SaudiMac Saudi Apple Macintosh Users
After 7 months of our confirmation and as we said yesterday, here is STC’s official announcement and pricing details for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS 8GB.
STC will begin selling the iPhone in Saudi Arabia Sunday February 13th, 2011.
STC also sent an Arabic SMS to everyone who “registered” for the iPhone 4 saying that it’s available at their showrooms on a first come first served bases. Basically there was no reservation.
[Via Ghazi.]FaceTime will not be available on these iPhones as far as we know.
The bundles available are:
Basic – Essential
• Monthly subscription: 89 SR
• Local minutes: 75
• SMS messages: 75
• Data usage: 250 MB
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 32GB: 2,299 SR
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 16GB: 1,899 SR
• Initial payment for iPhone 3GS 8GB: 1,499 SR
Extra – Classical
• Monthly subscription: 249 SR
• Local minutes: 350
• SMS messages: 300
• Data usage: 500 MB
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 32GB: 599 SR
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 16GB: 199 SR
• Initial payment for iPhone 3GS 8GB: free.
Premium – Excellence
• Monthly subscription: 369 SR
• Local minutes: 500
• SMS messages: 300
• Data usage: 2 GB and 5 MB roaming
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 32GB: 149 SR
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 16GB: free.
• Initial payment for iPhone 3GS 8GB: free.
Commitment for 12 months.
Pre-Paid
• Data usage: 250 MB
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 32GB: 2,899 SR
• Initial payment for iPhone 4 16GB: 2,489 SR
• Initial payment for iPhone 3GS 8GB: 2,059 SR
You can find the author of this post on twitter: @khaled.
Arabic version of this post on SaudiMac Arabic Edition.
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Remember to visit We Want Apple Saudi Arabia petition and spread the word.
i would like to ask that extra classical package will be offered for every1 or for only for vipz az we have seen in da case of mobily they only offered to raqi…….
You can get only Pre-paid or Basic package and all other packages are for Gold and Diamond customers.
Hisaf, how can you become a Gold and Diamond customer?
how long is the contract period?
12 Months
Please anyone tell the timings when STC will lanch iphone 4? i m coming to Jeddah for a short time so if anyone can tell the time i will be greatful.
Salam-alaykum
Will the prepaid iPhone 4 be available today also? Can anyone confirm this? Many Thanks
Regards
As expected! went to Palestine Road branch in Jeddah @ 11.30am & they said it is finished
What a joke !
inaddition to that only one package is available which is 99 per month with the maximum advance.
got the 32 GB one from olaya street…all outlets are running out of stock!!!
Good for you guys you got your phones, here in Al khobar they just got our contact details and they said they will call us back again. no one can beat that joke since they already made us register online!
From jeddah here. I went on 3 branches one in tahlia one in amir sultan and one in khalidiya. All except in amir sultan said its finished and I should try again tomorrow (monday). The on in sultan I went during prayer and the salesmen were outside smoking I asked one of them in english if they have it on stock they said its finised. And then i overheard him talking in arabic with a friend on a phone saying why you did not tell me earlier, yalla come and drop by here we have it. It seems the salesmen prioritize their friends and familes before us customers. btw only the basic package are available and only 32GB.
Yes i got it -iphone 4 32GB from Falasteen Street branch after waiting for 4 hours…
@Saud what time did you go there? and why you need to wait 4 hours?
I just got mine from STC . the number finished @ 9 AM. I was in AlTahliyah Sales Office and precessing was very slow ( I took number @ 8 AM and I got IPhone around 3 PM 🙁 ).
I think you can wait for Iphone 5 if you are not hurry 🙂 .
There is no facetime as mentioned by khaled, i am not satisfied with the signal strength….
yesterday i went to sultana branch (in madinah) and the only thing everybody was asked to do was write their name and phone number and that they would call later on…i was no. 23…no calls..no problem..today again i went early and heard to my amazement alyaum waraqah jadheedh..i wrote my name and phone number….and sure i am no. 2…but before i left i asked another guy there what time they would call..he said you would be called after yesterdays’ people..then i asked how many they did call he said 10…i am sure something is going wrong…stc management shouldn’t let their staff or employees play with customers like that..
Did they tell you what types of subscription plans are available for postpaid (If so, what are the requirements)?
And if there will be any units for prepaid?
the guy there said that all postpaid plans are available but did not mention any requirements..and said there would be units for prepaid but didn’t say after how many weeks…but another guy told me that i should already have a postpaid…i don’t know if they made up this rule, so they could give it to those they want..their relatives..its all corruption..
jazakallahu khairan… Well, that sounds not too bad since those units are for postpaid iPhones, so that should require the postpaid plan.Â
Salam Wa Alaikum,
I went today STC Sales Outlet near HARA, Riyadh. Only postpaid was available. I took the waiting number for postpaid connection. and when my number came and asked for BASIC postpaid plan then he asked for my existing mobile number which is prepaid of STC. then he told that he can issue any iphone to existing postpaid customer….
i was in queue near about 2hr and after that i got this answer,,……
its really a ridiculous behave with the customer…. Â STC should publish or its Customer Care Executive should say clearly about the terms…
ITS A MIND BLOWING SERVICE OF GOVT COMPANY ie STC….
ALLAH bless the STC….
Yesterday, i visited Tahliya Branch not Main Branch at 9pm. First time he denied to give token but when i asked to Senior Executive then he told to give me. My turn came at 9:30pm and when i reached there then he asked whether i am a existing STC pospaid customer then i said no. after that he told to come tomorrow because system was slow but he issued to another SAUDI guy….
When i visited today, he told me that iPhone is out of Stock…..
Oh Allah@@@ what is the behind the carpet …??? i dont knw…. but something is happening definitely…
I think they are doing partiality…..
We are muslim.. and Islam does not allow any type of  partiality……
if STC administrative is reading then please try to take positive response….
I hope +ve response from STC//….
Are they selling only to expatriates or not? because wherever i go they say its finished. i think mobily was doing better.
All my fellow expats from around the world told me that Saudi Arabia is the weirdest country there is. Now I know why, been searching for iphone 4 on all STC branches for 2 days now and I get the same answer. No more come early morning tommorow. And when you do, they will say proiority to postpaid customers. I know that its also priority for relatives and friends. Im sorry to all saudi’s but you are so weird I tried in mobily tahlia and the same answer, dont know when…
Do they mean it’s for the existing postpaid customers only, and that you cannot create new postpaid account just for the iPhone 4? If not, then why don’t you make a new postpaid account??
Its clear if you dont know any salesman from STC or any big boss there, then sorry buddy. I stopped fooling myself thinking I can buy it here in saudi, I will buy from extra at 3,400 SAR no huss no fuss, iphones from singapore. Has voip enabled forever and no snobbish saudi salesman to tell you to come back tommorow. I dont care if it costs 500 sar more. I’ve had enough of STC and MOBILY treating us customers like fools…
Reading the thread… i noted that STC is no diffierent with Mobily in regards to holding iPhone inventories. had the same dilemma of rushing to various mobily branches last time, and frustration of waiting for long queu only to know that NO MORE stocks!
i have bought for an extra 500SR. The rush will subside in due time…by then perhaps you can grab a unit…the problem is…what if the stocks are no longer available. Well hello iphone 5 or.. hello HTC or Samsung!!!
I already talked to my brother in the UK and told him to buy it for me thru apple UK website which costs 3100 WITH FACETIME and he will send it to a friend coming here in jeddah! I tried extra and jarir before that and they are awaiting stocks so much better option for me is, thru my brother. If we are from the UK we only wait 3 days. And more convenient online with free delivery, here in KSA its like a stone age system….
FaceTime is not a big deal my friend. It’s in itself is an incomplete technology yet.
Alternatively Skype app provides the same feature with no diversified requirements.
@MIMalik Facetime is one of the main features of iphone 4 without it you just have an iphone 3gs, all the other apps that offer video call, is good but if someone calls you via facetime you need to tell them to open other apps instead, facetime is built in, and its a good option when calling someone, you cannot set skype or tango or YM to answer facetime calls right?
alhamdhulillaah ..at last i received their call at 7 pm…and got my iphone4 16GB from the same sultana branch (in madinah) paying the same SR1899 as initial payment as mentioned in their leaflet..actually its not a requirement that you should already have a post paid number…what they are saying is purposefully changed by some staff to mean something else…it means that the subscription can only be made with a postpaid number.. not that you should have one now..i changed the prepaid number i used to a postpaid one when they asked if i would like to do so…it may cost you SR50 for that, i would know when i get my first bill, coz they didn’t charge any extra money…they were actually following the previous list made yesterday in reservation. but at how slow a pace..anyways they treated my nicely…
@ahmed
Wish I was from madinah too…
We expats are treated like second class citizens here no rights…nothing can be done. Society’s mentality is 1500 years old…
Its not just expats I went to all STC outlets on the 13th and yesterday and along with me I encountered saudi’s also inquiring if it is available, like me they we’re quickly told to try again tommorow and that they are sorry its finished for the day! So, as you can see its all about knowing the right ppl from STC or being a relative of one. I dont know if there will be more stocks in the coming weeks. Any news saudimac???
Sharing my experience. I am in RIyadh I checked in Granada Mall outlet. One guy asked me to come back after 5 days. 5 minutes later I asked the other guy and he asked me to come back next morning
I checked in Ghadeer branch and got one with potpaid plan after 30 minutes.
I took it home activated via iTunes. Then made the first call and to m y surpize the earpiece was not working. I could hear the person on other side via Speaker Phone only. After googling this, I found it that i’m not alone who faced this problem. Next day I took the phone back to the same branch, They have refused to refund the whole thing and have asked to wait for 3/4 days for repair or replacement. I’m not interrested to get back a REPAIRED phone and I have made it clear to them. Let us see how this turns out. By the way, I have found STC is much better than Mobily. Do you guys know that Mobily still seels iPhone4 if you have friends there or bribe them 3,200 SAR?
Sharing my experience. I am in RIyadh I checked in Granada Mall outlet. One guy asked me to come back after 5 days. 5 minutes later I asked the other guy and he asked me to come back next morning
I checked in Ghadeer branch and got one with postpaid plan after 30 minutes.
I took it home and activated via iTunes. Then made the first call and to m y surpize the earpiece was not working. I could hear the person on other side via Speaker Phone only. On googling this, I found it that i’m not alone who faced this problem. Next day I took the phone back to the same branch, They have refused to refund the whole thing and have asked to wait for 3/4 days for repair or replacement. I’m not interrested to get back a REPAIRED phone and I have made it clear to them. Let us see how this turns out. By the way, I have found STC is much better than Mobily. Do you guys know that Mobily still sells iPhone4 if you have friends there or bribe them 3,200 SAR?
Sorry for double posting. The browser got stuck while posting in the first shot.
Salam Wa Alaikum,
Can u plzz tell me where is Ghadeer branch??? i am in Malaz so i will come by King Fahad Road… Please let me know..
Please visit http://maps.google.com and search this:
24.781143,46.662304
Salam Wa Alaikum,
Jazak Allah Khair..
Thanx dude
i have it form stc. the third person to get iphone 4 from STC in jeddah. IT IS AWSOME
HOM916 where did u get it from in jeddah? was it today? and did they ask cash or do they need a credit card only payment?
Can someone tell me how do they deal with the old SIM card? Do they allow you to transfer the same number to the new micro SIM, or do they just hand out the new SIM card and that’s it (like in case of Mobily).
anyone????
They offer to get the package on the old number.
Out of stock in all the branches in riyadh?
is the phone from stc unlocked?
Dear All,
here is the same story I am sure STC is playing with all the customers and making them busy for nothing, its better to buy from any other place like Jarrir instead of fake ofer from STC
STC should not spoil their name and the cutomer trust.
Jarir prices here in Jeddah as per yesterday inquiry
Iphone 4 16 GB —-> 3,600 SAR
Iphone 4 32 GB —-> 4,000 SAR
I’m so excited when I saw STC offering of IPHONE 4 for affordable price however while I’m reading all of your comments, I was upset bcoz they are not doing there jobs and make the customer waiting and fooling. I hope STC will take action on this problem. I hope I can have 1 iphone also in your company.
how we can check balance in STC pospaid sim ??????
sir,i just want to ask if the iphone 4 will work in the philippines?
Yes kabayan, it will work with globe phils. Just buy a globe micro sim or normal 3g sim and cut it to micro size. Update your carrier settings and it will work in no time….