I just feel like making a really sleepy sounding wooo hooo. The iPhone is here. With Orange. Check out the offers here, or just look below.

OK, so the iPhone can be yours in Jordan if you stick to a one year plan with Orange. Plans start at JD 26 per month for a 500 minute “iGold” package. The 8GB iPhone under that plan is JD 299 (and JD 369 for 16GB). If you go for the iPlatinum plan with 1000 minutes, the 8GB phone is for JD 255 (JD325 for 16GB). Then there is the iDiamond plan with 2000 minutes and a JD 159 8GB iPhone (JD 229 for 16 GB). See the detail of the offers and pay attention to the data aspect of them..

iPhone prices in Jordan

These plans are not shockingly great, but I guess they’re ok. If you’re an Orange customer, of course.

Looking at the small print, I discovered that the plans do not allow you to use the iPhone’s data connection on a PC. Come on Orange/Apple.

The big question, which I hope one of you out there can answer, is: will the Phone be SIM-locked to orange? If not, then expect a market for affordable iPhones will develop.

So.. what will I do?

The iPhone is amazing, especially with eh App Store. But just doesn’t cut it for me. I blogged several times about this. I need a good camera on my phone, I need voice dialing and I like to play around with GPS maps. Also I am not about to give up my 10 year old Zain number.

So today, I should be getting my new Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic, which I pre-ordered from Nokia City Mall (Golden Mobile, that is). Incidentally, those who ordered the phone from i2 already got their phone yesterday evening. I envy them. :-)

I want to experiment with the 5800. I am keeping the N95, just in case. In 2009 I might then get the N97.

Unless..

Unless, Apple come out with an amazing new iPhone with a proper camera, good voice dialing and unless Zain also start selling the iPhone. The anti-monoploy authorities in France have just ordered Apple to sell the iPhone to all carriers. Orange in appealing the decision. We’ll see what happens in Jordan in 2009.

For now, I am sticking with Nokia. I will have an 8 GB phone with a big touch screen, a decent Flash-capable browser, GPS mapping (soon with Amman on it), for JD 255 and with no need to switch operators.

That’s good enough for me.

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18 responses to “Orange starts selling the iPhone in Jordan, but I’m sticking with Nokia, for now”

  1. Ali Avatar
    Ali

    At last! And the price is not outrageously high, thought it will be in the 600’s range, any new Nokia doesn’t sell for less than 250jds, so thats a fair price, if only I didnt buy my Nokia E71 a few months ago

  2. wissam Avatar
    wissam

    why is the diamon one cheaper than the platinum?

  3. rami cool Avatar
    rami cool

    والله أحسنت يا أحمد في ألإختيار. نوكيا 5800 جوال رائع و مواصفات تهبل. و صراحة ما يتقارن مع آي فون برأيي.

    شوف المقارنة

    http://mobily3araby.com/2008/10/9-5800.html

    بس معقول سعره بس 255 دينار بدون ضريبة؟

  4. iPhoneY Avatar
    iPhoneY

    Today i went to SmarT buy to buy the new iphone !! ..
    Guess WhaT ! they are fooling people ! for god sake ..
    1st i was going for the igold500 the price was supposed to be 299 Jd + the monthly subs …
    Shocked when the seller told me its locked to orange only ! & which is the most important thing if you unblocked the device whether to use it with zain or to type & receive msgs in arabic *yes iPhone cant send or receive msgs in arabic * u ll lose the guaranteee !! which is stupid ..
    what else aaa u must knw that the price for the iPhone under the gold500 is 510 JD ! Y & How i can explain it to u in few lines
    iPhone Price 299JD ( ADD TO IT 20% TAXES ! YES 20 NOT 16)
    will be about 358 JD !
    151 JD !! *this include the activation of the new sim !! the deposit 15 jd + the deposit incase u didnt want to pay using credit card ! + the 29.9 jd monthly subs + 20% taxes to be 36.8 JD !!)
    510 JD for iPhone !! BY THE WAY I DIDNT GAVE UP I WANTED THE DEVICE i told him ok i want it ! BUT HE COULDNT activate the device after 3 hours or more of waiting he asked me to go to 7th circle centre i went there at 5 45 PM ! and couple of the sellers were inside and they told me we shut !! i was shocked coz they should be open to customer till 7PM ! GUESS WAT I didnt buy the iPhone and i lll never buy it from orange not bcoz its expensive but because the suXxX they cant offer a gd service at least respect the customer who is not any customer *510 JD +++) and stick to the ur dawam schedl ! I HATE IT

  5. Samsung Omnia Avatar
    Samsung Omnia

    this isn’t trsictly related to this article.. but you can say im in bad need of someone to guide as to how i can unlock my samsung omnia phone! i asked samsung jordan and they said they cant do it without the approval of samsung international which will take ages! any idea??!

  6. firas Avatar
    firas

    If the 30 dinars monthly tax and the contract for one year, and the price of the first 300 dinars; if the total cost of system memory 8 GB are:

    (12 × 30) + 300 = 660 JD

    Which is equivalent to approximately U.S. $ 933

    If the purchase of a loose official from the company by ebay site will be better, cheaper and more secure.

  7. Osama Humeid Avatar
    Osama Humeid

    Hmmm.. no Arabic support. no 3G network in Jordan and no Jordanian maps at Google Earth..that’s sounds like a good deal :D , someone should phone Steve Jobs and ask him what’s up, but i like the plans, in Germany we got 50 minutues, 0 sms, and just 200 MB of data for the same price, i guess the prices are fair but again.. come on!! still no 3G in Jordan! takhantoha..

  8. Basem, the less usual non-sheikh Insight Avatar
    Basem, the less usual non-sheikh Insight

    Wallahi ya Humeid i can only imagine the water-cooler conversations the folks at Orange marketing were thinking when they came up with this redicelous pricing scheme (we nailed it, Zain will self-combust in envy)!

    The comparison you made should chill their spines if they thought of it before hand, but alas… the sad part of the story will be that the Jordanian-consumer factor will play in, and Orange might as well be selling those like Hot Ka3ik…

    Akh bas…. I wish i can flick the off switch on all mobile operators and trash every last phone out there in the market and reflect upon the pre-1995 world of ours… no i take this back, pre-1999, no one minded the 50,000 folks making unnecessary calls on their bricks.

  9. Ahmad Al-Sholi Avatar
    Ahmad Al-Sholi

    Ahmad, what do you mean by:

    “Looking at the small print, I discovered that the plans do not allow you to use the iPhone’s data connection on a PC. Come on Orange/Apple.” ??

  10. Samar Hijjawi Avatar
    Samar Hijjawi

    Ahmad, did you get your iPhone??

  11. iPhone Geek Avatar
    iPhone Geek

    Wissam

    the diamond one is cheaper only in the phone price area. You pay more for the monthly fees.
    th iphone is initially subsidized by orange, meaning that they pay part of the price, and when your plan is bigger, the lower the price of the iphone is.

  12. Hameed Avatar
    Hameed

    @Ahmad Al-Sholi
    “he plans do not allow you to use the iPhone’s data connection on a PC.”
    You can use a mobile phone as a modem for your computer so say you are on the go with your laptop you simply connect your phone to it and you cab browse the internet anywhere there is a Cell signal, no need for WiFi and with 3G speeds that can be a very nice expereince…if only we actually had that service :)

    @Humeid,
    This same rule also applies to AT&T (they forbid users from “tethering” there phones) but once you jailbreak the iPhone you can do whatever you want anyway.

  13. Nokia Review Avatar
    Nokia Review

    Congrats jordan to have iPhone sell in your location. even in my location i need to crack it.

  14. Anon Avatar
    Anon

    I live in the Gulf, I have a 3G iphone.
    Here is the deal:
    We have official iphone here, locked to certain carrier, pretty much the same deal, BUT, if u want to :
    1- keep ur non-orange number
    2- have multitasking options – like keep apps running in the background
    3- change ur “desktop”( winterboard) display in the background
    4- use VOIP on ur own SIP provider on wi-fi
    5- update ur camera options- contrast, zoom etc.
    if u want all that then U should get ur iphone jailbroken.
    I am a mac user since ever ( totally suck on PCs), and I am telling u, if u jailbreak ur iphone its a great gadget, if u get an official one, then its just not worth it at all
    compare for ur selves ( i know many ppl in amman have jailbroken iphones), this means they can use any GSM and have the amazing CYDIA app which beats the itunes app store in terms of variety and free items…
    w salamat ;)

  15. Anon Avatar
    Anon

    oh! and forget to mention, if u jailbreak u can totally arabize the iphone, meaning u can read arabic webpages on safari and send and receive arabic sms’s and mail. If u take the official un-jailbroken iphone , ur arabic letters on safari websites will have u see each arabic letter detached and garbled!
    JAILBREAK!! enough monoply!

  16. lour Avatar
    lour

    i though that the iphone would coast 700 JD and i do relly want one but my parent wouldn’t buy me one but even if i will buy one from this iphone i are talking about i dont want to pay every month for it and that’s what i understand from what you wrote!! :(

  17. 3goola Avatar
    3goola

    How much is tha tax *custom to send an iphone to jordan from america?

  18. Moe Avatar
    Moe

    Hey I’m Selling an Iphone 3G’S 32GB White, Its not out in Jordan It costs 550JD, 900 American Dollars, If You get it from America, But It has an unlock on it so You can use it with, ;Zain;Umniah;Orange, And Other Jordan Phone Lines

    Call me at;

    0799749770