Pre paid Iphone.... Available through Optus
 

FYI:
I figure this might help anyone looking to get a Iphone outright (like I have been).

I waited for the initial iPhone launch/rush to settle hoping I would find a cheaper way into this phone. Optus, Telstra and Voda were all doing pre paid deals on the 8gb at the time and I figured the same would happen with the 16gb when it landed here. Wrong!

All the major telco's seemed to have pulled the pre paid iPhone options very quietly and soon after the 16gb was launched in Aus. Telsta...meh! (see apple store & Harvey norman experiences below).


Optus shop @ Karrinyup shopping centre....... my saviour!
8gb $749
16gb $849
Optus locked and supplied with new sim (pre paid starter pack) if required. Able to port your number over from another telco also.

But here's the best bit!:
A Bonus $400 credit + 1 gb free data comes with the pack (60 days to use) brings the real cost down to $449............. which is way cheaper than the HTC touch diamond ($999 outright) which I was also interested in.

The Optus route is by far the cheapest way into an iphone. Every contract I've seen has had a total cost of around $2k over 24 months.

Optus Karrinyup was the last store to recieve it's allotted Iphone stock, hence why they still have some 16's available outright whilst their other stores don't.

If you were thinking of getting one outright I'd call that store asap, once the stock is gone they're all going to be plan based.

Here's the [URL=http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:2v7aYHIxSnUJ:personal.optus.com.au/web/ocaportal.portal%3F_nfpb%3Dtrue%26_pageLabel%3DTemplate_wRHS%26FP%3D/personal/mobile/prepaidmobile/prepaidmobileappleiphone%26site%3Dpersonal+optus+revup+bonus&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=11&client=opera]CLICKY![/URL] That link will take you to the Optus page that shows you the pre-paid deal details (it's cached because Optus have removed the page (21 September) from their website, it's the same deal I got tonight)
[U]
[B]Like I said BE QUICK if you want one![/B][/U]

Just posting this to save pple some leg work (and frustration!).