Apple iPad Now for £199 – Orange and T-Mobile

Well, even at its regular price, I’m pretty certain that the iPad will be featuring on many a letter to Santa this Christmas.

Orange and T-Mobile (both now part of the same Everything Everywhere group) have just announced their subsidised Apple tablet deals so you or Father Christmas don’t have to slap down the full asking price on day one.

A 16GB iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G is available for £199, on a two-year deal at £25 per month for existing Orange and T-Mobile customers.

If you’re not already on either network they add a coupla quid p/m that means £27. The 32GB iPad is £249 up front, and the 64GB model is £349. Monthly payments remain the same as above over two years for £25/£27.

In that two-year tie-in you get 1GB of anytime data per month, and 1GB of what they term as ‘quiet time’ data – basically any web use between midnight and 4pm. You also get ‘unlimited’ BT Openzone Wi-Fi, which is subject to 3GB fair usage.

It looks tempting when put along side the full price iPads – around £330 off the 16GB and a £350 saving on the others. Remember to add the two years worth of £25 per month which comes to £600. All of a sudden from being £300 notes better off you end up £270 or £250 down after 24 months. If you’re not on Orange or T-mobile you have to add almost £50 on top.

Before you start writing in – obviously once you’ve signed up to a SIM-only contact with a provider after buying an iPad straight out things start to level out again. The thing is you’ll get more flexibility from the SIM only data plans and, chances are, you’ll not be cuffed to a 2-year deal.

Now, with the whispers of an iPad 2 due to appear on the horizon would it be prudent to sign into a two-year contract

Perhaps wait to see what O2 and Vodafone say in reply 😉