AT&T to Eventually Offer Tethering in the U.S.

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/08/atandt-to-eventually-offer-tethering-in-the-u-s/)

While iPhone customers might have been glad to hear (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/08/iphone-os-3-0-launching-june-17th/) that the newest iPhone 3.0 software supports both MMS and Tethering, U.S. customers found they were going to be left a bit behind.

According to one report (http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/06/08/the-reason-why-att-wont-support-mms-with-the-iphone-until-late-summer/) MMS will be delayed as current iPhone customers' accounts have to be manually enabled to support MMS. Regardless, Apple did say that MMS would be coming to AT&T iPhone users but it would be delayed by a number of months.

Meanwhile, an AT&T rep (http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/08/atandt-well-offer-tethering-on-the-iphone/) is said to have confirmed that Tethering is in the works for U.S. customers but that nothing could be announced at this time. Boy Genius (http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/06/08/the-reason-why-att-wont-support-mms-with-the-iphone-until-late-summer/) also has heard that tethering is in the works but suggests it could be included into a $70/month Unlimited Data + Tethering plan.

Article Link: AT&T to Eventually Offer Tethering in the U.S. (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/08/atandt-to-eventually-offer-tethering-in-the-u-s/)

[noservice2001]

so if i got a phone from abroad and used it in the US, will it work immediately then?

[neil1980]

£14 a month for o2 Uk 3gb tethering bolt on :(

[grigby1]

good luck with that noservice2001. An additional $40 for tethering! Thanks AT&T.

[alana22]

yay, tethering finally!

[DrGruv1]

crazy price

[Doctor Q]

Are we really to believe that AT&T can't batch-update their databases, that they have to update each account manually?

[gentlegiantcrai]

Keyword = "Eventually"

[Mr. Giver '94]

AT&T is retarded... $40 bucks... thanks for that... :rolleyes:

[appledude222]

crazy price
Yeah and we are going to have to wait:mad:

[puliaficoc20]

data is data wether you use it on your phone or your computer. I know you may use more on your computer because it is easier to do the tasks but honestly you are paying for unlimited with the $30 plan, $70 would be way to much to pay, I would deffinetly jailbreak and pay the one time fee of $10

[cliffardo2001]

No MMS (something that should have been on the phone from day 1! No tethering right away? Give me a break!

And why can't Apple get the MacBook air some built in 3G support?

[Braindead360]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/08/atandt-to-eventually-offer-tethering-in-the-u-s/)
According to one report (http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/06/08/the-reason-why-att-wont-support-mms-with-the-iphone-until-late-summer/) MMS will be delayed as current iPhone customers' accounts have to be manually enabled to support MMS. Regardless, Apple did say that MMS would be coming to AT&T iPhone users but it would be delayed by a number of months.

Article Link: AT&T to Eventually Offer Tethering in the U.S. (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/08/atandt-to-eventually-offer-tethering-in-the-u-s/)

Translation: We spent so much time counting all the money we're making from all of you iPhone owners that we forgot to spend some of it towards making our network more durable.

Seriously, if they knew that they would have to do this, why did they not start on it months ago?!?!

[JBaker122586]

$40? Aren't their other tethering plans $30?

AT&T continues to take advantage of iPhone customers where they let customers with other phones off the hook...

[e-coli]

$40 for tethering. Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

Technology regression thanks to US Corporate greed. Can't wait until this Apple / AT&T Cabal is finished.

[LillieDesigns]

Looks like I'm chilling with my iPhone 2G for another year. Hopefully by then another carrier will have an amazing phone out or Apple will finally be able to move to Verizon or another decent carrier. AT&T is really horrendous. Really, really, bad.

[Snide]

I'll stick with PdaNet, thank you very much...

[zedsdead]

It is really pathetic that Apple and AT&T couldn't get these things working at the launch of the new phone. Very disappointing.

[Apple Corps]

Are we really to believe that AT&T can't batch-update their databases, that they have to update each account manually?

Dr Q - AMEN to that skepticism. UNIX came out of Bell Labs and they can't batch process - hmmmmmm

Of course -this is AT&T we are talking about - so no level of incompetence is too low to expect.

[puliaficoc20]

They know the iphone customers will pay up because the iphone is only on At&t thats why they can charge so much. If people started switching in the masses or stopped paying they would fail. This phone is what is holding At&t up

[Apple Corps]

I only hope Apple is gouging AT&T for every penny possible as AT&T is bringing little to the game. I have been neutral to positive on them until the past couple of weeks - they are so yesterday.

[manu chao]

Would you prefer a 1 GB monthly cap and $1/10 MB over that? These are the plans in my country.
Or even a 100 MB or 250 MB/month cap, as the cheaper plan carry here?

[theMaccer]

$70?

I will stick with my E71 tethering the $20 plan. its kinda cheating, but who cares.

[Hawkeye411]

Here is some new info on the Rogers Website. Way to go Rogers!!


Tethering Policy
Tethering is the use of your phone as a wireless modem to connect to the Internet from your computer. For a limited time, if you subscribe to a data option which includes at least 1GB of data transmission between June 8, 2009 and December 31, 2009, you may use tethering as part of the volume of data included in your option at no additional charge. Tethering cannot be used with data options of less than 1GB.

[phineas]

IF any of AT&T's answer's surprise ANYONE regarding MMS & Tethering, your very naive and I have Ocean front property in Utah for sale real cheap.

Look at the AT&T 3G map, and then say WTH ?

Manually upgrade your acct, yea OK, wait and see how many accts get screwed up on that one.

[iPhoneNYC]

Is it clear that ATT is the weak link in all of this??? Other plans for Blackberry, etc are $30/month. ATT needs to be dumped from the equation. The iPhone needs carrier that can support Apple's vision rather than tarnish it.

[NeXTCube]

Wow, so that's, what? $10 a month MORE than their laptop 'DataConnect' plan? On top of your voice plan, and SMS plan? For that matter, it's $10/month more than the 'data and tethering' plan for 'smartphone' users. Is the iPhone a 'really smart phone'? (Not to mention I can add unlimited data to my wife's Sony-Ericsson W760 for $15/month, and it will tether UMTS out of the box over Bluetooth...shhhhh....)

[Wild-Bill]

$40 for tethering. Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

Technology regression thanks to US Corporate greed. Can't wait until this Apple / AT&T Cabal is finished.

AT&T sucks so unbelievably bad I can hardly believe it.

Those greedy, nickel and diming basterds LOVE to stick it to iPhone users. I'll bet every single last one of those money-grubbing executives gets a nice fat bonus at the end of the year, despite the recession. They overcharge for shoddy service, shoddy support, and what will probably amount to shoddy tethering ability.

40 dollars?!?!??!!?!?!?!? Quite frankly I'd rather stare at a blank screen than give those morons more of my hard-earned cash.

I, for one, am going to start writing their customer (dis)service department on a regular basis to complain about all the nickel and diming. Who's with me? :mad:

[MacsBestFriend]

Is it clear that ATT is the weak link in all of this??? Other plans for Blackberry, etc are $30/month. ATT needs to be dumped from the equation. The iPhone needs carrier that can support Apple's vision rather than tarnish it.

hold on a bit longer.... when att gets tethering, verizon will get the iphone a week later...

[Enigmafan420]

I wonder if AT$T will eventually bring customer service to the United States. :eek:

[paola105]

God that price is ridiculous. I despise ATT, they're the only reason I don't have an iPhone. sigh.

[Enigmafan420]

Would you prefer a 1 GB monthly cap and $1/10 MB over that? These are the plans in my country.
Or even a 100 MB or 250 MB/month cap, as the cheaper plan carry here?

That would work for me since in a very heavy month I might use 800 MB. Usually closer to 500 MB.

That would save me $20/month X 2 phones-That is some serious cash over two years.

[iPhoneNYC]

I wonder if AT$T will eventually bring customer service to the United States. :eek:

As it turns out, ATT customer service has to be activated manually and will start seeing some in the near future.

[iliketomac]

AT&T execs: Step up!! :mad:

I, like many others, have been a looong-time customer. With all the $$$ we pay on a monthly basis to AT&T, I think it's about time for this billion dollar corporate to "go above & beyond" to its many customers, specifically the iPhone clients. What a disappointment, I can't wait until the iPhone will be available to other carriers besides AT&T. :rolleyes:

[Enigmafan420]

As it turns out, ATT customer service has to be activated manually and will start seeing some in the near future.

ROFLMAO

The problem is-you can't activate it after 5:00 PM on Saturdays or on any Sunday or Holiday. Tough s*it for you if you loose your phone on the weekend.

Say what you will about T-MO, they have THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE by far. I miss that-and their much more reasonable pricing, particularly for add-on services.

[gibbz]

$70? I barely pay more than that for broadband cable internet and cable.

AT&T is ridiculous.

[Boneoh]

AT&T sucks so unbelievably bad I can hardly believe it.


+1

Unhappy AT&T customers need to start emailing Apple and the FCC to push for other carriers. The EU has already opened the door to allow competition, why do the policies here in the USA have to suck so bad?

I can only hope the rumors of Verizon turn out to be true.

[QCassidy352]

Are we really to believe that AT&T can't batch-update their databases, that they have to update each account manually?

I like your skepticism. There's no way in HELL that's right. IMO this is a network capacity issue - they don't want to enable either MMS or tethering until adding more capacity to a network already laboring under the strain of 15 million iphone users.

Also, $40/mo for tethering?? Gime me a friggin break. And I'm one of the few who has always defended AT&T - I've had very good coverage and very few dropped calls in two years with them. But $40/month for tethering is flat-out ridiculous.

[casik]

Let me just bask in the moment as for once it seems Canada offers something the states doesn't when it comes to the iPhone.... :) Thanks Rogers and Fido!

[RumorHasIt....]

First off, ATT sucks! But, how come nobody is blaming Apple? All carriers want the iPhone. They can negotiate with ATT on these things, but they try to hint that it is all ATT. Apple has a lot of leverage.

[Enigmafan420]

Let me just bask in the moment as for once it seems Canada offers something the states doesn't when it comes to the iPhone.... :) Thanks Rogers and Fido!

And what would that be?

I use Rogers when traveling in Canada (prepaid plan-in Canada at least 30 days a year). And their postpaid data plans are (or should be) criminal.

[Mr Maui]

3G will be built into the next major revision of the MacBook Pros and pending iTablet and therefore tethering will not be an issue in the future. However, a data plan will be required to use this feature on your new laptop and that will cost a monthly fee as well (just like tethering).

[eastcoastsurfer]

I'll pay $40 for tethering as long as I get speeds comparable to cable/DSL and it's truly unlimited.

[macrumors-gregc]

Until recently I had a windows mobile device and data service was $30 for 3G plus $30 per month if I wanted to tether the device to a computer and use it as a modem. So it isn't just iPhone users who suffer ...

There's a clumsy way around this (other than jailbreaking) if you have an old GSM phone hanging around and you can live with "2-1/2G" (GPRS) speeds when tethered. I take my old Nokia 6620, pop the ATT SIM into it, pair it with my Mac over bluetooth and use it as a modem.

Use the "wap.cingular" access point and "wap@cingulargprs.com" as the username. Can't remember the password offhand, but a web search will turn it up readily. Not great, but you get (pokey) data service without paying the extra $30 for tethering.

[rodkill]

Luckily Verzion will eventually offer iPhones. I can't wait to be done with ATT.

[InkMaster]

Heh, what did you expect... Scatty company, scatty service, already scatty prices... Why the hell would they change if right now millions of rabid fanboys will jump on this opportunity and will pay though the ass for it...

I'll pay $40 for tethering as long as I get speeds comparable to cable/DSL and it's truly unlimited.

if by "unlimited" you mean 5GB a month, then yeah, its unlimited.

[kironin]

http://www.who-sucks.com/tech/8-reasons-why-att-sucks-beyond-all-belief

and now add what AT&T didn't offer today...

[duke49er]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me what the deal is with the MMS? Why the **** is it such a problem??

My 11 year old cousin's $40 phone can do it right out of the box! Why the hell can't "the world's most advanced phone" do it? Is the delay really necessary? This phone should be able to do this yesterday!

So does anyone know? What is the hold up?!?!?!

[MacNut]

Unless AT&T has their hands clamping Apple's balls I would think Apple can get out of the contract based on the fact that AT&T hasn't met it's end of the deal. It's been 2 years and AT&T has been the weak link with a failing network.

[gibbz]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me what the deal is with the MMS? Why the **** is it such a problem??

My 11 year old cousin's $40 phone can do it right out of the box! Why the hell can't "the world's most advanced phone" do it? Is the delay really necessary? This phone should be able to do this yesterday!

So does anyone know? What is the hold up?!?!?!

AT&T is the holdup. they obviously are not ready for the increased bandwidth.

[DipDog3]

Uh, that's just way way too much money.

Besides that will kill your iPhone fast.

Might as well get a laptop with a dedicated 3G card for that price.

[jaw04005]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me what the deal is with the MMS? Why the **** is it such a problem??

Apple's implementation of MMS is different. It allows you to send pictures, video, audio files, text files, etc over the data network just like an e-mail attachment. That's a far cry from the crappy resolution pictures your 11-year-old cousin's $40 phone can do.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3g-s/messages.html#video

Most MMS-capable smart phones phones only send picture messages at around 640x480 or so. A lot of the cheap phones send picture messages at 352x288.

It's a network capacity and transcoding issue more than anything else.

[stickyd8]

Are we really to believe that AT&T can't batch-update their databases, that they have to update each account manually?

Okay, let me get this straight. AT&T has known since March that Apple was making MMS available, yet they haven't had enough time to "manually batch-update their databases"? Come on, what a crock of ****! How hard is it to enable MMS. So now we've waited 2 years to finally get MMS from Apple only to have to wait on AT&T to get their **** together! What a complete joke AT&T is. I was pulling for them to keep the iPhone contract, but if it means they will take their own sweet time rolling out something simple as MMS and upgrading their networks to allow the full potential of the iPhone, then bring on the other service providers. AT&T's network has already ruined great apps like SKYPE and Sling. You're only as strong as your weakest link and Apple's weakest link now is AT&T. **** you AT&T!

[ilfn143]

jailbreak 3... 2... 1...

[rockosmodurnlif]

This AT&T exclusivity needs to end.

[MacFly123]

WHY THE HE!! hasn't AT&T been "manually upgrading" the iPhone accounts to support MMS for the last 3 months when Apple announced it in the beta??? :mad:

[49erPress]

i just cannot believe that at&t is not going to offer more competitive iphone voice and data plans. they are easily $180/year more than other US carriers. every other US carrier includes text messaging with their data plans. with at&t, i have to pay a $30/month mandatory data plan and then an extra $15/month for text messaging (and this was before mms was even a thought). its a scam, and i hope apple cowboy's up and takes the phone to a different carrier. i love my iphone 3g and i'd love to upgrade, but i'm not going to upgrade and get stuck for another two years with those rates.

[stickyd8]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me what the deal is with the MMS? Why the **** is it such a problem??

My 11 year old cousin's $40 phone can do it right out of the box! Why the hell can't "the world's most advanced phone" do it? Is the delay really necessary? This phone should be able to do this yesterday!

So does anyone know? What is the hold up?!?!?!


yeah, but your 11 year old cousin's $40 phone can't view full email in HTML and all of it's attachments! I agree, Apple screwed up not realizing the amount of people that still use MMS. Emails is far superior for those that can actually get full emails on their phones, but most people can't. I honestly don't care about sending messages via MMS, it's the difficulty of going to a separate AT&T website to view ones sent by my friends without the ability to send pics and video via email from their phones. Now Apple has fixed it, only to have AT&T drag their ass and not have it enabled! AT&T network must be really weak to not be ready for the iPhone's MMSs. Not to mention banning SKYPE and Sling to operate only over WIFI.

[BG-Mac]

$70 a month for data and tethering?! RIDICULOUS! The end of the exclusivity agreement cannot come soon enough!

[arian19]

At&t will have to change this, because apple developers aren't going to be able to use there own features in the US. At&t will be looked at for not having a service, and be viewed as being behind, and get many complains, so they will add tethering... but as for the price, we just need to petition, like they did for Canada for the 3g... someone should start a petition!

[Sparky9292]

I'll stick with PdaNet, thank you very much...

Yup. Thank goodness for the JB gods...

[jpine]

I'll pay $40 for tethering as long as I get speeds comparable to cable/DSL and it's truly unlimited.

I'll save you a camping spot next to mine under the AT&T tower. :rolleyes:

[Mr Maui]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me what the deal is with the MMS? Why the **** is it such a problem??

My 11 year old cousin's $40 phone can do it right out of the box! Why the hell can't "the world's most advanced phone" do it? Is the delay really necessary? This phone should be able to do this yesterday!

So does anyone know? What is the hold up?!?!?!

AT&T has stated that they have to "manually" change each account to accept MMS usage. How true this is, I don't know, but that is the official statement.

[TurboSC]

So this $70 / month plan is only part of the data plan right? this doesn't include any minutes etc.... sheesh, they're just trying to rip everyone the biggest ******* they can.

[jpine]

I was holding off on a purchase until today's announcement. I need 3 new smart phone/PDAs for my business. Apple can thank AT&T for the loss of 3 new iPhones. It's Blackberry Curve and Verizon until this exclusivity thing is over.

[Enigmafan420]

I was holding off on a purchase until today's announcement. I need 3 new smart phone/PDAs for my business. Apple can thank AT&T for the loss of 3 new iPhones. It's Blackberry Curve and Verizon until this exclusivity thing is over.

God-no matter how bad AT$T is, the blackberry just isn't the same phone-AT ALL.

Many friends of mine have one-and they all wish they had my 3G.

I hate AT$T as much as the next person, but the iPhone is compelling enough to keep me there.

Incidentally, my friends on verizon don't have a lot of good things to say about their "customer service" either. And they lock their damn phones up so tight-a friend with a MOTO RAZR couldn't even add his own ring tones. LAME :D

I miss T-Mo :(

[Frisco]

God-no matter how bad AT$T is, the blackberry just isn't the same phone-AT ALL.

Many friends of mine have one-and they all wish they had my 3G.

I hate AT$T as much as the next person, but the iPhone is compelling enough to keep me there.

Incidentally, my friends on verizon don't have a lot of good things to say about their "customer service" either. And they lock their damn phones up so tight-a friend with a MOTO RAZR couldn't even add his own ring tones. LAME :D

I miss T-Mo :(

I agree but have you tried the Palm Pre? It makes the iPhone look like a walkie-talkie!

[GeekLawyer]

I hate AT$T as much as the next person, but the iPhone is compelling enough to keep me there.This is exactly where I'm at. Verizon won't have iPhone until 4G/LTE because Apple's not going to build a phone based on dead-end CDMA. So... I'm stuck with AT&T because I won't compromise on a phone. My iPhone has become an integral part of my business. So AT&T is part of the cost of doing that business until exclusivity ends.

[Bubba Satori]

Uh, that's just way way too much money.

Besides that will kill your iPhone fast.

Might as well get a laptop with a dedicated 3G card for that price.

Or less.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat182100050001&type=category


Disclaimer : I sell Macs:D and PCs:rolleyes: at BB.

[newyorksole]

It will be MONTHS? before we get MMS? I'm pissed the hell off wtf AT&T how long did you know we would be getting MMS and you make us wait even LONGER?! It is one of the major parts of the update I was really looking forward to using MMS and sending files via MMS.

Wow AT&T you really suck.

[Rocketman]

AT&T brought something Apple needed. A nationwide network and a willingness to add proprietary code to an otherwise internal network.

Verizon refused and Apple really tried.

So we have what we have. AT&T is clearly overwhelmed by customers and network usage. Also the culture over there is very different from Apple or pretty much any Internet related business. They are slow, stodgy, and heavily bureaucratic.

AT&T should hire every ex-Nortel network tech TODAY and install back haul and LTE to every cell site over the current year at double to triple the rate they had planned already.

Good luck.

Rocketman

A rational business would say we have "too many customers", we need "too much capacity". AT&T is not rational.
This is an example of a vanilla commodity phone and network providing more "access" to the base user.

[Chupa Chupa]

I was holding off on a purchase until today's announcement. I need 3 new smart phone/PDAs for my business. Apple can thank AT&T for the loss of 3 new iPhones. It's Blackberry Curve and Verizon until this exclusivity thing is over.

I doubt Apple had a chance. You are born either an iPhone person or a Blackberry person. It's hardwired. I, for one, couldn't bear using a Blackberry. It has never even tempted me -- before the iPhone I had a series of Palm OS based phones. The iPhone is the natural successor to the smartphone kingdom. Blackberry wasn't originally a smartphone, but rather a push- messaging phone. Even now they have small screens except for the hapless Storm.

BTW where did this myth that Verizon is a joy to do business with come from anyway. I've been with all 4 major U.S. cell carriers and they are all miserable somewhere in the country and all have customer service based in the basement of a federal penitentiary.

[kdarling]

Apple's implementation of MMS is different. It allows you to send pictures, video, audio files, text files, etc over the data network just like an e-mail attachment.

Just as other smartphones can do with MMS and email.

That's a far cry from the crappy resolution pictures your 11-year-old cousin's $40 phone can do. Most MMS-capable smart phones phones only send picture messages at around 640x480 or so. A lot of the cheap phones send picture messages at 352x288.

Unfortunately, the iPhone crunches photos before emailing them. Down to 640x480, IIRC. In other words, iPhone email is just as crappy as dumbphone MMS.

Again, other smartphones allow attachment of the full photo.

Third party iPhone apps also allow sending the full resolution to websites.

[M!M!C]

ok, AT&T you had my money long enough... time to move on if you can't deliver.

[bossxii]

For the record I would love to the the OPTION to use my iPhone on other carriers, as I don't find AT&T to have the service I've found from other carriers. The bottom line however is the tethering plan is not that out of line.

$70/mo is in line with any other carriers "laptop conenct" plans, but they need to make it "Unlimited" without the 5gig cap. Still pricey but for someone that uses it for business (not kids trying to play games, torrent sites etc..) which is is in line with other laptop connect plans.

Wimax is Sprints "4G" now in Balitmore and runs $80 a month for unlimited data, 7.2m is not LTE but for anyone that is paying for a 3g connect card which is $60 a month, this is not that big of a jump in price.

AT&T continues to pull the lame lack of features, crying because they have more business then they can handle bandwidth wise. I hope the day comes when Apple contracts out with another carrier and we have a choice vs locked into their lame excuses.

[Revivalution]

I have been with AT&T and Cingular for years through all of the ups and downs. The iPhone has been the one item that has kept me with them all this time. The problems that are mentioned here are nothing more than the lack of competition. Not having there system up to par to meet the basic needs of MMS and then charging a ridiculous amount for tethering is by far a huge mistake on AT&T's part. If AT&T continues along these line they may mark my phones and all of my lines as gone as soon as another carrier can support the iPhone.

Please AT&T get with it.

[tshort]

They can't bulk update because MMS requires iPhone OS 3.0. If AT&T did a bunk update, and you hadn't done a software update, MMS messages sent to you might not be received, or might be garbage. Either way you can't have MMS until AFTER you upgrade to 3.0.

[twoodcc]

no way i'm paying $70 a month! on top of my voice plan?!

[slicecom]

Here is some new info on the Rogers Website. Way to go Rogers!!


Tethering Policy
Tethering is the use of your phone as a wireless modem to connect to the Internet from your computer. For a limited time, if you subscribe to a data option which includes at least 1GB of data transmission between June 8, 2009 and December 31, 2009, you may use tethering as part of the volume of data included in your option at no additional charge. Tethering cannot be used with data options of less than 1GB.

:D I'm so glad I'm on the 6GB data plan.

[kas23]

The problem is that AT$T has no financial reason to enable MMS for the iPhone. MMS is part of the text plans, which we are already paying for (if you have a plan). However, I doubt there is anyone out there who has no text plan but is waiting to start one up once MMS arrives. This is the big problem. AT$T already has our money. The only way they would likely listen to their customers is if we started to cancel our texting plans - which nobody will likely do. I see MMS finally arriving in mid-to-late Fall. Apple should use a firm hand to make them implement it.

[JimAtLaw]

Apple's implementation of MMS is different. It allows you to send pictures, video, audio files, text files, etc over the data network just like an e-mail attachment. That's a far cry from the crappy resolution pictures your 11-year-old cousin's $40 phone can do.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3g-s/messages.html#video

Most MMS-capable smart phones phones only send picture messages at around 640x480 or so. A lot of the cheap phones send picture messages at 352x288.

It's a network capacity and transcoding issue more than anything else.

Nonsense - poor excuse making for Apple, and the "Apple implementation of MMS" has been NO MMS. The iPhone FAILS TO IMPLEMENT a standard feature of virtually every other phone on the market, one used on a daily basis by literally tens if not hundreds of millions of people - don't tell me the iPhone is great comparatively because it can send other things using email, to users receiving these messages on computers or other iPhones, because that's NOT MMS.

And now they're releasing the third generation of the phone and it still doesn't ship with this feature? (Don't tell me it's in there - if it doesn't work in the U.S., it doesn't work for the majority of iPhone users - Apple selected an exclusive provider and the features of the network are the ones they contracted for.) And people are making excuses for AT&pple? Astounding.

[El Magnificante]

Been paying $175/mo to AT&T and have been thinking of leaving but was waiting to see what the new iPhone would offer. Not much for an AT&T customer at this point.

Goodbye AT&T.

[DarkJaye]

:D I'm so glad I'm on the 6GB data plan.

Yeah, until they start charging for tethering in 2010. I can't believe over the course of this year alone Rogers has given up all the slight advantages they had over competing canadian CDMA networks and US networks in terms of data and messaging.

Now they're just like everyone else, with crappier rates, 3 year contracts, and 2 year HUPs. I went from thinking they were an OK network to thinking the competition can't arrive soon enough.

edit: Also, I'm not sure why the poster you quoted is saying "Way to go rogers!". Their previous policy was every data plan included tethering by default. They're now making their policy worse.

[kas23]

Unless AT&T has their hands clamping Apple's balls I would think Apple can get out of the contract based on the fact that AT&T hasn't met it's end of the deal. It's been 2 years and AT&T has been the weak link with a failing network.

This would likely lead to a lengthy court battle though.

Okay, let me get this straight. AT&T has known since March that Apple was making MMS available, yet they haven't had enough time to "manually batch-update their databases"? Come on, what a crock of ****! How hard is it to enable MMS. So now we've waited 2 years to finally get MMS from Apple only to have to wait on AT&T to get their **** together! What a complete joke AT&T is. I was pulling for them to keep the iPhone contract, but if it means they will take their own sweet time rolling out something simple as MMS and upgrading their networks to allow the full potential of the iPhone, then bring on the other service providers. AT&T's network has already ruined great apps like SKYPE and Sling. You're only as strong as your weakest link and Apple's weakest link now is AT&T. **** you AT&T!

Apple should ****ing manually downgrade them!

[HD303]

AT&T: We Don't Care, We Don't Have To!

[DELLsFan]

Are we really to believe that AT&T can't batch-update their databases, that they have to update each account manually?

Oh give them a break! There's only so much they can do with the small amount of revenue they get from text messaging, data plans, voice plans, and upgrade fees. It's a recession and that exclusivity agreement is expiring soon, don't you know? :o

[Andronicus]

:D

Not really, this frustrates me too, but I will still be upgrading from my 1st Gen to the 32GB Black iPhone. I will also give AT&T all the money they want :( and they know this...

[Eso]

AT&T is the holdup. they obviously are not ready for the increased bandwidth.

Increased bandwidth?! They have 77 million wireless customers! As of now, 77 million - 10 million iPhones can send MMS messages. Bandwidth for MMS messages is not the problem.

[supmango]

+1

Unhappy AT&T customers need to start emailing Apple and the FCC to push for other carriers. The EU has already opened the door to allow competition, why do the policies here in the USA have to suck so bad?

I can only hope the rumors of Verizon turn out to be true.

Already have, repeatedly. No one cares it seems. I would love to get the new iPhone, but I really have absolutely no intention of continuing with ATT. Contract is up next month with my iPhone 2G and my wife's is up in 1 year. I will not be continuing service after that point, iPhone or not. Let's hope Apple listens and opens up to other carriers.

[supmango]

It is also interesting that there was no ATT exec on hand this year. Obviously they are embarrassed by the fact that they can't (or won't) get their act together.

[iphones4evry1]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/08/atandt-to-eventually-offer-tethering-in-the-u-s/)

Boy Genius[/url] also has heard that tethering is in the works but suggests it could be included into a $70/month Unlimited Data + Tethering plan.


Does that imply that the non-tethering plan will be reduced to below $70/month?
And when my 2yr contract expires, will my monthly fee decrease?

[rstansby]

Already have, repeatedly. No one cares it seems. I would love to get the new iPhone, but I really have absolutely no intention of continuing with ATT. Contract is up next month with my iPhone 2G and my wife's is up in 1 year. I will not be continuing service after that point, iPhone or not. Let's hope Apple listens and opens up to other carriers.

I didn't think the 2g was sold with a contract. Are you in the US? I bought my 2g in september of 2007 and I have no contract.

[Doctor Q]

Oh give them a break! There's only so much they can do with the small amount of revenue they get from text messaging, data plans, voice plans, and upgrade fees. It's a recession and that exclusivity agreement is expiring soon, don't you know? :o
You're right. What was I thinking? I'm going to write them a check as a a donation, just so they can stay afloat.

[rstansby]

Does that imply that the non-tethering plan will be reduced to below $70/month?
And when my 2yr contract expires, will my monthly fee decrease?

The data plan for the iPhone 3G is $30, plus voice plan.
This rumor states that the data plan for tethering might go up to $70/month. It is a rumor, and there is no reason to assume it is true.

[jpine]

I doubt Apple had a chance. You are born either an iPhone person or a Blackberry person. It's hardwired. I, for one, couldn't bear using a Blackberry. It has never even tempted me -- before the iPhone I had a series of Palm OS based phones. The iPhone is the natural successor to the smartphone kingdom. Blackberry wasn't originally a smartphone, but rather a push- messaging phone. Even now they have small screens except for the hapless Storm.

BTW where did this myth that Verizon is a joy to do business with come from anyway. I've been with all 4 major U.S. cell carriers and they are all miserable somewhere in the country and all have customer service based in the basement of a federal penitentiary.

I know it is not the same. The Blackberry is a poor second choice for me. I really wanted tetherable iPhone(s) for my clinic. I personally found the Strom so frustrating to use that I felt like throwing it against the wall while playing with it in the Verizon store. And while Verizon is a royal pain in several parts of one's anatomy, the coverage is good in my part of CA. For me, it is the ATT issue and not a preference for Blackberry or the Blackberry experience. I may yet get 3 current versions of iPhone for cheap and eat the cost of a couple Verizon USB laptop plans.

[iphones4evry1]

I like your skepticism. There's no way in HELL that's right. IMO this is a network capacity issue - they don't want to enable either MMS or tethering until adding more capacity to a network already laboring under the strain of 15 million iphone users.

Also, $40/mo for tethering?? Gime me a friggin break. And I'm one of the few who has always defended AT&T - I've had very good coverage and very few dropped calls in two years with them. But $40/month for tethering is flat-out ridiculous.

I agree. I'm sure it's costing AT&T a pretty penny to double the rate of data connection for every annetenae nation-wide! But still, with MILLIONS of Americans paying at least $39.99 per month for cell phone service, and smart phone users paying near $100 per month for their text messaging plans and all, AT&T has PLENTY of money to fund new network upgrades. Personally, I would rather pay Apple more for the phone and pay AT&T less per month. A friend of mine was telling me the other day that with her family plan, she gets unlimited data and texting from Tmobile for $15 per month (as an add-on to her family). I thought: what???? Only $15!!! And I'm paying about $95 per month for my data+text to AT&T ?????
I think AT&T needs to take a look at what other cell phone service providers are charging. It's less. A lot less.

[ShiftyPig]

I hope that whenever the exclusive agreement is over, Apple absolutely f***s AT&T in some manner.

[Peace]

This is going to be a media nightmare for AT&T. Great fodder for the blogs and the headline news. NO Frackin MMS on the iPhone in the USA until September ( or longer ) when the rest of the world has it already.

I say good riddance to them.

[ryanw]

data is data wether you use it on your phone or your computer. I know you may use more on your computer because it is easier to do the tasks but honestly you are paying for unlimited with the $30 plan, $70 would be way to much to pay, I would deffinetly jailbreak and pay the one time fee of $10

ditto...

I rely heavily on my iPhone and I PERSONALLY would rather them stop continuously upgrading the infrastructure and just start being competitive on the price. I think the 3G speeds were adequate for what I need in a device right now. I see my phone bill every month and it makes me nuts. Unlimited voice, unlimited data, unlimited texts.. It's insane, but with as much power as the iphone has, it enables you to use more than the service offerings of 2001.

[weing]

I don't get the whining over MMS. Once youve had the thrill and sent a picture of you dog ,cat or kid ONCE, isn't it kinda over?

[GeekLawyer]

I say good riddance to them.Maybe it's high-time Apple used some of that excess scratch and leased some bandwidth to deploy their own private-label cell network in the US?

That's still a possible avenue, right?

[joeyconnick]

:D I'm so glad I'm on the 6GB data plan.Well unless you signed up for that on June 8th or later, you're outta luck. At least that's the way I read it. And since the 6GB plan has been unavailable for the iPhone since last August...

[8CoreWhore]

MMS and tethering coming from the iPhone is unlike any other handset. We see internet usage sky rocket with the Safari share. I have to suspect AT&T and Apple are very concerned about bringing millions of these devices on-line at once and crashing the 3G infrastructure. They're going to have to bring people in little by little while keeping an eye on things. If 3G were to choke, it would affect the sacred voice calls - unthinkable. They'd revert to EDGE and that would choke and they'd have a far worse PR situation than the criticism they bare now. Patients grasshoppers, this is the iPhone we're talking about, not something that won't get used much. :apple:

[Rocketman]

Maybe it's high-time Apple used some of that excess scratch and leased some bandwidth to deploy their own private-label cell network in the US?

That's still a possible avenue, right?

Nope. They could lease time on existing networks, but the only path now to bandwidth on wireless is via Verizon and AT&T. In 2011-12 when LTE is commodity Apple will be multi-carrier in the U.S. Until then Apple is married to AT&T and "tethered" to the AT&T rollout of 7.2 late this year and LTE late next year or beyond.

Just be glad you have the best "environment" on a "barely tolerable" network.

This is the "cost" of "bleeding edge technology". Welcome to Steve Jobs' world.

Rocketman

Brought to you by 1999-2000 FED action to KILL the (not true) NASDAQ "bubble", which was actually insider knowledge of future value of the internet as evolved (which the government didn't believe, trust, or allow).

[NAG]

MMS and tethering coming from the iPhone is unlike any other handset. We see internet usage sky rocket with the Safari share. I have to suspect AT&T and Apple are very concerned about bringing millions of these devices on-line at once and crashing the 3G infrastructure. They're going to have to bring people in little by little while keeping an eye on things. If 3G were to choke, it would affect the sacred voice calls - unthinkable. They'd revert to EDGE and that would choke and they'd have a far worse PR situation than the criticism they bare now. Patients grasshoppers, this is the iPhone we're talking about, not something that won't get used much. :apple:

I could buy that for tethering but for MMS? MMS is old tech that quite a few people use (I don't and don't plan to so I don't really care personally...but this whole thing just reeks of AT&T sitting on their rear).

As far as the iPhone 3G[s] I see most if not all US iPhone 3G owners waiting until the 2010 model of the iPhone. Apple has released an iPhone once a year for three years in a row. I'd rather not upgrade to the 3G[s] in March only to see the iPhone upgraded in 3 months (I bought on launch day but I guess since I have a company discount on my plan as well as no text messaging I get to wait 3 months more than everyone else, screw you AT&T). Maybe the iPhone will be on Verizon (although honestly, Verizon would pull the same stunt as AT&T if they were in this position).

[Eriden]

Unhappy AT&T customers need to start emailing Apple and the FCC to push for other carriers. The EU has already opened the door to allow competition, why do the policies here in the USA have to suck so bad?

Policies in the USA suck because Libtard and Wingnut politicians are all for sale to the telcos at the right price. Just donate enough campaign cash and watch the right people get appointed to the FCC to ensure that nothing resembling competition arises in the United States.

[BornToMac]

F that. $70 a month. Greedy honky faces.

[sandiegobrian]

I'm a small business owner. I've been waiting for tethering.

I've excused Apple's delay with tethering and MMS since the iPhone is a new platform, and I think they have done an amazing job with it. Good things come in time.

We have known about 3.0 for a long time. It has been tested. It will soon be available.

Where has AT&T been? Why are they PURPOSEFULLY not allowing features that Apple has built into this phone.

I have called AT&T to file a complaint.

You should too.

AT&T: 1-888-333-6651

Call and give 'em hell.

Enough angry customers = results.

--Brian

[kajitox]

If they charge (which they will) they won't get the money from at least 6 people that I directly know. I already pay up the arse for this phone...

[macUser2007]

$70 per month will make jailbreaking soooooo much more common....

If they really charge this, I hope many remember it when the iPhone gets unlocked.

I remembered it, when Verizon was my only landline option, and I had the WORST service possible (much, much worse than AT&T. Verizon was fine for mobile, where they had competition, though.) But I don't think I'd go back to Verizon easily, because of those memories.

[GeekLawyer]

Nope. They could lease time on existing networks, but the only path now to bandwidth on wireless is via Verizon and AT&T. In 2011-12 when LTE is commodity Apple will be multi-carrier in the U.S. Until then Apple is married to AT&T and "tethered" to the AT&T rollout of 7.2 late this year and LTE late next year or beyond.

Just be glad you have the best "environment" on a "barely tolerable" network.
Well, I'm sure I speak for millions of US iPhone AT&T customers when I say: Pooh.

[Rocketman]

The reason why AT&T and Verizon "suck" is they are required by federal regulation to service essentially everyone. So they have to serve the lowest revenue people poorly and the rest of us only badly. Without government regulation we would be serviced according to revenue.

Unlike the post office it would cost 5-10x as much to mail to Hawai'i and Alaska.

So which would you choose as the "network manager", the current dilema, or the dilema where 60% of the currently "badly" serviced population is not serviced at all?

Worse or worser?

Rocketman

ATT had a low of $18 a share in 10-08 and a market cap of $1.2B right this second. So why doesn't Apple buy ATT?
Verizon had a low of $25 a share in 10-08 and a market cap of $83B right this second. So why doesn't Apple buy ATT not VZ?

[Cynicalone]

It is $60.00 a month with AT&T to add tethering to a Blackberry with a 5GB cap. So I wouldn't expect anything less with the iPhone. I'm just tired of carrying an iPhone and a 3G card when I'm on the road.

The ball is entirely in AT&T's court now. I'll wait to see what they do.

Here is a link to the AT&T Page http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/services/services-list.jsp?catId=cat1510007&LOSGId=&catName=BlackBerry®+Services

[Enigmafan420]

$70 per month will make jailbreaking soooooo much more common....

If they really charge this, I hope many remember it when the iPhone gets unlocked.

I remembered it, when Verizon was my only landline option, and I had the WORST service possible (much, much worse than AT&T. Verizon was fine for mobile, where they had competition, though.) But I don't think I'd go back to Verizon easily, because of those memories.

Been using PDA net 1.3X for over a year now. It is GREAT-and FREE.

Yeah so its a violation of my terms-SUE ME. I mean, I never even use 1 GB of data per month. So its not like I am downloading warez with it.

If I am in a hotel that charges for Internet-well-they don't get my money. And AT$T won't either for a tethering plan.

JB-Consider it-there are 2 or 3 absolute KILLER applications that make it worth it. Personalization of your springboard is just icing on the cake :)

[Bubba Satori]

AT&T sucks so unbelievably bad I can hardly believe it.

Those greedy, nickel and diming basterds LOVE to stick it to iPhone users. I'll bet every single last one of those money-grubbing executives gets a nice fat bonus at the end of the year, despite the recession. They overcharge for shoddy service, shoddy support, and what will probably amount to shoddy tethering ability.

40 dollars?!?!??!!?!?!?!? Quite frankly I'd rather stare at a blank screen than give those morons more of my hard-earned cash.

I, for one, am going to start writing their customer (dis)service department on a regular basis to complain about all the nickel and diming. Who's with me? :mad:

Yep.

http://dailyyeah.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/death-star-att.jpg

[PinkyMacGodess]

Translation: We spent so much time counting all the money we're making from all of you iPhone owners that we forgot to spend some of it towards making our network more durable.

Seriously, if they knew that they would have to do this, why did they not start on it months ago?!?!

The CEO needed a new jet and a new penthouse in New York for his new mistress. She costs twice as much as the earlier one...

Like the ipod saved Apple, the iPhone has saved AT&T and we are getting the shaft but that's capitalism in America. In a real socialist country, this would be all included.

[PinkyMacGodess]

So why doesn't Apple buy ATT?

Because of how inefficient AT&T is run.

They have layers of layers on top of layers. They screw up billing constantly, they have such an old and extensive physical plant that they are just trying to keep it up rather than replace it like they should.

It would be cheaper for Apple to start over from scratch than for them to buy AT&T. Imagine the carnage too after the Apple axe falls on the multiple layers at AT&T. The company would be lean and mean and the employees that would be left would be shell shocked... Imagine seeing the light of reason and gratitude for the first time in your career there...

[Full of Win]

Tethering for money is like paying the hooker twice....and a pretty substandard hooker at that :(

[techfreak85]

i was hopeing when they were kinda dissing ATT and moving on, that it was a hint that later on they would announe a Verizon etc, iPhone. cause the country where the most iPhones were sold, somehow does not get MMS, tethering right away...Lame. Bring on the Verizon iPhone.

[Snide]

Tethering for money is like paying the hooker twice....and a pretty substandard hooker at that :(

Not to mention, you're the one getting screwed...

[PinkyMacGodess]

http://www.salon.com/tech/giga_om/tech_insider/2009/06/08/atts_new_network_may_not_help_your_old_iphone/index.html

The gist: 3G iPhones probably won't work on the new AT&T 7.2 network. Tethering 'will be offered at a later daye' and MMS will be offered 'this summer'.

Yadda yadda yadda... From AT&T: "We got you by the short hairs and well, we're the only iPhone game in town."

[Rorikynn]

I hope more and more people JB their iPhone3G/S. Even though Apple ripped Palm during the keynote, the Pre could easily capitalize on AT&Ts suckyness.

I mean, LOL. No MMS or Tethering for the iPhone 3G S in the US? Why even buy it then...

Even if they switch to Verizon the a**hole-ripping of customers will continue. In all seriousness, AT&T has to run a business so $10 of that $70 tether plan goes to buying the souls of politicians.

[oyebto]

I hope more and more people JB their iPhone3G/S. Even though Apple ripped Palm during the keynote, the Pre could easily capitalize on AT&Ts suckyness.

I mean, LOL. No MMS or Tethering for the iPhone 3G S in the US? Why even buy it then...

Even if they switch to Verizon the a**hole-ripping of customers will continue. In all seriousness, AT&T has to run a business so $10 of that $70 tether plan goes to buying the souls of politicians.

a lot of people bought the iphone 3g/2g when there isnt MMS or tethering then. its not like iphone closest competitor, plam pre, has tethering.

[Chrispy]

I have been using a first gen iPhone waiting for this for 18 months and I got so fed up today I just switched to Verizon. Most people I know use Verizon anyways and the only reason I was on AT&T was for the iPhone. Just not worth it anymore. Good job AT&T!

[BaronvdB]

att blows...$70/month?...i guess i'll just have to read up on how to tether w/o actually getting the tethering plan...i'll be hanging on to my 1st gen iphone until the iphone is available on somebody beside att.

[jhsfosho]

ATT needs to get their act together. I wish the iphone would just go provider neutral. Imagine how many more units than 40,000,000 they would have sold. Though that might kill their ipod touch sales if everyone had iphones instead.

[NAG]

ATT needs to get their act together. I wish the iphone would just go provider neutral. Imagine how many more units than 40,000,000 they would have sold. Though that might kill their ipod touch sales if everyone had iphones instead.

You realize that unlocked iPhones are quite expensive, right? They cost almost as much as a laptop.

[severe]

I cannot ******** wait until Apple loses AT&T. What's happening here is absolutely abominable.

I'll spare you all the list of details. Anyone paying attention (and worse, paying for their sh*itty service) and with half a brain, knows they're getting screwed.

I want out NOW!

I/we will simply not be getting the services that our phone offers, because of their deliberate BS. That alone, qualifies me to be able to be let go of my contract, as far as I'm concerned. They aren't keeping up their end of the deal, and haven't time and again.

We can trace this back to the poor 3G service (since improved) they offered on rollout, that I had to pay upon upgrading to the newest iPhone. I agreed to pay extra for this service that was constantly failing, but not without making many calls to let them know they were simply NOT HOLDING UP THEIR END OF THE DEAL. And I live in Los Angeles! (not exactly the sticks) I have no problem agreeing to pay for a service that I can use.

The above, non tiered data plans, and now today's news... UnF*CKINGbelievable!

[shoobe01]

In three words: WTF? Provide for tethering, with special plans?

I think I'll just keep using my N95, on AT&T, tethered to my whitebook, without telling them.

[GorillaPaws]

I was planning on getting the rumored iPhone until today. It's obvious there's tension between Apple and AT&T and I don't want to lock myself into another 2 years with a company that's clearly dragging their feet. I just keep thinking about what happened to Motorola/IBM when Apple felt they were a burden on innovation.

[NAG]

I was planning on getting the rumored iPhone until today. It's obvious there's tension between Apple and AT&T and I don't want to lock myself into another 2 years with a company that's clearly dragging their feet. I just keep thinking about what happened to Motorola/IBM when Apple felt they were a burden on innovation.

Well it isn't going to happen until the 4G rollout which is 2 or so years away.

[kitki83]

Ok lately I been reading around news blog of tensions between Apple and ATT basically Apple is on their schedule but ATT is not keeping up.

[zim]

ATT is the new Motorola.

[memco]

For all you complaining, I've found the solution! If we all move somewhere where unlimited data and tethering are standard we'll save a bunch of money and lose the hassle. I've heard Finland is nice, and I've always wanted to visit Sweden.

[Papajohn56]

Never had any issues with Verizon for me. I live in the boondocks and we still have amazing service. The iPhone on verizon would be a deal killer for AT&T, they'd lose a ton of customers.

T-Mobile is the worst carrier in the USA, bar none. Bad reception everywhere except major cities, plans without mobile to mobile, plans without free nights, but they try to justify it by the My Fav 5. Not good enough.

[basketball762]

For all you complaining, I've found the solution! If we all move somewhere where unlimited data and tethering are standard we'll save a bunch of money and lose the hassle. I've heard Finland is nice, and I've always wanted to visit Sweden.
Hahaha..I'm up to it. :D

[SolRayz]

The thought alone, of paying an extra $40 a month for AT&T's horrible coverage, is downright criminal.

[Drag'nGT]

AT&T is retarded... $40 bucks... thanks for that... :rolleyes:

And their current air card rate is $60 per month. I agree it's high but it's not that bad when you look at what is offered by them and everyone else. I wish it was cheaper.... without jailbreaking.

[Battlefield Fan]

I can not believe that AT&T is wanting to charge $70. Forget it. iPhone users already pay enough.

Dumb AT&T being greedy. :mad:

[Ericatomars]

They will nickle and dime you every time... yes the iphone is amazing but this a serious case of when good phones hit bad companies.. maybe the worst case in history... AT&T sucks... In Chicago most of my friends don't even get service in their homes,as well as half the other places they travel.. Outrageous phone bills for a nice phone you can hold and look at but cant promise reliable service... it's a shame, i feel sorry for all of those suckered into terrible contracts.

[Drag'nGT]

Never had any issues with Verizon for me. I live in the boondocks and we still have amazing service. The iPhone on verizon would be a deal killer for AT&T, they'd lose a ton of customers.

T-Mobile is the worst carrier in the USA, bar none. Bad reception everywhere except major cities, plans without mobile to mobile, plans without free nights, but they try to justify it by the My Fav 5. Not good enough.

T-Mobile was awesome when I had them. They still have the best rates on messaging and voice. Their data isn't good though. They have worked for me from Florida to New York, Hawaii, Atlanta, Chicago and nearly anywhere else I went. I have been to the smallest little towns where it didn't work but I know that no phone works everywhere. Even Verizon phones don't work in areas I've been. But I live in a real city and had great service on T-Mobile.

Sprint on the other hand is terrible even in big cities. I had all three carriers at one time too because of an old job I had that set up cell phone stores and reps. I'll never own a Verizon phone because they just piss me off by existing. Conceited ass little *****.

[automan98]

AT&T was the laughing stock at the conference today. They can't upgrade their network fast enough.

[Drag'nGT]

Never had any issues with Verizon for me. I live in the boondocks and we still have amazing service. The iPhone on verizon would be a deal killer for AT&T, they'd lose a ton of customers.

T-Mobile is the worst carrier in the USA, bar none. Bad reception everywhere except major cities, plans without mobile to mobile, plans without free nights, but they try to justify it by the My Fav 5. Not good enough.

Just went to go see the plans.

600min
Un N&W
Un M2M
5 fav Un calling
$49.99

1000 messages $10
Un messages for $15

Looks cheaper than Verizon or AT&T. All I'm pointing out is that this is more along the lines of what our bill's should look like but honestly it should be unlimited calling for $60/mo. Some of my friends are on unlimited calling with T-Mobile for $50/mo.

[Liske]

get it for free with a jailbreak.

[iMaggot]

I hate AT&T, did you guys hear people laugh at AT&T in the Keynote lol

[Rodimus Prime]

I could buy that for tethering but for MMS? MMS is old tech that quite a few people use (I don't and don't plan to so I don't really care personally...but this whole thing just reeks of AT&T sitting on their rear).

As far as the iPhone 3G[s] I see most if not all US iPhone 3G owners waiting until the 2010 model of the iPhone. Apple has released an iPhone once a year for three years in a row. I'd rather not upgrade to the 3G[s] in March only to see the iPhone upgraded in 3 months (I bought on launch day but I guess since I have a company discount on my plan as well as no text messaging I get to wait 3 months more than everyone else, screw you AT&T). Maybe the iPhone will be on Verizon (although honestly, Verizon would pull the same stunt as AT&T if they were in this position).

I would say blame apple for MMS. It was APPLE fault for MMS not being in at the beginning. Steve Jobs call MMS old and out dated techology and well lets face it he was wrong big time. People wanted MMS and now Steve Jobs is eating crow.

I willing to bet apple is a huge part of the problem with MMS. we have reports here on these boards of people who jail broke their phones to get MMS and then them getting locked down. These leads me to believe it is something apple pushed on ATT to lock them down. With the update I willing to be APPLE did something to screw with MMS and they are having ATT jump threw hoops to make it worth their system.

This means ATT is going to play it VERY safe and go slowly making sure the new protocals do not crash their system.

End of the day MMS is apple fault. It was something that should of been on the iPhone day 1.

[MacNut]

AT&T also should have expected the high demand and been prepared for it years ago. It is Apple's fault for sleeping with the devil and AT&T's fault for not being prepared.

The Palm Pre will not be the iPhone killer, AT&T will be.

[ziggyonice]

no way i'm paying $70 a month! on top of my voice plan?!

Exactly. As much as I would prefer the ease of tethering using USB or Bluetooth, it's moments like this that I'm glad I grabbed NetShare when I did.

Still isn't good news though.

[neutrino23]

(snip)

ATT had a low of $18 a share in 10-08 and a market cap of $1.2B right this second. So why doesn't Apple buy ATT?
Verizon had a low of $25 a share in 10-08 and a market cap of $83B right this second. So why doesn't Apple buy ATT not VZ?

According to Yahoo ATT's market cap is about 144B.

[Bubba Satori]

ATT is the new Motorola.


That's a very good analogy. And I expect the relationship with Apple will end just as badly in a few years.

[str1f3]

I hate AT&T, did you guys hear people laugh at AT&T in the Keynote lol

Phil Schiller was even making jokes about AT&T at the end of the keynote. You could also tell Scott Forstall was pissed after he said that att would come out with MMS later this year. Add that to AT&T not allowing customers to re-up for subsidized prices and att charging unsubsidized prices for phones with moisture issues.

You can tell apple can't wait to get out of it's contract soon enough.

[Arielnyc2006]

That is why monopolies are a bad idea, ATT to "eventually" offer tethering... They also said they will offer a no contract iphone, I am still waiting.

[manu chao]

In France, tethering for the iPhone will cost you $40/month extra for unlimited or $14/month for 200 MB/month.
In Germany, I pay $14/month for 250 MB/month using a USB dongle (+$7/month to pay off the subsidized hardware cost, they are at least transparent enough to show you how much you actually pay for the hardware. I paid, I think, $70 for the hardware at the time of purchase + 24*$7, so, in total $238.)

[jellomizer]

Man AT&T really dropped the ball here. They have the opportunity and the timeing to really change things up for their advantage and they just wast it on delaying the feature (which worked on their older phones, I use to tether my Samsung Sync with AT&T for no additional cost).

This is not just a whiny I don't want to pay for it hippy talk either.

Lets look at the trends. We are in a recession right now, this is the first ressession where people are more apt to drop Lan lines then their cell phones. Most people have internet access too and are paying $30-$40 a month. Their current plan is roughly $20 a month for internet, which is fast enough for most people. Well if people are keeping their cell phones then, if they allowed tethering at no additional cost then people would drop their Cable/DSL lines and some of the dialups who are still there can finally get high speed connection for their computers.

So you can use the Internet on your PC or you Phone but carry around your internet connection in your pocket. People are moving away from Desktops and going to laptops, and some even netbooks. So this could have created some excellent growth for AT&T. However they decided for the quick term and price themselves out of the market. Sure some people will use it but not the mass market. They could have cornered the internet market but they wasted it.

[Anuba]

In France, tethering for the iPhone will cost you $40/month extra for unlimited or $14/month for 200 MB/month.
In Germany, I pay $14/month for 250 MB/month using a USB dongle (+$7/month to pay off the subsidized hardware cost, they are at least transparent enough to show you how much you actually pay for the hardware. I paid, I think, $70 for the hardware at the time of purchase + 24*$7, so, in total $238.)
I don't understand why tethering would cost extra at all...? You're just using the data plan you already had, what business is it of the carrier's whether the iPhone is using the bandwidth for itself or on behalf of a tethered computer? I don't see any mention of tethering costing extra on TeliaSonera's (the Scandinavian iPhone carrier) info pages and I very much doubt they'll charge extra for it. If they do intend on doing so, I'll just get a twin card for the 3G data plan I already have for the iPhone. I pay 159 SEK ($21/month) for unlimited data w/ up to 10 Mbit speed. The twin card is another $4/month, so for a total of $25/month I'll have unlimited data on the iPhone and my laptop simultaneously, without the tethering draining the battery.

[rednano74]

$40 for tethering. Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

Technology regression thanks to US Corporate greed. Can't wait until this Apple / AT&T Cabal is finished.

It is lame but guess what...stop supporting BIG FASCIST governments like the one we have now that causes the cost of goods and services to be 22% HIGHER because of government taxes on companies. :eek:

Things wouldn't cost so much...and you wouldn't bitch either.

[Roller]

Before I got my iPhone, I had Verizon. Reception was good, but their customer service was horrible. I couldn't wait to drop them. Now I feel the same way about AT&T, except the reception isn't quite as good. I don't know how Sprint is these days, but I used them before Verizon, and their customer service wasn't any better. Overall, cell phone service in the U.S. isn't competitive enough. Want an iPhone? You're stuck with AT&T. Want a Pre? You're stuck with Sprint (for now).

But AT&T should be embarrassed by yesterday's announcements that they won't support tethering or MMS at the outset. I don't know how active Steve Jobs has been over the past few months. But, I suspect that if he could, he'd be on his iPhone to the CEO of AT&T telling them what they could do with their cell towers (assuming he got a signal). :)

[djpic]

Whatever happened to the "partnership" that AT&T and Apple so well defined as beneficial to the iPhone. AT&T should have been the first one in line to offer tethering and MMS for the iPhone. Although if you remember correctly, it orginally was not AT&T, it was cingular. AT&T just became the carrier after purchasing cingular. I am sure if it was still cingular, it would be a whole different game. Cingular would have focused more on offering competive pricing for iPhone. AT&T is just too big.

I have a family plan with 4 iPhones. Now, if I could add unlimited tethering to all 4 iPhone for $40 a month, I am so there! But $40/mo for just one, does seem a little steap. But if I remember, didn't AT&T drop the price of the iPhone plan $10 recently? I wouldn't know being on the family plan.

[manu chao]

I don't understand why tethering would cost extra at all...? You're just using the data plan you already had, what business is it of the carrier's whether the iPhone is using the bandwidth for itself or on behalf of a tethered computer?

Very obviously because the typical iPhone user does not use more than 200 MB/month. When I use a 3G USB modem with my Mac, I easily use more than 200 MB per day. It would be fairer though if you could split your monthly allowance between iPhone usage and tethering. The problem however is what to do when you hit your limit. If they charge their standard rates of $1 per 10 MB, people will cry murder because it is pretty difficult to precisely control your data usage on an iPhone. If they cut you off, people will be equally pissed. In Germany they, at least they claim so, reduce your speed to GRPS levels. Annoying but one does not loose complete access to simply things like e-mail, GPS positioning etc.

[fratboy]

anyone wanting to tether just freaking Jailbreak .. for real.. you can tether for a ONE time 30$ fee with PDAnet which works great compaired to 40$ a month... its a no brainer

[blovedc]

With the iPhone exclusivity contract ATT has had a chance to create extreme customer loyalty. Instead, ATT has looked at the exclusivity contract as a gold rush and is gouging its customers for as much as it can before the exclusivity contract runs out. As soon as the iPhone is not exclusive I am breaking my contract with ATT and moving carriers because ATT has give me no reason to be loyal to its service or brand other than carrying the phone that I want to use for business and pleasure. In 10 years or less business students will be reading case studies on how ATT blew it with the apple opportunity.

[mspman]

I'm sorry guys, I gotta lay some of the blame on Apple for this one. I think they should have set the expectation right up front that MMS and tethering were part of the iPhone and let AT&T figure it out. It's clear that AT&T's network was completely unprepared for the iPhone, and it still struggles to keep up. Apple should have been keeping closer tabs on this, and they should have the balls to cancel the contract when AT&T is not living up to its end.

[manu chao]

anyone wanting to tether just freaking Jailbreak .. for real.. you can tether for a ONE time 30$ fee with PDAnet which works great compaired to 40$ a month... its a no brainer
Except that you are breaching your contract with your MSP. Assume you wanted to use the build-in tethering functionality. Your MSP will block the use of it unless you pay them extra. Now you fiddle with your iPhone and circumvent their prevention. How is that not breaching the contract.

[shen]

It is lame but guess what...stop supporting BIG FASCIST governments like the one we have now that causes the cost of goods and services to be 22% HIGHER because of government taxes on companies. :eek:

Things wouldn't cost so much...and you wouldn't bitch either.

congrats on your epic fail of understanding in the fields of reality, government, and economics. you have earned a facepalm, and your stupidity skill has increased....

[jlseattle]

It will be interesting (once AT&T isn't the sole US provider) what will happen with AT&T customers. I don't like the cell phone monopoly that AT&T has. If the iPhone was available through any cell company there would be cheaper prices for plans for customers and tethering would be included. But because AT&T has sole provider-ship they can just bend us over and we will have to take it.

[happydude]

this is exactly why the best thing that could happen to iphone users is if apple decides not to renew exclusivity with at&t. every other phone company is jumping to offer the iphone and having different rate plans to choose from would be good for the consumer to drive competition in pricing. as is, at&t can do whatever they want since they effectively have a monopoly on millions of iphone users.

[Arielnyc2006]

It will be interesting (once AT&T isn't the sole US provider) what will happen with AT&T customers. I don't like the cell phone monopoly that AT&T has. If the iPhone was available through any cell company there would be cheaper prices for plans for customers and tethering would be included. But because AT&T has sole provider-ship they can just bend us over and we will have to take it.

I remember when the iphone first came out and I heard that ATT would be the sole provider for a few years, I had a bad feeling. I knew that ATT would arrogantly gouge the customer. Even ATT knows that customers and even Apple are not too happy with them, that's why ATT is desperate to extend the exclusivity. Tmobile may be spotty in rural areas, but in major cities they are on par with ATT, things will be very different once more than one carrier offers the iphone in the US.

[hfletcher]

I don't understand why everyone gets so overworked-up about tethering. You can already get it for free now - PDANet! (well the http trial version anyway)
Jailbreaking is really no big issue. All it does it add another app to your iphone. It's not some big scary monster lurking in the dark.... :)

[Arielnyc2006]

I don't understand why everyone gets so overworked-up about tethering. You can already get it for free now - PDANet! (well the http trial version anyway)
Jailbreaking is really no big issue. All it does it add another app to your iphone. It's not some big scary monster lurking in the dark.... :)

Some people may be bothered by the tethering delay, but that is just one issue of many. There is a big scary monster with the mentality of a 3 year old and in its hand is the iphone, that monster is ATT. Maybe ATT is angry that they weren't able to place their software on the phone? On the other hand, can you imagine an iphone with verizon software? shudders...

[kas23]

It will be interesting (once AT&T isn't the sole US provider) what will happen with AT&T customers. I don't like the cell phone monopoly that AT&T has. If the iPhone was available through any cell company there would be cheaper prices for plans for customers and tethering would be included. But because AT&T has sole provider-ship they can just bend us over and we will have to take it.

I for one will be switching away from them. I see this as a "bubble", not unlike the housing bubble. People are flocking towardws AT&T right now. But, as soon as they loose exclusivity, people who be flocking away. AT&T had better make plans for a possible exodus because if they make business decisions assuming they will keep all of their current iPhone customers (for good), they will fall big time. Maybe even far enough to even bring the company down.

Some people may be bothered by the tethering delay, but that is just one issue of many. There is a big scary monster with the mentality of a 3 year old and in its hand is the iphone, that monster is ATT. Maybe ATT is angry that they weren't able to place their software on the phone? On the other hand, can you imagine an iphone with verizon software? shudders...

Correct. This is just not tethering, but the lack of 3G video streaming and no MMS. Plus, AT&T has been carrying the attitude that they have a monopoly with the iPhone (which they do) and they can treat us however they please because what are we gonna do about it??

[vrillusions]

another thought I just had which may have already been mentioned. Why can't we use our current "unlimited data" (read: 5gb limit) plan for tethering? if people use tethering a lot you can gouge them for going over 5gb and not even mention the $70/mo plan (trying to rationalize this in at$t money greed terms). IF I needed to tether it may be once in a few months when I'm at the car shop and I want to do work on my laptop and still have internet. $40 premium for something I may use 4 times a year isn't worth it. but is still a detriment if I was trying to convince someone to get an iphone.

Also, when reading the boygenious article about it the official wording from att appears to be they need to remove “Opt Out MMS codes”. I never opted out of receiving mms. Also could that mean if I called up att and hound them about it they can remove this "opt out mms code" from my account? I'm sure the answer is "I don't have access to that system" and they'd be unable to pass me to someone that can.

[Stately]

$40? Aren't their other tethering plans $30?

AT&T continues to take advantage of iPhone customers where they let customers with other phones off the hook...

Hmm . . I must agree.

[Stately]

I for one will be switching away from them. I see this as a "bubble", not unlike the housing bubble. People are flocking towardws AT&T right now. But, as soon as they loose exclusivity, people who be flocking away. AT&T had better make plans for a possible exodus because if they make business decisions assuming they will keep all of their current iPhone customers (for good), they will fall big time. Maybe even far enough to even bring the company down.

I don't know about bringing it down though, as much $$$ as they have milked from iphone customers already, they are pretty much set up to do whatever they want from here on out.

[Stately]

I don't understand why everyone gets so overworked-up about tethering. You can already get it for free now - PDANet! (well the http trial version anyway)
Jailbreaking is really no big issue. All it does it add another app to your iphone. It's not some big scary monster lurking in the dark.... :)

It might be for some when they realize they can no longer update their phone.

[Anuba]

Very obviously because the typical iPhone user does not use more than 200 MB/month. When I use a 3G USB modem with my Mac, I easily use more than 200 MB per day.
Right, but if you buy an *unlimited* data plan, the understanding is that the plan is, in fact, *unlimited*. You can't sell someone an unlimited data plan and then go "oh, you're actually going to be USING it, well that changes everything".

In Sweden I can buy an iPhone without a data plan, or with a limited one, or an unlimited one. The unlimited one is $21/month. This is the exact same price as for the unlimited data plan for computers. And for another $4/month I get a second SIM card that's attached to the same plan, and pay a total of $25/month. Whether I put these cards in two 3G phones, two computers or one of each is up to me. So logically TeliaSonera couldn't possibly start charging extra for tethering. At least no more than $3/month, since $4/month will give me an extra SIM card that I can put in the computer and skip tethering altogether.

[kas23]

I don't know about bringing it down though, as much $$$ as they have milked from iphone customers already, they are pretty much set up to do whatever they want from here on out.

Well, if they decide to enter into any investments (upgrading infrastructure, etc.) relying on money they will make in the future (from the iPhone crowd) and don't make that money (because people jump ship), this could lead to big trouble. However, I'm sure they are not stupid enough to believe that all these new subscribers Apple has brought to them are permanent.

[Stately]

$40 for tethering. Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

Technology regression thanks to US Corporate greed. Can't wait until this Apple / AT&T Cabal is finished.

I remember saying that soon AT&T would eventually begin taking every little feature the iphone had to offer and try to capitalize off of it, hence ruining the iphone experience. I also said they would charge for tethering and that it would probably be around $40. I was told "NO look at AT&T's site it's $30" as if that made a difference, because it should be free. The phone can go on the net already and that service is paid for. I had people saying that people like myself on this board were whining over nothing and that's the price you pay if you want a phone and that it's pricing plan was like that of any other phone. NOW people are beginning to see what was already so clear and I'm glad I left AT&T when I did. The average bill is roughly $85, make that $100 due to AT&T's sneaky tactics. Tag on tethering for $40. Banning applications like Slingbox which they have no right to do because they have no rights to it but supposedly they can't handle it. So that's $140 right there which can be bumped up to 160-170 (Once again, AT&T's price game) So like I said before I am definitely one for patience, but right is right and wrong is wrong. So we are talking $170 right there just to use the capabilities that the phone already has and this will continue. If video chat ever came to the iphone, another $30-40 will probably be tagged on, they probably wouldn't even make it a pay as you use feature. Greed. I hope other carriers wake up who have the capability to take on the iphone and decide on some fair pricing leaving AT&T's pricing schemes in the dust.

[manu chao]

Right, but if you buy an *unlimited* data plan, the understanding is that the plan is, in fact, *unlimited*. You can't sell someone an unlimited data plan and then go "oh, you're actually going to be USING it, well that changes everything".
I think American marketing is somewhat prone to hyperbole (well, all marketing is, American just a bit more). It's like an all you can eat menu, which works fine until you start stuffing things in your pockets and bags. All you can eat thus meaning, all you can eat now not all you can carry away with you. Adding a computer to an iPhone is like bringing a bag into a restaurant, it changes things dramatically.

[Mr Tuck]

In the WWDC Keynote Address, @ 00:56:55 and @ 01:01:03 when they talk about MMS and Tethering there is a T Mobile logo listed on the projection screen as a carrier. What does this mean? Is Apple planning to allow T Mobile to carrier the I phone? Does these mean that we will no longer have to jail break phones?....

[Le Big Mac]

Wow, so that's, what? $10 a month MORE than their laptop 'DataConnect' plan? On top of your voice plan, and SMS plan? For that matter, it's $10/month more than the 'data and tethering' plan for 'smartphone' users. Is the iPhone a 'really smart phone'? (Not to mention I can add unlimited data to my wife's Sony-Ericsson W760 for $15/month, and it will tether UMTS out of the box over Bluetooth...shhhhh....)

Why not just get the laptop dataconnect plan then? Seriously, why fool with tethering if you can directly connect for less money?

[Le Big Mac]

The EU has already opened the door to allow competition, why do the policies here in the USA have to suck so bad?
.

Because all the carriers in europe use GSM. Verizon does not, nor does Sprint. So if the policy were the same in the US, then Tmobile would be your alternative.

Blame Verizon/Sprint for jumping on the wrong technology wagon (or don't, but that's a huge part of the problem here).

[Rocketman]

In the WWDC Keynote Address, @ 00:56:55 and @ 01:01:03 when they talk about MMS and Tethering there is a T Mobile logo listed on the projection screen as a carrier. What does this mean? Is Apple planning to allow T Mobile to carrier the I phone? Does these mean that we will no longer have to jail break phones?....

T-Mobile is the primary carrier in some countries. The original iPhone EDGE was tested in Australia to something like 21 mb/s shortly after release. The hardware is there, it's all about service. One wonders if the iPOS3 software will enable VGA video on all older iPhones.

Rocketman

:) "iPOS3"

[manu chao]

In the WWDC Keynote Address, @ 00:56:55 and @ 01:01:03 when they talk about MMS and Tethering there is a T Mobile logo listed on the projection screen as a carrier. What does this mean? Is Apple planning to allow T Mobile to carrier the I phone? Does these mean that we will no longer have to jail break phones?....
T-mobile carries the iPhone in Germany and Austria (maybe elsewhere, possibly eastern Europe as well). T-mobile is the mobile subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom the former monopoly, state-owned telephone provider in Germany. T-mobile USA is just another subsidiary of them. In Europe, a lot of telecom companies operate in multiple countries but carrying the iPhone in one country does not mean the same company will also carry it in another.

[garethslee]

How will O2/ AT&T know the iPhone is tethered to a laptop?

[Rocketman]

According to Yahoo ATT's market cap is about 144B.

http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/att

[sbrhwkp3]

Yup. You officially suck, AT&T.


I hope Apple gets the hell away from that cancer soon.

[techfreak85]

when does the contract end?

[Todd H]

I hope Apple drops AT&T. My current 3G will be the last iPhone I purchase unless Apple moves to another network.

[NightFlight]

iPhone, come to Verizon please... :(

[akira2501]

is the same as no tethering. Seriously. With it being 40 bucks, someone will jailbreak it and people will be fully for it. That is inconcievable; inconvcievable I say.

[Anuba]

I think American marketing is somewhat prone to hyperbole (well, all marketing is, American just a bit more). It's like an all you can eat menu, which works fine until you start stuffing things in your pockets and bags. All you can eat thus meaning, all you can eat now not all you can carry away with you. Adding a computer to an iPhone is like bringing a bag into a restaurant, it changes things dramatically.
Well, not really. All you can eat = all you can eat, not all you can eat *and* bring with you in a bag. An unlimited data plan that's actually limited is something else altogether, more like an all you can eat menu with a secret 10 ounce limit. Since the US is the most litigous country on the planet I don't see why anyone would let this one slide...

[Sambo110]

I thought you could just plug it into your computer and use your internet connection, your download quota etc on your iPhone/Touch. Is this not the case? Can the Touch do it?

[SimD]

It's interesting to see how things will go from here on.


Apple was clearly taking jabs at AT&T (Scott and Phil both).

Users are pissed beyond words.

And, above all, AT&T STILL isn't doing anything.

The minute this contract ends, it will be a bag of hurt for AT&T...

Of course I'm in Canada with Rogers where we get free tethering for this year... :rolleyes:

[mobi]

I'll stick with PdaNet, thank you very much...

PdaNet works great! Very easy to get up a running!

[Wild-Bill]

All iPhone users are to AT&T are cash cows.

Want your phone bill to show who you called and for how long? $1.99/month :rolleyes:
Want to use that nifty new "Voice Dial" feature Apple finally implemented? $4.99/month :rolleyes:
Want to tether? $40.00/month :rolleyes:

Next cycle AT&T will probably charge you $.99 just for powering up the iPhone. Another $.49 for reboots. :mad:

[DougB541]

I would be AMAZED if Apple resigns an exclusivity contract.

[nkawtg72]

I thought you could just plug it into your computer and use your internet connection, your download quota etc on your iPhone/Touch. Is this not the case? Can the Touch do it?

iTouch is not on ATT, so no.

And in theory an iPhone could do what you describe but it has been designed to only do it if you are paying for the feature, or more accurately that feature has been permitted by your carrier.

[nkawtg72]

It is $60.00 a month with AT&T to add tethering to a Blackberry with a 5GB cap. So I wouldn't expect anything less with the iPhone. I'm just tired of carrying an iPhone and a 3G card when I'm on the road.

The ball is entirely in AT&T's court now. I'll wait to see what they do.

Here is a link to the AT&T Page http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/services/services-list.jsp?catId=cat1510007&LOSGId=&catName=BlackBerry®+Services

you may want to read that page again. it actually is showing that you can add tethering to your crackberry for just $10/month.

$30 plan for unlimited data for the crackberry
or
$50 plan for unlimited data AND unlimited messaging
or
$60 plan for unlimited data AND unlimited messaging AND tethering

the $60 is not in addition to the other two options

goes to show they could do a similar pricing structure for the iPhone IF they wanted to

[zoezoezoe]

Further proof ATT is the ********* provider in USA. The second iPhone becomes available for another carrier (hopefully Verizon) I will be canceling my ATT account and switching.

MMS is a basic feature on all of my friends smart phones and they can't believe how pathetic viewing MMS pictures on my iPhone is. At the very least make the damn passwords easier to remember.

ATT SUCKS!!!
Boo Apple for making iPhone ATT only!!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad:

[EagerDragon]

The entire AT&T excuses are very lame.

They knew these features were coming and should have them available on day 1. They can also run a script or SQL update to make changes to their customers database.

Plain lame.

The 2G Iphone and the 3G iPhone both use a media rich web browser and also a mail client and SMS client. All images and videos from the most complicated web pages are transmitted to the iPhone and rendered by the iPhone (flash excluded), so why using the phone as a modem to browse the net from a laptop would use more badwith? I do not see how my laptop will use more of the network than my iPhone under normal conditions. Yea maybe due to downloads of software, I can see that, but video, pictures, and other web browsing activities are the same regardless of device used.

How much does it cost to just add a 3G card and service to the laptop?
Would using the phone as a modem be less expensive?
Probably can not get calls when using the phone as a modem, which means you may want to add a 3G card instead.

Best wait anyway until these features are available than rush to the store for a limp iPhone 3GS at this time. If unable to use it fully why get it?

[MacU]

Man AT&T really dropped the ball here. They have the opportunity and the timeing to really change things up for their advantage and they just wast it on delaying the feature (which worked on their older phones, I use to tether my Samsung Sync with AT&T for no additional cost).

This is not just a whiny I don't want to pay for it hippy talk either.

Lets look at the trends. We are in a recession right now, this is the first ressession where people are more apt to drop Lan lines then their cell phones. Most people have internet access too and are paying $30-$40 a month. Their current plan is roughly $20 a month for internet, which is fast enough for most people. Well if people are keeping their cell phones then, if they allowed tethering at no additional cost then people would drop their Cable/DSL lines and some of the dialups who are still there can finally get high speed connection for their computers.

So you can use the Internet on your PC or you Phone but carry around your internet connection in your pocket. People are moving away from Desktops and going to laptops, and some even netbooks. So this could have created some excellent growth for AT&T. However they decided for the quick term and price themselves out of the market. Sure some people will use it but not the mass market. They could have cornered the internet market but they wasted it.

That's just it. AT&T offers Cable, Internet, & Home phone service. They aren't going to shoot themselves in the foot. Their business model is archaic at best. Who the heck still has a normal home phone? MagicJack changed the game for that. Unless they realize that they'll make more money thru a smaller margin but increased membership, they will be obsolete post the exclusive contract. That's why Apple needs to go with T-Mobile or at least Verison IMHO.

[Rocketman]

I have heard several pages of whining about AT&T now, some of it based on real concerns of service quality and coverage and pricing. Fine.

AT&T was there for Apple when Verizon was not. Apple had a unique marketing and service delivery scheme that required service side cooperation that leasing space on various networks would not have achieved. AT&T for all its limitations made the iPhone possible. Don't forget that reality. No network, Verizon included, was up for the huge take-up of the iPhone and the spectacular increase in bandwidth usage facilitated by it.

Back haul is being upgraded, cell site bandwidth is being upgraded at a pace AT&T has never seen before, and frankly I have suggested tripling it with outside contractors and unemployed network installers who really need jobs right now.

For AT&T this deal is truly a cash cow, not only because of subscribers and revenues, but most importantly because those subscribers are sticky. The two mentions of services Apple wants to provide which AT&T is slow to offer here in the USA were public notice to AT&T that their sticky customers want those services and Apple is on their side, because whatever carrier(s) Apple endorses gets MILLIONS of sticky customers.

The network is not in place to properly service all the current and new iPhone users with tethering, MMS, VoIP, video conferencing, which the iPhone and software is ready for NOW. It takes time to update an entire national network when you have the government working against you as hard as possible.

When you complain about AT&T, which is fine, also complain about the FCC, congress, and the Fed who have each had an even larger role in killing planned and capitalized baseband rollouts.

Just as one example the Fed crashing the NASDAQ market in 1999 because they felt there was a bubble (which was actually the anticipation of the growth of the internet we can only now see was huge and real), caused thousands of miles of fully installed long haul fiber to stay dark, even to this day!

So make "recovery proposals" emphasizing bandwidth NOW, write to federal legislators and regulators to accelerate this. There are no technological or capital limitations, they are entirely governmental.

AT&T is definitely in the back pocket of the government. If there is ever a domestic national crisis you will bless your lucky stars for the AT&T network.

Rocketman

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=4115&tag=nl.e589

[manu chao]

Well, not really. All you can eat = all you can eat, not all you can eat *and* bring with you in a bag.
Ok, let's refine that example. Drink as much beer as you want but use tiny spoons for it (=iPhone rendering speed, iPhone display size) vs. use a big straw (=rendering speed on Computer, Computer display size).

Just because you did not read the fine print (which said you are only allowed to use the data connection for the iPhone itself or will say now with the official tethering option), does not mean that the fine print is not legally binding.

And if there are lawsuits, maybe the courts will order that the fine print will have to made a bit larger.

[manu chao]

The 2G Iphone and the 3G iPhone both use a media rich web browser and also a mail client and SMS client. All images and videos from the most complicated web pages are transmitted to the iPhone and rendered by the iPhone (flash excluded), so why using the phone as a modem to browse the net from a laptop would use more badwith? I do not see how my laptop will use more of the network than my iPhone under normal conditions. Yea maybe due to downloads of software, I can see that, but video, pictures, and other web browsing activities are the same regardless of device used.

Did you ever look at any actual number? For example your AT&T bill? My iPhone usage fluctuates around 150 MB/month. When I had to use a 3G USB modem for a month because my cable connection was down, I used between 200 MB and 1 GB per day? Same wireless network, same network speed.
Maybe 400 MB of podcasts per week, another 200 MB streaming radio. Software updates, maybe 200 MB per week etc.
Or go to Activity Monitor and the Network section, at the bottom there is a data sent and received listing (I think a restart resets these numbers). My last restart is 4 days ago, for me it lists 12 and 20 GB respectively, these numbers are likely higher than I would achieve on a 3G network because some tasks are too slow on a such a network).

The key point you are overlooking is that browsing the web and e-mail is only a fraction of all network traffic on a computer. Apart from the above mentioned podcasts, radio streaming and software downloads a lot of people myself included interact a lot with all kinds of servers, be it uploading to web servers, CMS systems (eg, subversion), dedicated number crunchers, office file servers.

How much does it cost to just add a 3G card and service to the laptop?

About $40/month in a lot of countries (there are cheaper ones and also more expensive ones).

[Aldaris]

I was lucky enough to get NetShare from the App store the second time it was released, so At&t take that!

At&t only got the iPhone from cingular, I wish they hadn't merged... Things would probably be different.

[chr1s60]

I simply do not understand how the FIRST CARRIER IN THE WORLD to have the iPhone is not ready for something simple like MMS or tethering. Even worse is the fact that AT&T doesn't seem to care that they were laughed at and booed during the keynote. I do not look forward to the tethering because I am guessing AT&T will make an extremely overpriced plan for iPhone.

[diamond.g]

Has anyone called AT&T and asked if the opt in for MMS can be done over the phone as soon as 3.0 comes out?

[jibranpcc]

Before I got my iPhone, I had Verizon. Reception was good, but their customer service was horrible. I couldn't wait to drop them. Now I feel the same way about AT&T, except the reception isn't quite as good. I don't know how Sprint is these days, but I used them before Verizon, and their customer service wasn't any better. Overall, cell phone service in the U.S. isn't competitive enough. Want an iPhone? You're stuck with AT&T. Want a Pre? You're stuck with Sprint (for now).

[Rodimus Prime]

All the AT&T bitching I see here makes me think of one old saying


"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"

I am willing to bet if it was a locked in agreement with T-Mobile, verizon ect a lot of the same bitching would be going on.

[Anuba]

Ok, let's refine that example. Drink as much beer as you want but use tiny spoons for it (=iPhone rendering speed, iPhone display size) vs. use a big straw (=rendering speed on Computer, Computer display size).
OK, well... if that's how it works in the US then that's how it works... I live in Europe and if someone offers an unlimited data plan over here, they better make damn sure it's literally unlimited.

[jonhaxor]

let's face it .. all the cell networks in the US suck .. fwiw, the telecom industry here has always been a mess of broken standards, greedy carriers, government over-regulation, and the ability for companies to make a lot of money by promoting ignorance. .. so i guess it's just a lasting legacy making it's way into the wireless industry

methinks it's probably time to go back and jailbreak the 3G again - the only thing you'll miss from the 3Gs is the magnetometer, +1 MP on a crappy camera, a slightly faster processor at lower (non 3G) power consumption, and the HSDPA chipset (for whenever that comes out.)

it seems like they're holding a bunch back, and if the tablet comes out with built in HSDPA i'm not sure they'll want to tie it again to AT&T .. personally i think apple and google should just merge development efforts and buy out a carrier network to get the tower infrastructure and just set out to bring some good into the wireless industry

it's getting a little tiring dealing with the fixed slots from legacy AT&T towers (spells dropped calls in congested areas), and all the dropped calls i still get in the middle of buildings here in nyc .. couple this with *really* spotty data service almost anywhere i go (hit or miss) and now i've got a bunch of stories i can tell my grandchildren ("i remember when you had to redial the same number 3 or 4 times and go to an open window before a voice call would go through" .. or .. "i remember when you had to cross your fingers and wait over 2 minutes for google searches to complete on your cell phone - sometimes it wouldn't even work at all!!")

[Anuba]

let's face it .. all the cell networks in the US suck .. fwiw, the telecom industry here has always been a mess of broken standards, greedy carriers, government over-regulation, and the ability for companies to make a lot of money by promoting ignorance. .. so i guess it's just a lasting legacy making it's way into the wireless industry
If government over-regulation was the culprit, cell networks in Europe would suck donkey b@lls, but they're great. Regulation is what beat them into submission. The EU has loads of rules... there's a cap on how much they can charge for services, they're forced to provide a certain level of coverage, their advertising is regulated, and there's a massive amount of carriers so the competition is cut throat. In Sweden, a country of only 9 million, we have at least four or five major networks, and they're obligated to offer coverage across the whole country, including crappy rural areas where nobody lives. This summer, Telenor will be able to sell iPhone as well so we'll have two competing iPhone carriers. Not that the prices are bad with just the one carrier... I'm paying something like a third or half of what it costs to have an iPhone in the U.S, all thanks to merciless government regulation. ;)

[dukebound85]

no way i'm paying $70 a month! on top of my voice plan?!

dont forget text!

[Rocketman]

let's face it .. all the cell networks in the US suck .. fwiw, the telecom industry here has always been a mess of broken standards, greedy carriers, government over-regulation, and the ability for companies to make a lot of money by promoting ignorance. .. so i guess it's just a lasting legacy making it's way into the wireless industry


In addition to there being different flavors and styles of regulation, there are different population densities here than in other countries. GFL getting cell service in Africa or rural Russia.

Rocketman

[Lanbrown]

I like my data plan; $45 for unlimited and tethering. Nothing like a grandfathered plan. Now they charge $65 for it and has additional restrictions.

[hiimamac]

att blows...$70/month?...i guess i'll just have to read up on how to tether w/o actually getting the tethering plan...i'll be hanging on to my 1st gen iphone until the iphone is available on somebody beside att.
Yup. Never done jail breaking. Will look into and see about cancelling data plan. I'd lost phone and black market my number I'd use sipe. Enough is enough. Can you cancel tv $30 data plan?

Godspeed. God us in the side of righteous, that is us, AT&T is thevevil empire now.

[stoox]

so lets see...
is it 70 buck on top of what im already paying or is the entire plan just 70 bucks+extra for extra text?

and i like all the adds for other carriers all over the site.

[ztepper]

I just spoke with an AT&T customer service rep about MMS for iPhone customers. pricing for MMS is as follows:
* customers pay for the actual text message
* any data concerning the MMS is not charged to your account since you have the unlimited iPhone data plan.

SO: if you have unlimited text messaging, you literally pay nothing for MMS.
sure did put a smile on my face. as for when it will be supported? no word yet.

[blacknblu]

All the AT&T bitching I see here makes me think of one old saying


"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"

I am willing to bet if it was a locked in agreement with T-Mobile, verizon ect a lot of the same bitching would be going on.

I switched to Cingular (before the merger with AT&T) because Verizon had locked their phones down so tight, I couldn't access the "hardware" I had purchased. I take issue with AT&T on a number of items, but I'm certainly glad the iPhone isn't with Verizon. Could you imagine paying to sync iTunes with your phone - I can with Verizon.

I would like to see the end of the "exclusive" contract with AT&T, where any provider could host the iPhone. In that environment, a user could choose which functionality he/she wants at the stated price. Competition isn't just something that gives you gray hair, it also gives you better products...

[chr1s60]

At this point I have already lost all excitement for tethering because I already know AT&T is going to throw out some ridiculous price for the plan. It is worth a little bit of money to me, but I have the feeling it is going to be $40 or more extra and IMO that is way too much when you add that on top of the already expensive iPhone plans.

[TroyBoy30]

At&t only got the iPhone from cingular, I wish they hadn't merged... Things would probably be different.

didn't att own cingular? lol

I like my data plan; $45 for unlimited and tethering. Nothing like a grandfathered plan. Now they charge $65 for it and has additional restrictions.

I like mine better. $19 media max 200 plan with an att fuze. unlimited internet with tethering and 200 texts. I use anywhere from 1 to 30 gig a month tethering. gonna miss it with the iphone. It's gonna be $35 for the same with no tethering

[MacNut]

SBC owned Cingular, SBC bought ATT and took the name.

[eastercat]

All the AT&T bitching I see here makes me think of one old saying


"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"

I am willing to bet if it was a locked in agreement with T-Mobile, verizon ect a lot of the same bitching would be going on.
With Verizon the bitching would be worse. When traveling to a foreign country, you couldn't drop a local SIM into the phone, so you can make cheap calls. Although it requires the use of yellowsn0w or something equivalent, we can unlock the iPhone and use foreign SIMs with it.
I'm so glad Verizon refused Apple.