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Marina Nikolova

The new model of the Apple phone - iPhone 4G, came out yesterday on the Greek market and was greeted with great enthusiasm by the consumers. After a short afternoon stroll around few shops of Vodafone and Cosmote in downtown Athens, I realized that I can not even see this new miracle of technology because the items they had had finished early in the morning! Once I did a quick review of the phone prices in its different versions (with 32GB, 16GB, 8GB memory, with different schemes for purchase of the phone with a discount for a contract with the importing company for a fee plan for calls and internet), I realized that the cost of such a phone is approximately equal to the minimum wage in Greece.

IPhone 4G itself costs 779 euros for the model 32GB, but it is now available only if the customer accepts the contract with the provider. This lowers the price of the phone almost in half. As both companies announced the device can be purchased from their stores at the prices between 369 and 709 euros for the 32GB model with 12-months contracts. 16GB model is sold in the stores of Vodafone between 369 euros (unlimited internet 70 and a monthly fee of 72.35 euros) to 579 euros (unlimited internet 30 and a monthly fee of 31.01 euros). The same model is offered by Cosmote for the price of 249 euros (with unlimited talk time with  Cosmote and internet 125 for a monthly fee of 125 euros) to 589 euros (with unlimited calls to  Cosmote and internet 25 for a monthly fee of 25 euros). The model with 32GB is offered by Vodafone for a price between 489 euros (unlimited internet 70) to 699 euros (unlimited internet 30), and by Cosmote for a price between 369 euros (with unlimited calls with Cosmote and internet 125) to 709 euros (with unlimited calls with Cosmote and internet 25).

Of course, for the techno-maniacs it is a matter of honor to get the latest technology. According to trusted information providers have been preparing lists of clients for at least five months. Until yesterday, they numbered about 40,000 people waiting for their turn to be among the first to have the new model of iPhone. Interesting, but a fact proved to be that it is very difficult (at least in the beginning!) for the customers to get a phone without signing a contract with the company for at least one year. This is done precisely for the reason that the numbers of phones are currently limited, but quite a lot ov customers are already waiting in line. "When they came in the morning, the customers purchased them like hot cakes. Because it is a new model the items that we have will run out quickly, while allocated to all 500 stores and therefore those who enter into a contract have an advantage. But like this it also costs almost half the actual price of the phone," said an employee at one of the central stores of Cosmote. Because I asked how you can buy the phone only, an employee of Vodafone also said that the phones themselves - without having to sign a contract with the company provider will be sold on the market only after the Christmas holidays.

Worldwide sales of the new Apple product are going up. In Greece, it is expected an initial wave of interested customers to sweep the first items, but there are some unhappy customers as well. Part of the consumers who are left-handed, are complaining that the fourth generation of iPhone has hard time to hold the network when the phone is held into the left hand because the antenna is located in the lower left corner. When I asked about this problem in one of the shops the assistant told me - without the quotes, I only give the meaning of what I was told - the phone is perfect, the design is great and it also has two headphones for a better sound. However I wrote the the strange word, which they used to explain why the phone is so good, and after a search through the network I found an article which I liked because it is written in plain language.

Here is what impressed me in this comparison between the new model of Apple with three other phones with similar parameters - Droid Incredible, Evo 4G and Google Nexus One: its screen is smaller than the screen of the Android phones, but the technology that was used for its development is considered innovative. iPhone 4G has the highest analysis of images of all phones ever made and has four times more pixels than the previous models of the iPhone. The small screen, however, has its inconvenience for the people with thicker fingers, comments the article of CNN, which, after a long surfing through the net I decided it most satisfactorily explains the advantages and disadvantages of the new phone. One of the facts taken into account is that Apple has invented the best camera ever made. In addition, designers have decided that the eye of the lens is focused on the consumer, so the camera can be used also for video chat. According to my criteria one of the disadvantages is that the phone does not detect FM radio frequency... and having a radio on your phone is really saving sometimes. But can’t you listen to the radio over the Internet - they have forgotten to write that, but for people like me such questions arise...