iPhone 4.0 out Friday, but still no pricing information

With just five days left until the iPhone 4 hits Australian shelves, excited customers still have no clue what the device will cost or the types of plans to be offered, as the major telcos continue to keep quiet ahead of this Friday’s launch.

The lack of any information is a departure from the telcos’ behaviour during the past couple of years, as they usually release plans a few weeks before a launch, with users able to pick and choose which plan could best suit their needs.

Discussions on various internet forums also reveal customers are yet to receive any emails regarding pre-orders or instructions on how to claim the upcoming gadget. Optus confirmed this morning it will hold midnight launch parties, but no other details about prices were given.

While Vodafone has information about general iPhone plans on its website, it has given no further information about plans specific to the iPhone 4. Elsewhere, Optus said on its Twitter account this morning plans will be coming “soon”, informing a user to “stay tuned”.

VHA, which includes the Vodafone and Three brands, Optus and Telstra were contacted by SmartCompany for comment this morning, but no reply was received before publication.

Telsyte research director Foad Fadaghi says the delay may actually be related to stock levels. During the past couple of years stock has been extremely limited and demand was huge, resulting in long delays for customers. Fadaghi says the telcos may be taking their time with this one.

“They may be trying to see how much stock is available to them, and they might be able to offer some cheaper plans when they have more stock. They’ll be looking to extract as much value as they can from the market.”

“When the first iPhone came out the plans were slightly different in the first month and then they changed, so really it just comes down to supply and demand. There’s going to be a lot of pent-up demand and they’re figuring out their best plan of attack. Then there’s also competitive pressure, it’s hard to come out with a price first and then have that undercut by a competitor.”

That competitive behaviour is certainly occurring in the fixed-line internet business as ISPs continue to offer more data for less cash. Telstra BigPond slashed its prices overnight, and now offers a massive 200GB of data for just $89.95 per month.

Fadaghi says this is the way the industry is headed – more data for less money, with more ISPs to offer unlimited data plans. However, he says this won’t necessarily impact their iPhone 4 prices as the gadget has traditionally never been a key selling point for the company.

“BigPond is the biggest ISP in the country. We definitely believe we’re not far away from unlimited type plans, when you’re talking about less than $100 for 200 gigabytes. It makes sense they’ll start increasing limits soon.”

Recently iiNet gave its Naked DSL customers a massive increase in data allowances, while Optus has been touting its upgraded plans recently, especially its 120GB for $60 plan. But Fadaghi says it isn’t likely the broadband pricing structure will play into the iPhone 4 offers.

“I think it’s drawing a long bow to say the two will affect each other. They’ve probably got some big priorities in that area and although prices are going down, I think it’s unlikely to the two structures will affect either product.”

Meanwhile, JPMorgan suggests Harvey Norman’s decision not to offer Apple products may actually reduce its sales growth by 0.6%. The company is expected to announce its financial results later today.

JPMorgan reportedly kept retail giant Harvey Norman at a neutral rating last week, predicting its sales growth will be kept in check due to “aggressive competition from The Good Guys and JB Hi-Fi which have a lower cost base than Harvey Norman”.

Harvey Norman is likely avoiding selling Apple’s products due to its margin position. It would gain little financial benefit from selling Apple’s laptops, and would face backlash from customers if stock dried up due to overwhelming demand for newly released products – such as the iPad.