Back in 2009, Maxis is the first telco to offer iPhone in Malaysia and then came DiGi on April this year to compete for the iPhone market share in Malaysia. For us consumers, we love to see competition between the two telcos because we are the eventually winner who is going to gain benefit from the price war. 🙂
With both Maxis and Digi have already disclosed their iPhone 4 plans and pricing. It’s now your turn to decide on which plan is better and attractive, DiGi or Maxis?
To help you choose the better plan, please take a look at the comparison chart between DiGi and Maxis iPhone 4 plans. This comparison chart is made by DiGi. So obviously, the comparison chart is favorable to DiGi than Maxis.
DiGi iPhone 4 vs Maxis iPhone 4 Comparison Chart
* Monthly fee is applicable for the first 24 months. ** Monthly fee is after Auto Billing rebate of RM5 per month.
(Click on the image to enlarge it)
Cost of Ownership
One of the key areas that most of us potential buyers tend to look into when it comes to purchasing iPhone 4 (and any other products as well) is the total cost of ownership.
The formula for calculating the cost of ownership is as follow.
Total Cost of Ownership = iPhone price + 24 months monthly fee (excluding taxes)
So we shall compares the total cost of ownership of iPhone 4 16 GB and 32 GB between Maxis and DiGi for over 24 months contract. The monthly fee for every DiGi postpaid plans is calculated by making assumption that you would opt for auto-billing.
First, we look at the total cost of ownership for iPhone 4 16 GB under three postpaid plans that both telcos offered for over 24 months contract.
| Plans | iDiGi 88 | iValue 1 (RM100) |
iDiGi 138 | iValue 2 (RM 150) |
iDiGi 238 | iValue 3 (RM 250) |
||
| iPhone 4 Price | RM 2090 | RM 1390 | RM 2090 | RM 990 | RM 2090 | RM 490 | ||
| Monthly Fee (24-months) |
RM 1392 | RM 2400 | RM 2112 | RM 3600 | RM 3792 | RM 6000 | ||
| Total Cost of Ownership | RM 3482 | RM 3790 | RM 4202 | RM 4590 | RM 5882 | RM 6490 |
Now, the total cost of ownership for iPhone 4 32 GB model.
| Plans | iDiGi 88 | iValue 1 (RM100) |
iDiGi 138 | iValue 2 (RM 150) |
iDiGi 238 | iValue 3 (RM 250) |
||
| iPhone 4 Price | RM 2490 | RM 1790 | RM 2490 | RM 1390 | RM 2490 | RM 890 | ||
| Monthly Fee (24-months) |
RM 1392 | RM 2400 | RM 2112 | RM 3600 | RM 3792 | RM 6000 | ||
| Total Cost of Ownership | RM 3882 | RM 4190 | RM 4602 | RM 4990 | RM 6282 | RM 6890 |
*iValue 4 (RM 375) from Maxis is not included.
So, in the term of total cost of ownership for time period of 24 months, DiGi stands up as the winner for all plans and for both iPhone 4 models compared. But as I said, the total cost of ownership is just one of the factors that you should consider before buying iPhone 4.
There is also other factors that you may want to think over like the strength of network coverage (Maxis gives better network experience), the duration of contract you prefer (If 24-months contract is too long, you can take 12-months contract from Maxis) , extra charges for exceeding monthly internet quota usage (DiGi gives you unlimited data usage, just that when you exceed the quota usage, the internet speed will be throttled to 128kbps) etc.
So, to choose Maxis or DiGi iPhone 4 plans, it is now your choice to decide and please make a wise decision. 🙂
