I’m shopping around for a new phone. I obviously lust after an iPhone 4 being the apple fanboy that I am. Having said that I am in no position to afford a phone even half the price and have no need whatsoever for a contract.

So out of curiosity I went to see what the networks are offering. The iphone is priced on the following sites: scanmalta.com, klikk.com.mt, vodafone.com.m and go.com.mt at between 649 and 699

Melita in their wisdom claim that the phone is priced at €900. And even on their contracts it’s more expensive than the prepaid or contract versions.

The iphone 4 graphic nicked from apple.com

I was pretty surprised to learn the iPhone 4 has become available to order via Vodafone Malta and iCentre (local apple distributor). I don’t know if this launch has been kept low key or it’s because I don’t really follow the local media at all but I came across this news through someone I shall refer to as “He-Man”  posted a query on her Facebook status asking whether she should go for the 3Gs or the iphone 4. The pages give the prices of the phone without contract – I’ll save you unnecessary clicking and your can read below for more information. I was shocked that the contract-less prices were reasonable when compared with those abroad! I will not go into the merits of comparing the contracts because I have to do more research – I’m a computer geek so the prehistoric technology that is the phone never interested me. The iPhone is the mac of the future in my pocket. Unfortunately I don’t own an iPhone because owning one would mean dropping it out of the holes in my pocket its cost would burn.

So there you go — expensive as you’d expect but not inordinately more expensive compared to some places abroad. It’s about the same price as it’d cost you if you had it shipped from the UK with courier delivery and insurance.  The frogbat’s recommendation: if you are in the market for an iPhone 4 and wish to buy one contract free, jet off to London on a low cost airline to buy one (and get a holiday). The warranty should be an international one and should be honoured locally too (that’s a “should”)  and it’s not like they’d repair anything here anyway. Just register the product immediately with Apple once purchased. Obviously the matter changes completely if you wish to purchase an iPhone with a new contract. With a contract, the initial outlay becomes a bit more affordable… but your mileage may vary.

Some exciting developments have taken place over the past couple of months in Malta when it comes to acquiring a new Mac. Whereas previously we had the monolithic BDS, then bought out by Gasan who merged it with another company to form SG Solutions being the only supplier of Macs and Apple products on the island, now we have Klikk becoming the second officially recognised retail partner.

SG have in the past tried to have their Macs sold through a network of local retailers but let’s say it wasn’t an inspired move. Also, in a move which surely has irked Klikk, Scan have started selling Macs too. However, there is no literature to indicate they are an official Mac distributor and where they source their stock from. Training staff for after sales is something very important and it’s all part of the renowned Mac experience, abroad at least! But one thing is for certain, wherever Scan are getting their Macs from (options are SG solutions or parallel importing), they sure know how to compete on price.

There was a time not too long ago where pricing a Mac Pro vis a vis the US price showed a rediculous price difference of some Lm300 – that’s almost €700 or the price of a flight to NYC. OK, it’s never fair to compare local prices with the US, comparisons with EU prices were still not at all favourable. When the Euro was introduced here comparisons were even easier. However, Mac prices were still quite more expensive. Now, thanks to Klikk and Scan competing with prices for all to see on their respective websites, I have finally seen a Mac with the identical sticker price as in another EU country.

Here’s the pricing of a Mac Book Pro:
SG Solutions €POA
Klikk €1,819.00
Scan  €1,799.00
Apple.com Ireland online store – €1,799.00

So there you have it – and the pricing follows similar patterns with Klikk’s prices between a few euro more expensive than Ireland and Scan’s being more or less the same. However, Klikk has more models in stock and more accessories. Both didn’t have Mac Pro pricing on their sites but right now I’d have to sell a kidney or two to afford one at the moment. They are an official partner so warranties and after sales should be better, hopefully time will tell. One very annoying thing about Klikk however, is that their site is almost completely unusable on Safari.