Apple iPhone coming to Vodafone on Jan 14

But shoppers hoping for a price war between the major network operators will be left disappointed – Vodafone's cheapest deal for Apple's 16GB iPhone 3GS works out more expensive over the lifetime of the device than any of its competitors.
People signing up to Vodafone's £40 per month, 18-month contract also have to pay £89 for the iPhone itself, meaning they will have spent £809 on the phone and monthly payments by the time their contract expires.
O2 and Orange, which also offer the iPhone, are a significantly cheaper than Vodafone, but there is just 84p difference in price between the two: a 16GB iPhone 3GS on O2's £29.38 per month, 18-month contract will cost users £713.82 over the lifetime of their device, including the £184.98 initial outlay for the phone; the same handset on Orange's £29.36 per month, 18-month contract will cost £712.98 over its lifetime, including an upfront cost of £184.50 for the handset.
Supermarket giant Tesco, which started selling the iPhone last week, represents the cheapest deal for shoppers, who can choose between a 12-month or two-year contract. The cheapest monthly tariff is just £20, but shoppers will have to pay a whopping £320 up front for the 16GB iPhone 3GS.
The number of free minutes and texts available varies between networks and tariffs, and will be a key consideration for shoppers as they try and decide which contracts represent the best value for money for their needs.
But mobile phone experts have warned that purchasing decisions may boil down to more than just cost. O2's network, which has suffered frequent crashes in recent months, has gone down again, leaving some iPhone users unable to make or receive calls or surf the internet.
"Consumers who were hoping that with four networks vying for a share of the iPhone market that a price war would ensue, are likely to be disappointed, particularly those who have been holding out for Vodafone's announcement in the hope of picking up a New Year bargain," said Ernest Doku of mobile phone comparison site Omio.
"The networks are battling on the fronts of quality of call reception and data usage limits, rather than the cheapest deals. It will be interesting to see if their stance changes in the New Year, when the feeling is that the real battle for market share will commence."