When compared to a BlackBerry which can be had on PAYG for £250?

What functionality above that of a BB does an iPhone have & does it justify an extra £200?

Contract, I can understand, but if you're buying a smart phone, can the extra £££ be justified?

Look at what a 450 quid phone from a few years ago got you.

Now you've got simple web browsing and a world of apps.

People dont seem to remember that £450+ handsets aren't new. The iPhone isn't the first. They've ALWAYS been around.

It's just now you get a lot more for the price.

16gb iphone 4 is £510 on payg... and no the technology isn't worth the price.

Brand image that has been built up by Apple is worth the price and proof of that is in the millions sold.

I don't like Apple but cannot knock their success.

You could say the same about any other high-end smartphone which costs more than £400 SIM-free. The iPhone isn't the only one at that price range.

As for whether it's worth it... it depends on what you want. I've never heard anything good about BBs apart from email, & have heard they're not so hot for web browsing or apps... unlike the iPhone / Desire / Galaxy etc.

Certainly a much larger screen. As for HTC, I wouldn't give them the time of day.

What actually generated my OP was that I bought a BB to kind of keep me going until I could afford to buy an iPhone.

I've got so used to it now that I think it would take a lot to convince me to shell out the extra for an iPhone.

I KNOW iPhones are exceptional pieces of technology, absolutely no doubt - BUT, are they worth the extra outlay.

I think the big difference is the other £450+ smartphones gradually get cheaper as they get superceded by better specs at the same price wheras iphones stagnate as they only get an annual upgrade and even that might not be a great leap - although this can be good for the owner knowing their phone won't be superceded for a year, it's not so great if you're tied into a 24 month contract especially as there's no scope to shop around for better deals/tariffs eg. last May when HTC Desire's were quite new and £400 sim free it was possible to get one free on a £20pm 24 month contract - I've yet to see that sort of deal for an iphone even a year or 2 old one.

I'd say probably not as it doesnt provide anything above and beyond anyother phone. You then have to watch enviously as better phones come on the market so best to avoid brand spanking new technology (which also gives you the opportunity to see price fluctuations).

Personally, for me, yes (although I had mine on contract so didn't have the same initial large cash outlay). I've owned at least one device from every major smartphone platform and currently have an iPhone 4 and an HTC Hero running 2.1 and I would say they're worth way more to me than the BlackBerry I had. Admittedly it was a Curve 8320, so it didn't have 3G data, the web browser was terrible, and the selection of available apps wasn't great, but at the time I remember thinking I'd had a better time with my old Palm Treo, and that didn't have 3G either.

It's really what you want from a phone. I couldn't live with the quality of the browser on a BlackBerry now I've used Android and iOS.

I paid £350 for the 3G 8gb iphone when it first came out but I would never consider paying £450 for the iPhone 4.Tbh.I'd rather have the iPad for £500 and keep my 3G.

The phone is worth what people are prepared to pay for it.

No, you can get more for less from other manufacturers.

It depends on how much £450 is to you I suppose!

Mine was totally worth it to me. I've always had high end phones but the iPhone was just better *for me* than every other phone I've had.

It's an iPod touch firstly so it has that value.

I use mine for media - slingbox to watch my skybox, tv catchup for live tv, BBC iplayer, mobile sky, air video to stream movies etc etc.

Also betting apps as I like a flutter

To me it just does everything so easily and fluidly. I've had phones that could in theory do all of the above but it was always a bit of a chore.

I'm not saying it's the best phone out there but it's certainly the best phone I've bought albeit on contract.

Most of £450 costs the bitten off apple on the back of the phone. They want to give you a feeling of exclusivity and that costs. It would not work if they said You are getting the bestest smartphone ever and it will only cost you 50 quid.

If you walk into an Apple store you will be very hard pushed to find an iPhone 3GS which they also sell.

Work that one out.

The components alone (without the assembly, shipping, packaging etc) are $188 (about £140). On top of that you have to include assembly, packaging, shipping, the research & development costs, marketing etc etc. I'm not saying Apple don't make a profit on these phones, but they are a higher priced unit cost than your average plastic feature phone.

You have combined one off costs and ongoing costs? Apple rake it in on each of their products based on standardised components across devices.Good on them I say, if people wish to pay it charge it. Capatialism 101

R&D might be a one time, but the rest of it is ongoing and can be split per unit. Think how much Apple's marketing budget alone must be - a range of tv ads, billboards, all around the world. That stuff costs money and a little bit of it can be attributed to each phone.

Directly related to iphone not that much - app store/itunes quite a bit. Again its relates to the product line, so I dont believe you can attribute that much to it?

Most smartphones are around £400 sim free.

Iphone 4 is £600.

Source: Amazon

Considering all the issues I've had with my Iphone since IOS 4.2.1 hit the scene I can't say its worth the £450 + price at the moment, I'm just hoping that IOS 4.3 will fix all the issues that the current software is throwing up for some users.
Last edited by Dragons_Heartbeat : 17-02-2011 at 16:48

I respectfully disagree. They constantly change their marketing and promos. They make several tv ads a year, they change the instore materials seasonally etc. You don't just promote the phone at launch and leave it out there. Marketing of the iPhone takes place all year round.

So even if it's £600 some people will say it is worth it to them, because it does what they want it to, in a way that they like. People will quote the iPhone UI as being something they like. If someone prefers that to an Android device or Windows Phone, then it's worth it to them.

Just because 1 person likes something doesn't mean everyone else has to.

Indeed, but the majority as I indicated is based on the larger context not specifically the phone

One can ask if a Blackberry at £250 is worth it.

Android has now made for a very fast moving hardware landscape.
3rd generation Tegra 3 tablets and phones will be here by autumn making even the £400+ generation 1 stuff look quite embarrassing for any advanced games and tasks.

People pay the price so I don't blame Apple, I blame people stupid enough to pay the £450.