Etisalat Iphone data plans, i think it is reasonable enough.

[wirelessem]

I just recently bought the Iphone 3g 8GB through one of the etisalat installment plans. Before purchasing the iphone I thought the price was really unfair and so did a loooot of people of other users on different forums throughout the web. However, after doing some calculation and taking the plunge I figured that it is actually much cheaper to buy the phone through Etisalat then getting one through the Grey Market.
The Iphone 3g 8GB costs apprx 2400dhs in the grey market unlocked and worst of all no support such as warranty of any kind whatsoever. For example if you accidentally updated your iphone to the latest firmware your iphone will get locked again or your battery was defected and then its upto you whether you can afford the time and money to get it unlocked again or replace the battery if you can actually find a proper technician who works on iphone. Again I find it a hassle and not worth the trouble.
Therefore, if you chose one of the iphone plans from etisalat like the Plan 2 and pay 840Dhs upfront they will hand you the phone with a new sim card free of charge upon request. You pay 349Dhs to be precise at the end of each month for 12Month contract. Every month you get 2Hrs and 5min talk time equivalent to 62.5 Dhs , 125 SMS equivalent to 62.5 Dhs and 500MB of Internet usage at both edge and 3G speeds. If you do the calculations you will come to a conclusion that your actually paying only apprx 2328 for the iphone an the rest is for the talk time, sms and internet usage. Let me remind you that if you register for one of the 3G data package from etisalat seperately its going to cost you alooooooooot. A friend of mine pays apprx 95dhs for only 50MB data usage per month. So imagine whats 500MB worth every month without the iphone data plan?
Moreover, I also got a 1 year warranty, no worries about getting the iphone locked or ending up with an iBrick. The information above is not perfect but it will you give you some information about the cost : benefit ratio.

So let me know what you think and if the info above is enough to justify Etisalat's pricing. Moreover, i think it is pointless comparing the Etisalat pring to various other networks like ATnt because lets face it were stuck with Etsialat networks.

this in noway an advert and it is simply a personal opinion after personally purchasing their product.