I've been with Cingular(& Apple) for many moons and have been planning to be an iPhone early adopter upon release. However, it just dawned on me that when I was shopping for a PDA at my local Cingular joint a few months back I decided against it due to the lack of insurability. So I just got off the horn with Cingular/AT&T and was told that not only is insurance still not offered for their line of PDA's and smartphones, but that insurance would also most likely not be an option for the iPhone as its price exceeds that of even their most expensive PDA. If so, what a joke. $699 for a phone and no protection to go with it. I wonder how much this will impact sales...I'm sure not making the leap now. What does the Macrumors community think of this?
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Insurance Plan not likely to be offered for iPhone, says Cingular
- Thread starter gr8gatzby
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I'm sure there will be a 1yr manufacturer's warranty, but that only covers manufacturer's defects, not accidental damage or loss.
I think it's pretty obvious that it will come with a one-year warranty and optional AppleCare. My guess is that AppleCare for iPhone will cost between $99 and $169, and you'll definitely want to get it.
you like The Great Gatsby? I'm from West Egg!
...and on the topic at hand... as others have said, I think Apple will take care of warranty/insurance stuff. I'm going to try to not deal with Cingular at all when buying mine.
Holy crap, that is not good at all. That makes me very nervous. Most carriers provide insurance for PDA / Smart phones, why the hell wouldn't Cingular ?!
Thats going to hurt them, rather bad.
Thats going to hurt them, rather bad.
Why?
Why don't they offer it? Hit "Shift" and "4" at the same time and that'll give you your answer.
Why don't they offer it? Hit "Shift" and "4" at the same time and that'll give you your answer.
Most of the time, the insurance is subcontracted through another company. Beyond that, that really discourages people shelling out $600 on a phone that if something happens to it they are feked. Not to mention, they are locked into a 2 year agreement.
I can afford to buy the iPhone, I can afford the deposit (I have bad credit ... had to drop over $1500 to Verizon). But, I can't afford to not have insurance.
My decision is going to come down to how much will a replacement cost. If its under $200 I might be able to deal. Anything more, chances are will force me to wait.
With T-Mobile, an equipment protection plan for my (crappy) phone would be $5.99/mo. That's $140 for two years of coverage. That comes with a $110 deductible.
Personally, I'd really rather pay $150 for two years of AppleCare.
Personally, I'd really rather pay $150 for two years of AppleCare.
I have never had Cingular's insurance. But I have always insured my phone through my home owners insurance for next to nothing.
My 8700 Blackberry cost me $10 a year to insure and has a $50 deductible, if broken, lost, stolen - including accidental damage.
Talk to your renter's / home owners insurance company they are always cheaper.
My 8700 Blackberry cost me $10 a year to insure and has a $50 deductible, if broken, lost, stolen - including accidental damage.
Talk to your renter's / home owners insurance company they are always cheaper.
Used this with Sprint many times
Over the years I've had to use my "insurance" with SprintPCS on multiple occurrences to replace my Treo650 (and the 2 SmartPhones I had before that too!)
It did pay off ($4 per month) as each time I had a problem with the phone (all occurrences was that the phone or a feature or key stopped working, never that I lost it) I received a new (refurbished) phone. In fact that is how I got a FREE Treo650, as the model before got replaced 3x and I just asked to be "upgraded" and sited how long I was a customer (5+ years, so NO contract) and how much I spend per month ($175).
I hope AppleCare for iPhone will cover what these current cell-insurance plans cover!!! I don't want to buy a new iPhone every-time something happens. I'm sort of used to having this insurance in place.
Over the years I've had to use my "insurance" with SprintPCS on multiple occurrences to replace my Treo650 (and the 2 SmartPhones I had before that too!)
It did pay off ($4 per month) as each time I had a problem with the phone (all occurrences was that the phone or a feature or key stopped working, never that I lost it) I received a new (refurbished) phone. In fact that is how I got a FREE Treo650, as the model before got replaced 3x and I just asked to be "upgraded" and sited how long I was a customer (5+ years, so NO contract) and how much I spend per month ($175).
I hope AppleCare for iPhone will cover what these current cell-insurance plans cover!!! I don't want to buy a new iPhone every-time something happens. I'm sort of used to having this insurance in place.
I manage a Sprint Nextel store, although I'm still with Cingular due to 18 months of remaining contract. It amazes me how excellent the Sprint Service and Repair plan is, even if you don't opt for the $7/mo package, Sprint will still replace your phone for only $55 if it cannot be repaired.
I used to have insurance on my SE S710a with Cingular. Then it got stolen. My grandmother called up the insurance company, and got them to send a new phone. (Uh oh) She told me it was a Samsung s-somethingorother. I found out that it was the SGH-D807. Doing some research, I found out that it was not compatible with: iSync, Salling Clicker, or any other application that used BlueTooth on my PowerBook, with the exception of File Transfer. This was all due to Samsung not using the profiles necessary.
So I called the company up, and the person I spoke to said I could return this phone for one that would work right. The next day, the phone comes in, and I call up to see about getting a different phone.
(This is far from verbatim)
"Hi, this phone won't work with my computer, because Samsung is stupid"
"It has BlueTooth, that's all we're concerned about"
"Can I get a different phone that will work though? I'll take a downgrade if necessary."
"We can neither downgrade nor upgrade your phone. It has Bluetooth, that's all we're concerned with."
"What about my concerns?"
"It has Bluetooth, that's all we're concerned about" (Translation: **** you)
The insurance plan was canceled the next day, and I ended up buying another S710a on eBay (local too, so it was quick).
Cliff Notes: the insurance company Cingular uses suck massive smelly donkey balls.
So I called the company up, and the person I spoke to said I could return this phone for one that would work right. The next day, the phone comes in, and I call up to see about getting a different phone.
(This is far from verbatim)
"Hi, this phone won't work with my computer, because Samsung is stupid"
"It has BlueTooth, that's all we're concerned about"
"Can I get a different phone that will work though? I'll take a downgrade if necessary."
"We can neither downgrade nor upgrade your phone. It has Bluetooth, that's all we're concerned with."
"What about my concerns?"
"It has Bluetooth, that's all we're concerned about" (Translation: **** you)
The insurance plan was canceled the next day, and I ended up buying another S710a on eBay (local too, so it was quick).
Cliff Notes: the insurance company Cingular uses suck massive smelly donkey balls.
ohhhh hahahaha
i wasn't in a textbox, that's why nothing was happening. hmm i feel stupid... $$$$$$
Cingular has never provided insurance for PDA or even phones that play music like my w600i. Total crap in my opinion BUT it really is cheaper to add it to your insurance policy and you'll most likely get a lot better service.