SingTel Price Note II higher than iPhone 5

As mentioned in my earlier post, SingTel has finally unveiled the long awaited price for Galaxy Note II. If you have registered your interest and have received invitation to book your appointment slot, don't forget to do it today @3PM. If you are doing it from mobile, the link is here. If you are doing from PC, the link is here.

Now that the price for the highly anticipated phablet is out, many fans would certainly be disappointed. First, they decide to price the Note 2 higher than iPhone 5. Based on my unofficial polling, most fans in Singapore expect the price of Galaxy Note II to be lower or equal to iPhone 5. (See: Price of Galaxy Note 2: Expectation from Singapore Fans) Despite the higher price, the launch event of Galaxy Note 2 is pale in comparison to that of iPhone 5. SingTel has picked ComCenter as their launch venue. Compared that to the all glamorous Marina Bay Sands (MBS) party that they organized for the iPhone 5 launch. Third, they are only going to sell the 16GB version of the Note during tomorrow's launch. Some fans are right to say that this defeats the entire purpose of having a more powerful and faster device. I'm sure that the bigger 32 and 64GB would soon follow, but you'll only get to buy it without the $202 or $50 accessories freebie that they are going to give out if you buy this Friday or Saturday.

Now back to the pricing, here is how they compare. Take note that the comparison is based on the Galaxy Note II 16GB LTE (that has only been announced so far) against iPhone 5 16GB. First, let's start with the cheapest iFlexi Lite $39.90 plan. If we compare the upfront payment, Note II is 20% more expensive than iPhone 5 ($568 vs $478). Over two years, the difference shrink down to 6% ($1525 vs $1435). Next onto the iFlexi Value $59.90 plan, the upfront payment of Note II is 45% more expensive than iPhone 5 ($288 vs $198) which will shrink to 5% over two years ($1725 vs $1635). For plans higher than these 2, take a look at the table below.

	iFlexi Lite $39.90	iFlexi Value $59.90	iFlexi Plus $99.90	iFlexi Premium $205
16GB iPhone 5	$478	$198	$0	$0
16GB Note II	$568	$288	$98	$0
Difference	18.83%	45.45%	N.A.	N.A.

Over the course of two years, this is how they compare.

	iFlexi Lite $39.90	iFlexi Value $59.90	iFlexi Plus $99.90	iFlexi Premium $205
16GB iPhone 5	$1435.60	$1635.60	$2397.60	$4920.00
16GB Note II	$1525.60	$1725.60	$2495.60	$4920
Difference	6.27%	5.50%	4.09%	0.00%

Below is a snapshot of SingTel's iPhone 5 plan.