Smurfchops, it's unclear when you say "iPhone" whether you really mean an Apple iPhone, or simply a smarthphone.
I have had a Samsung Galaxy S for almost two years and will be upgrading to an S3 later this year. Son has an iPhone 4S. Both are great but the Android (Samsung) comes at a lower cost.
If you really want an iPhone, though, then get an iPhone. We paid £299 for son's iPhone 4S, which means he pays an £18.50 tariff every month - that's on O2. I'm sure you could do similar or even better with Orange. It's a question of balancing initial price, contract length and taiff. You can get an iPhone "free" if you're prepared to pay £40+ per month for the tariff.