Did you notice the curious similarity in the statements issued by Vodafone, o2 and Orange that they’d be offering the iPad from late May?
The guys over at T3 did. It seems Apple’s PR guys may have ‘helped’ the networks with their homework.
Given the disappointing lack of variance in the iPhone tariffs it’ll be interesting to see if the three networks manage to end up with less similar pricing for the iPad.
It’ll also be interesting to see how the networks approach discounting the cost of the iPad itself in order to sign people up to long-term contracts.
While many of my associates can’t see the point of “a glorified iPod” I’m close to buying a 3G iPad when they hit the UK but only if the overall price – device AND 3G contract – makes sense.
Unlike a mobile phone or a full laptop it’s hard to see the iPad as an item most owners will use for great lengths of time each day, plus it can’t make calls so the average customer is going to expect the monthly cost to come in pretty low, certainly below the monthly cost of the iPhone itself.
I can’t see many people being prepared to pay much more than a tenner a month, personally much higher than that and I’d start to have second thoughts about the value of any contract.