AT&T's new iPhone deal

[MacBytes]

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Category: 3rd Party Software
Link: AT&T's new iPhone deal (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20080612095153)
Description:: Punter questions terms, says carrier is giving away too much...

Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)
Approved by Mudbug

[iStefmac]

Are you kidding with this?

[buckdutter]

I agree, I think AT&T is taking too much of the burden for this thing. Apple is not offering the iPhone for 199, all the carriers are who are carrying it are. Apple is going this route because they are banking on app store and iTunes revenue instead of profit sharing.

This is why AT&T will no longer allow the discounted PDA data on the iPhone. They will all be paying between 200 to 300 per phone I sell I for whatever price they choose to sell it for.

[mkrishnan]

Some questions about the data in that article...

So AT&T's subsidization of the iPhone -- i.e. the new approach -- is generally in keeping with what they do with phones they use from RIM, Nokia, LG, etc, right? Is the difference purely the cost of the iPhone or the amount being subsidized -- that they pay Apple much more for an iPhone than they pay the others for their newest smartphones?

I'm asking this because I don't understand how changing the iPhone proposition to what AT&T does with its other OEMs would cause AT&T to hemorrhage $0.12 in EPS? If the iPhone is that bad an investment for them, why on Earth are they even letting themselves be the one bringing it to market? "We lose a lot on piece price, but we make up for it in volume?" :rolleyes: Apple losing a small amount in EPS could be due to any number of factors, not least of which is the smoking hot performance they've recently delivered overall. But for AT&T, if the iPhone really will do that to them, this seems like an incredibly foolhardy enterprise.

[GreylagGoose]

slightly off topic but still relevant. Thoughts on the possibility that voice and data plans will be separate? All I would like is a voice plan. hell i'll pay 50/month for just that, using the web in wifi spots. It's just that the extra $20/30 pushes things into the difficult to justify (for my needs) expense bracket. What are the realistic projections for AT&T allowing only a voiceplan option for iphone 3G? Why wouldn't they?

Thoughts? Comments?

G-Goose

[mkrishnan]

What are the realistic projections for AT&T allowing only a voiceplan option for iphone 3G? Why wouldn't they?

Goose, there are some other threads on this topic... if you can't find them, I'll try to search for them myself and link you. The short answer is (1) The voice plan is separate from the data plan in the sense that you pick a voice plan and one of the two (personal=$30/mo or enterprise) data plans separately; (2) AT&T requires you to have one of the data plans, and does not allow you to have voice plan only; (3) They don't allow you to have voice only because they can get away with it. Probably also because the iPhone is so data-centric that they don't want the public perception of it marred by people who can't use 2/3 of its features because they don't have data services...

But either way, I don't think anyone expects them to start allowing voice only (as they also do not allow this now with the original iPhone).

OTOH, it will probably continue to be true that you can unlock and activate the iPhone using some tool like Pwnage and that, once this is done, you can basically do whatever you want with it, including use it on a voice only plan. The difference now though is the matter of how you will get a phone without a contract obligation from AT&T. Granted that the iPhone 3G is lighter, has more battery life, etc, since you don't want to use data services, you're probably honestly better off just getting the original iPhone.

[danny_w]

...But either way, I don't think anyone expects them to start allowing voice only (as they also do not allow this now with the original iPhone)...
Sorry, but this is incorrect (for the current iPhone). You must sign up for the data plan with the current iPhone, but you can then turn right around and cancel it. Then call AT&T and have data blocked on your plan. The new iPhone 3G may well be different, we don't know yet.

[mkrishnan]

Sorry, but this is incorrect (for the current iPhone). You must sign up for the data plan with the current iPhone, but you can then turn right around and cancel it. Then call AT&T and have data blocked on your plan. The new iPhone 3G may well be different, we don't know yet.

Really? Sorry, I wasn't aware of this. You don't violate your two year contract by doing this?

[danny_w]

Really? Sorry, I wasn't aware of this. You don't violate your two year contract by doing this?
AFAIK, no. There are several others on this board that have done the same thing, some even turn the data plan on and off as needed. And you can do that online via your account info.

[pik.]

is there any PAYG deal for the users that do not want a contract?:rolleyes:

here in Europe is illegal to sell mobile phones only with contract...:p

[Michael CM1]

If this is such a huge risk for AT&T, why have I heard that O2 is going to be selling iPhones for even cheaper (or was it free??) to contract-signers? Methinks AT&T is the comm. industry's version of bloatware.

To the poster who mentioned it being illegal in Europe to not offer contract-free phones: can you send that law over here? :)