By: kyle

kyle — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:46:13 +0000

CHUNGHWA CRIPPLES iPhone
I live in Taiwan and I have waited ofr a long time to get an iphone. In soite of this release I will still wait in want. There are several reasons for this. Most simple boil down to price gouging. The rate packages, though not high by American standards, are incredibally high here in Taiwan. The basic plan garnering you 90 minutes of talk time, 200 text messages and unlimited internet is NT$1049 (US$31.33). With out the internet the customer would normally pay NT289 (US$8.31). Thus the unlimited internet costs NT$760 (US$22.70). There are four service planes ranging from the above upto NT$2549 (US$76.13). That plans gives you unlimited internet, 200 text messages and roughly 740 minutes of talk time. (I have never seen a plan that gives the user anything for free. Furthermore, the minutes you have to use is simply a your subscription fee divided by the cost per minute of usage.)
On to the cost of the phone. At the basic level the 8gb phone is NT$11900 (US$355.42) and the 16gb phone is NT$15200 (US$453.98). At the highest rate the phones are $0 and NT$2990 (US$89.30). The first price is not so good but if the buyer opots for the more expensive plan he or she is rewarded with a good price on the phone. For the average Taiwanese that rate plan is above and beyond reasonable. Those in the big cities with higher incomes, middle management, or, surprisingly, teachers -they get paid well here- could swing it because it is the iphone, a new Nokia would not have a shot. I, as a foriegn teacher who for that fact gets paid more than the Taiwanese around me would drop; my current contract to switch companies to have the iphone. But, it is at this point that Chunghwa telecom cripples the iphone. They require every subscriber to prepay a set amount, for their service, that is dependent on the level of service you subscribed for. This is not unheard of in Taiwan but it is generally less than half of what you pay, after discount, for the phone. The rates that Chunghwa has set on the iPhone are ridiculous. At the NT$1049 (US$31.33) rate plan the buyer must pre-pay NT$11000 (US$328.68). This is in addition to the NT$11900 (US$355.42) or NT$15200 (US$453.98) paid for the 8gb or 16gb phones themselves, respectively. Therefore to walk out of their store with an 8gb iPhone the consumer must pay NT$22900 (US$684.20) or NT$26200 (US$782.66) for the 16gb version. At the highest rate plan the company requires NT$24000 (US$717.06) ad that to the phone and those who want the 16gb phone are paying NT$26990 (US$806.39). WOW! All that in one day!. Sure, its an iPhone, and there is no phone bill to pay for about 9 months. For most of the Taiwanese I know that all plus some of their salary for one month! I do not live in the big city, where everything is more expensive, rent for a house similar to mine is double or triple what I pay which it still cheaper than the first day of owning an iphone. The 16gb phone is more expensive on day one than rent in Taipei for a decent sized apartment! That is saying something.

Comments on: iPhone Buzz Week in Review – Week 49 2008

By: kyle