Germany and U.K. will get their iPhones on November 9th, which is less than a week from today. Apple still hasn't confirmed when consumers should be able to buy an iPhone in any other countries beyond U.K. and Germany. As Germany is next to Austria, we wanted to see how much our German readers would have to expect to pay for this hot new device. To say that we were shocked is certainly an understatement.  

It turns out that German purchasers must pay €400 to get the iPhone, plus sign up for a 2-year service contract that costs a minimum of €49/month. 24 months times €49/month equals €1,176, plus Apple wants 400€ for the iPhone and €25 for the activation fee. This €49 a month will get you 100 minutes of free calls in Germany and 40 SMS messages in Germany, but any additional minutes will cost €0.39, which we think is far too much. This package will be known as Complete M.

This brings us to a high price of €1,601 which is a minimal and fixed price that you will spend with T-mobile in Germany in order to get an iPhone. The only good thing is that data for both wireless and edge are free; and without it, half of the functions won’t work at all.

If you go for the Complete L package, you will get 200 free minutes and 150 SMS messages and this will cost an overly inflated price of  €1,656 (24 months times €69/month) and again, you have to pay €400 for the iPhone and €25 for an activation fee. This adds up to €2,081.

Then, last but certainly not least, is the Complete XL, where you get 1,000 “free” minutes, 300 SMS messages, but you pay €89/month times 24 months for the 2-year contract, which adds up to €2,136 + €400 for the iPhone, and an additional €25 for the activation. This totals at €2,561, and if this is not a ridiculously priced rip off, we don’t know what is.

We strongly suggest that anyone who wants an iPhone to go and buy an unlocked one and save themselves a lot of money.

At least in France you will be able to buy unlocked iPhones without a 2-year service contract.


It is all here at Apple's site; just take a calculator and confirm.