Ok so there’s a lot of hullaballoo about the new iPhones being dirt cheap. 200USD is cheap assuming you can get a unit at that price with no strings attached.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it goes.

Before we begin, it would be wise to not think in terms of US market value, because we know once VAT, shipping, whatever taxes start hitting those phones on our shores, they’ll find a way to recoup through the contracts.

All the information here isn’t final, and may change depending on how the local market responds come July, but all things being equal here’s the lowdown.

I think it’s safe to say that the only legitimate way to get the new phones in the Philippines is to go through the proper channels, which means to get it through the official carrier in the Philippines… which is Globe Telecom.

Here’s something I found on the net thanks to Juan; the tentative post-paid scenarios for the iPhone.

G-Max 3500 iPhone 3G

Initial Fee: Php9,995
Monthly Fee: Php3,500
Free Text: 650
Free Calls: 750 mins.
Globe to Globe: Php3.50/minute
Globe to Non-Globe: Php4.50/minute
Excess SMS Rates: Php0.50/text

Globe Platinum 5000 iPhone 3G

Initial Fee: FREE
Monthly Fee: Php5,000
Free Text: 650
Free Calls: 1,100 mins.
Globe to Globe: Php3.50/minute
Globe to Non-Globe: Php4.50/minute
Excess SMS Rates: Php0.50/text

All plans come with a 2-year lock-in period.

So let’s do the math shall we?

Taking the cheapest tentative post-paid plan, we got 10k for the phone, plus 3.5k for 24 months. That brings the total up to about 84k + 10k pesos. So, you technically will be paying PhP 94k for the phone! But course the correct way to calculate what you’ll really be spending is after you deduct how much you usually spend on your line.

For example, say that you’re already paying 1k a month on your post-paid account. So subtract 24k from 84k and that, aside from the purported “cost” of the iPhone (10k), will be the “extra” cost you’ll be paying in 2 years. It’s about 60k. So you’ll be paying 70k for the iPhone if you upgrade from a 1k plan to the cheapest iPhone plan.

So upgrading to the iPhone and being locked down is only practical for people who are spending a buttload of cash on their existing plans. The thing to take away here is that the ONLY WAY you’re getting the iPhone at 10k or cheaper is if you are already spending at least 3.5k on your current plan. Otherwise, make no mistake, you will be incurring extra cost over the lock-in period.

In my case, I pay about 600 a month on the average (fluctuating from 300-1k), so for me to switch to the 3.5k iPhone plan would essentially mean I would be paying 94,000 - (600*24) = 80k and upwards!

So for me, buying a black/gray market line-free unit at 40k would even cost less (and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing should I consider upgrading my iPhone)!

If you ask me, just forget about that hype on the USD200/PHP10k price. It’s better to assume it’s about 500-800. And even at that price, you’ll still be saving rather than getting it at 10k but being tied down for 2 years of expense. The question is if and when that day will come that we can buy the units for how much they’re worth - regardless if they’re really USD200 or if they’re USD1k.

Hope this puts things into perspective for all those people who think they’re getting an awesome deal out of the new iPhone.