FRENCH iPhone users, some advice s'il vous plait...

[eshroom]

I have just moved to France (my French is too bad to ask for help in French at this point so please excuse me for asking in English). I would like to get a contract so I can use my iPhone.

Do I have to get an iPhone contract? I hear that in the US AT&T recognises the IMEI and automatically puts you on an iPhone tarrif.

If not, what is the difference between an unlimited internet tarrif and a full internet tariff? The price seems the same and they both advertise 24/7 internet. (I am looking at SFR contracts FORFAIT ILLIMYTHICS 3G+, FORFAIT ILLIMYTHICS 3G+ Full Internet and FORFAIT IPHONE here: http://www.sfr.fr/mobile/offres/les-forfaits-sfr?vue=000deu&budget=20_30&rmFilter=)

Orange have an even bigger price difference between normal 3G customers and iPhone customers... I'm confused, I don't use the internet anymore than a blackberry user...

Many thanks

 

[Moi un Mouton]

Alors mon ami, first of all if you have an AT&T phone, you are not going to be able to use it in France unless you jailbreak and unlock it.

Regarding the SFR tariffs, I'd say these are the main differences:
- the iPhone tariff includes giving you a subsidised iPhone 3G/3GS, and gives you
wi-fi access, email, VVM, etc
- non-iPhone "unlimited internet" packages do not include wi-fi, email, etc
- non-iPhone "full internet" is pretty much the iPhone package for non-iPhones, ie email, wi-fi, a type of VVM etc. It seems to be the same price as the iPhone versions of the tariff.
- I do not know if the French operators track the type of phone being connected against the tariff chosen, the way AT&T does

Anyway, in a nutshell, what you'd get for your extra 6€/month on SFR is the wi-fi hotspot access, ability to send/receive unlimited emails, and the VVM service.

Hope that helps. Bonne chance.

 

[eshroom]

Merciii. Very helpful. I think I will get a subsidised iPhone and sell it to pay for the contract. My iPhone is from Belgium so t is already unlocked.