So it is $15 or $10 more per month?

OK, so I get that the data plan is moving from $20 to $30, and too bad if you don't have 3G in your area...

But what I am not clear on is did we lose the bundled 200 txt's also - meaning that you would have to add a $5 txt plan for a total of $15 more per month?

Much of the media coverage seems to be saying only $10 more, but the forum posts seem to say $15. I suspect no one really knows yet.

It never ceases to amaze me that AT&T is so slow to post the rate info...

It will be interesting to see if the lower initial price combined with a higher monthly fee really attracts all the new customers who have been waiting on the iPhone. It would seem to me that the "everyday people" who want an iPhone, but have NOT purchased the phone because of cost, are going to be initially attracted to the lower initial cost, but then blown away by the higher monthly.

I think this is especially true for people with teenagers. I was just getting to the point, where I thought the $20 data plan might be OK for the kids, but a 50% increase pushes it out of reach again.

I really hope this works out for Apple, but I think this increase really puts a damper on things for the "average buyer" who is supposed to make up the bulk of those new buyers.

I'm as big of an Apple fanboi as you can get, and I can certainly afford the increased cost, but if we have to pay 50% more for faster data quite a few of us can't use, and then pay more for txt's too, it seems like it is alot to swallow.

They would sell a ton more of these to the teenager market if you could get an iPhone without a data plan...

I guess one way to look at this as the cost of the 3G phone is equivalent to an initial cost of $559 ($199 + 24*15) with the same old $20 data plan and 200 txt's (over 24 months)...

(edit) This link pretty much confirms that the 200 txt messages are no longer bundled into the price:

http://gigaom.com/2008/06/09/att-mobility-ceo-new-3g-iphone-game-changer

Scooterman1 said:

If AT&T won't be paying Apple any of it's revenue, AND
the iPhone is going to sell for a MAX of $199 US in most countries,
Then where does the Subsidy come in? The $200 Subsidy that has been mentioned.
AT&T is Revenue Sharing on the present iPhone, and not paying any subsidy.
They will be making more money by the increased cost of the Data Plan and Txt messages.
Are they paying Apple $200 for each phone that is purchased?

Click to expand...

From what I have read, the subsidy comes into play, in that Apple is going to sell the phone to AT&T for something like $467, and AT&T is then discounting the phone down to $199, leaving a $268 subsidy.

No big deal, when you raise the cost of the data plan $15/month, and you break even around 17 months...

What is unfortunate is that we had a great deal with the 2.5G iPhone compared to similar devices like the Blackberry. Silly me, I just assumed it would continue.

I agree that what they are doing makes sense from a business standpoint - why should the iPhone be any different from a Blackberry?

I just think it's odd that everyone is says they are going to sell a zillion iPhones now that the price has "dropped" to $199, when the monthly cost has increased pretty dramatically for most people.

I am used to paying $300-$400 for an iPod, so $399 for an iPhone was a no brainer for me. I was not used to spending $30 more per month to get a data plan on my phone, and I am not sure how many people are going to be willing to do that.

I just wonder if this will be a big enough barrier to "the masses" to keep them from moving to the iPhone in as great a numbers as they predict...

TexasAg said:

AT&T is just bringing the iPhone in line with its other smartphones, which have plans that cost $30/month for data and $5/month (or more) for text messages. Don't shoot me - I don't work for them.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it's all in the presentation. No one said anything about the data plans changing prices before now, and Steve certainly didn't say anything about them yesterday. All we heard was that price was one of the barriers to people getting an iPhone, so they lowered the price.

Now, I agree, that Steve probably doesn't need to talk about AT&T's pricing, and we all heard some rumors that the price may go up.

But how is a $199 phone + $35/month cheaper than a $399 phone + $20/month after a year?

Don't get me wrong, I know the new phone has 3G, but how many of us can get it? It would be interesting to see what % of iPhone users have access to 3G networks?

I'm definitely going to wait in line to get one, but I feel like the price cut shouldn't have been pushed as hard as it was...