Vodafone have gone crazy- Infinitely crazy

Some times an announcement sparks my interest, other times, not so much.  This one though – made me stop, take a step back and ask myself – is it April 1?

Vodafone today announced several new plans they call “Infinite” – sounds to me like the word ‘Unlimited’ just doesn’t cut it anymore:)

In short, you choose the amount you want to spend, the length of the contract, and with that you get a set amount of data, and Infinite access to calls and texts, plus the value of your spend toward everything else you want, calls, text, video calls, etc. Even 13 and 1800 numbers are included.

Be wary – These are great PLANS – but for the most part, you have to pay more for a decent handset!

Click CONTINUE READING for more info!

It might be easier to look at the fine print and work out what’s NOT included first.

• the Data limit on the plans does NOT include ‘tethering’ – this is where you use your mobile phone as your ‘modem’ so your computer can access the internet. If you do tether your phone you’ll be charged 25c per MB.
• It excludes Premium and re-routed TXT and MMS messages – (I assume that is mainly all that garbage that gets advertised on TV for ringtones and competitions)
• Excludes TXT to Pivotel Mobiles (they are satellite phones, so not too many people affected here!)
• Next up, it is only for contract customers.  So you need to be a new or renewing Vodafone customer on a 12 or 24 month plan.

If you are prepared to forego all those things then you next need to choose your monthly spend!

Plans are $45, $65, $85 and $100 per month.

For all those plans you will get:

• “Infinite” calls to any standard Australian Numbers
• “Infinite” texts to any personal mobiles in Australia and Overseas
• “Infinite” access to social media (Twitter/Facebook/Foursquare etc)

So, after that, you get an ‘included value’ of your spend (so on the $65 plan, you get $65 value) on:

• International Voice and Video calls (not available on the $45 plan)
• Re-routed calls
• calls to directories
• voicemail
• 13/18 numbers

The $45 plan has 1GB of data, the $65 plan has 2GB, $85 has 3GB and the $100 plan has 4GB of data.

All in all, it’s a complex, but still very good offering.

I suggest you take a good look at your current bill and decide if any of those things like 13 numbers, 1800 numbers, international calling or tethering are key to your usage and then look at a plan to suit you.

The next level of complication is the handset choice.

There are a stack of handsets to choose from, including Blackberry 9100, HTC Desire HD, LG Optimus, Motorola Flipout, Nokia X3/C3-01/X6 and N8, Samsung B5310 and Galaxy, Sony Ericsson X10 and the iPhone 4 16GB.

You also get a 2 year repair warranty on new mobiles (Except the iPhone 4!)

The handset cost depends (of course!) on your plan.  Basically, all those phones are free on the $85 and $100 per month 2 year plan.

the iPhone, DesireHD, Nokia N8 and Galaxy all cost you money on the $100 plan on a 12 month deal.

The only phones free on the 12 month $45 plan are the Nokia X3 and the LG Optimus.

There is a lot to take in, so check our your local vodafone store if this kind of thing sounds interesting to you.

And tell me – is it?  Is infinity just the new unlimited? Seems that way – but this all does seem rather appealing!