The iPhone4: Deal or no deal?

With the long awaited next generation iPhone set to launch tomorrow, and pre-orders thought to have already sold-out, moneysupermarket.com looks at the best deals available.

Mike Wilson, mobiles manager at moneysupermarket.com, said: "The appetite for the iPhone 4 is enormous as pre-order sales have shown. For people getting their first iPhone, there are some great deals available, with tariff announcements from 3 and T-Mobile still to come.

"So far, Orange, O2, Vodafone and Tesco have announced tariffs for the iPhone 4. Previously, there wasn't much to choose between the big providers on iPhones, but there are now some good deals to be had with the new offerings. There have been a few changes to the types of deal on offer since the 3G iPhone launched in late 2007, the biggest being to data allowance. Until recently, data was unlimited whilst on the 3G network, but only Orange has kept this offer - albeit with a 750MB fair use policy - O2, Tesco and Vodafone are capping data between 500MB and 1GB a month which will be enough for most people.

"On face value the new handsets might seem quite expensive; costing up to £349 for a 16GB and £429 for a 32GB on Tesco, but paying out for the handset up front can result in a cheaper contract in the long run. Going for a Tesco deal at £20 a month for 250 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB data limit, offers the cheapest deal at the moment - at £589 over a 12 month contract for a 16GB phone.

"For the average user looking for about 600 minutes and around 500 texts, Orange, O2 and Vodafone all offer similar deals. Vodafone and O2 both offer unlimited texts for £40 and £35 a month respectively, with Orange offering 600 minutes and 500 texts for £35 over 18 months. Orange charge more for the handset - £229 compared to £119 with Vodafone and O2 - but if you are a film fan, Orange Wednesdays can be a worthwhile benefit to consider."

Mike Wilson concluded: "When choosing an iPhone deal, think about what kind of user you are then look at the total cost of the tariff, including the cost of the handset and the monthly payments over the term of the deal to see which one is the best value.

"There will be a large number of people looking to upgrade from an old iPhone; these people need to remember that not all operators will offer a free upgrade and they can offset some of the new handset cost by recycling their old iPhone on sites like love2recycle.com."