Some operators offering Apple’s new iPad are asking five times as much as others, while prices for the iPhone appear to have stabilised, writes Margrit Sessions



The average monthly price for the Apple iPad is now running at €18.88, according to research from Telecoms Pricing. But the details of offers vary widely: the most expensive is five times as much as the cheapest.
Orange France offers the lowest monthly rate, at €8.36 for 200 megabytes a month plus unlimited wifi access. The highest price plan is offered by Telefónica’s Movistar in Spain for €42.25 per month including one gigabyte of data.
Movistar customers have a number of plans to choose from including as short as one day, with different inclusive allowances and one for €0.86 including one gigabyte of data which is valid for three months.
Similarly, allowances range widely, from 100 megs a month, offered by Softbank — charging the Japanese equivalent of €13.04 a month — and Swisscom, which has a one-day rate of €3.43. 
 
 
Unlimited data
 
There is only one iPad offered with unlimited data, from Hutchison’s 3 in Hong Kong, which also includes free wifi for €19.61 a month. The same operator has another plan, 50 megabytes of data and wifi for €10.22 a month.
All prices are accurate in June 2010, with exchange rates to the euro at June 20.
It is the Apple iPhone which launched the new generation of smart phone development with the original launch from mid-2007 as a GSM tri-band handset with wifi, followed by the iPhone 3G device in mid-2008. The launch of the iPhone 3G also saw the launch of the Apple App Store.
The huge success of the Apple App Store was widely imitated by a number of other providers with RIM for the BlackBerry and Google with its Android Market application store.
The success of Apple’s iPhone encouraged a range of other new smart phone entrants. In 2008 Google launched its Android mobile OS standard.
Android is an open source standard, which as of the start of 2010 had been launched worldwide in 20 smart phone handsets, from vendors including HTC, Sony Ericsson and Motorola. 
 
 
Scaling back
 
Originally some operators launched so-called “unlimited” data allowances, available in particular with the launch of the iPhone 3G. But operators are now scaling back on these offers as their networks in urban areas struggle to cope with the demand for data — with many operators also including “unlimited” wifi, which is used to offload data from the mobile network.
In June 2010 for example AT&T announced that it would be replacing its unlimited data tariff with a two-tier structure. It was followed the same month by Telefónica O2 in the UK, which announced that it would be introducing a tiered data tariff structure to coincide with the launch of the Apple iPhone 4 handset.
The growth of the smart phone segment is particularly strong in mature markets. Half of all handsets sold in Japan — as of 2009 — can be classified as smartphones, with the US smartphone penetration forecast to reach 50% of all handsets by the end of 2011.
Penetration is not so strong in emerging markets where there is a greater proportion of prepay subscribers. In markets such as India and Latin America for example, smartphone handset penetration rates are currently less than 10%.
In mature markets the smart phone is typically sold as part of a pay monthly package with the operator partly or wholly subsidising the purchase cost of the handset in return for an 18 month or 24 month contract term.
The smartphone segment remains fast growing but competitive. The constant round of product launches has meant a steady increase in features, such as simultaneous application access and enhanced video calling. 
 
 
Market share
 
In the US, BlackBerry and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile devices have significant market shares — based on their strength in the enterprise sector. Nokia is stronger in Europe, but those which have gained in market share overall has been Apple’s iPhone and handsets using Google’s Android.
The iPad is being promoted for consumption of books, periodicals, movies, music, and games, and for general web and e-mail access. It was released in the US in April 2010, followed by Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on 28 May. Other countries to launch include Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore. Apple says it has sold three million so far.
Typical iPad offerings are based on a 30-day commitment with operators automatically renewing for another month unless the subscriber cancels the subscription.
Prices for the iPhone 3G have stabilised, and prices are now being set for the iPhone 4. In the UK Orange has announced its first offers — five plans from £30 for 150 texts and minutes to £75 for unlimited texts and minutes. The £75 plan offers inclusive roaming, including 100 European minutes and 20 megabytes of data roaming in Europe.
Vodafone is still prompting users on its website to “check back here regularly for our pay as you go prices and details”.
Prices for the iPhone 3G vary from €3.50 a month in India, from Vodafone, to €86.92 from Telefónica’s Movistar in Ecuador. The average monthly rate of all iPhone offerings is €48.85. 


iPhone tariffs, June 2010
Source www.telecomspricing.com