tend to eat up about 1Mb of data per minute watched, though this all depends on the quality of video you're watching.

I agree about the definition of 'unlimited' being, well, limited, but what can we do hey? Still think the Orange text deal is worth adding on if you're a heavy texter.

More comments please!

Szu

24 November 2009

danant said

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It is worth considering buying the iphone on PAYG and sticking your existing contract sim into it, look at this example;

I currently pay £30 p/month for approx 1100 minutes, 'unlimited' texts, 'unlimited' mobile internet access and home broadband. I require most of these allowances.

To get anything similar on an iphone contract it will cost me £52.34 p/month (£45 tarrif plus £7.34 for the additional texts) plus I would still have to pay £175 for the handset I want (3GS 32GB) so £52.34 * 24 month contract = £1256.16 + £175 = £1431.16 over 24 months.

With my existing deal it will cost me £30 * 24 = £720 + £539 for the handset on PAYG = £1259 saving me £172 over the 2 years PLUS when my contract is up for renewal, Orange will either give me another handset I can sell or 10% off my line rental if I dont take an upgrade from them - saving me even more :-)

In addition to this I am not tied into a ridiculously long contract.

Before you think about paying £12 p/month for Orange care or £15 p/month for O2's insurance have a look at other options - my Barclays Additions account has mobile phone insurance which covers an iphone included, along with a host of other benefits that save me loads every year.

My final tip; if you have to call Apple for support after the first 90 days they will ask you for your bank card details and charge £35 for giving support over the phone - and they will store your card details for any future calls you may make to them for further support!!!

24 November 2009

paulgillam said

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hi jdbrown,

the "Mail Days to Sync" 1 day setting for email only loads in the current day. ignoring previous days. your choices are 1 day,  3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month or no limit.

it's always worth going onto the Apple forums, as there are many people asking may questions that are constantly patrolled by experts, people who write the software even. it costs nothing to register (if you didn't already when you first plugged your iPhone into iTunes).

danant:

I am no authority on this, but consider the type of internet access you are currently getting. I may be completely wrong, but the iPhone is one of the few phones that uses a normal internet browser (Safari), rather than the simplified internet access many phones offer.

but potentially, you could make a saving by going this way round, it's just the initial outlay for the phone that would put me off (simply not wanting to £539 up front), but then I am prepared to pay the extra £172 over 2 years as it only comes to £7.17 extra per month. i also am not too worried about being in a 2 year contract, as i will have a mobile phone one way or another.

tha advantages you outline make a lot of sense, and you seem to have done your research, so if you're happy with it, go for it.

After all, it's the coolest phone on the market. windows, my backside (just you try and contest that. i dare you...) next you'll be buying a mac laptop. pricey, but better. (controversial i know)

25 November 2009

Szu Ping Chan said

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Tesco has just announced it will join the race (hopefully before Xmas)

I look forward to it...

25 November 2009

MrsTrellisOfNorthWales said

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Tesco has just announced it will join the race...

On their own network - or just selling handsets?  Or both?

25 November 2009

MrsTrellisOfNorthWales said

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I've just tried Googling "Tesco iPhone".  The press release is here:

http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/content.aspx?page=12

25 November 2009

Saul said

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Tesco will sell the handsets on either contract or pay as you go. It will be through their network Tesco Mobile (which is 50% owned by 02). They maintain that they "hope" to have the phones in store by Xmas (pricing still to be confirmed).

25 November 2009

ndf9876 said

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And oddly enough, out of all the current stockists of the iPhone, Tesco tarrifs + phone cost work out the worst value...

11 December 2009

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