Friday, February 27, 2009

Softbank prepare to offer iPhone 3G for free in Japan


The iPhone 3G might be selling like hotcakes here in the US but it looks like other countries may be a bit reluctant to hand over standard functionality such as MMS and copy/paste in exchange for the smooth touchscreen ride the iPhone affords. According to a press release issued by SoftBank Mobile early this morning, the Japanese carrier is preparing to introduce some unheard-of pricing for the iPhone 3G — free. And you thought $99 was a good deal… Starting Friday and extending though the end of May, SoftBank’s “iPhone for everybody Campaign” will offer the iPhone 3G 8GB for free or the iPhone 3G 16GB for $117 to new subscribers. There is a mandatory 2-year contract involved of course, and but the iPhone data plan will run $44.75 per month as opposed to the standard $60. So basically, new SoftBank subscribers are looking at an instant savings of around $230 on either iPhone 3G model — standard pricing is $230 for the 8GB and $350 for the 16GB — and they’re saving over $15 each month on data. Ok AT&T, what’s up?

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