Optus announces iPhone 5 plans

Pricing revealed for 4G smartphone.

Optus has let loose its pricing for Apple’s new iPhone 5, minutes before the smartphone is set to go on pre-sale on Apple’s own website.

Optus is Australia’s first telco to announce its pricing for the new smartphone, released yesterday. The iPhone 5 will also be available on the Telstra and Virgin 4G networks, as well as Vodafone’s 3G+ network. 

Optus’ eight plans range from $30 plus an $18 handset repayment fee, which offers $200 of call and SMS credits and 200MB of data a month, to $129 for 4GB and unlimited calls and SMS.

The base $30 plan is the only plan to not include unlimited SMS. All plans are on a 24 month contract.

Apple launched the sixth-generation smartphone yesterday, in what CEO Tim Cook called a complete redesign of the market-leading smartphone.

The iPhone 5 is thinner, bigger and more powerful than its predecessors. It is 18 percent skinnier at 7.6mm, 20 percent lighter at 112 grams, and larger with a 4in screen over the iPhone 4s’ 3.5in display.

Apple debuted a new processor in the smartphone, with the A6 chip 22 percent smaller in size but two times faster than its A5 predecessor.

Significant new features include the addition of 4G compatible with Australia’s LTE network as well as a new, 80-pin “Lightning” dock connector over the previous 30-pin port.

The iPhone 5 comes in a two-tone design, and will be available in black and slate, and white and aluminium. The iPhone 5 has a metal back and is made entirely of glass and aluminium.

The smartphone will retail from 5:01pm today in Australia from Apple for $799 for the 16GB model, $899 for 32GB and $999 for the 64GB model. It will start shipping to Australia on the 21st.