AT&T iPhone 3G Pricing Details:

[ec51]

Originally Posted by vanwas

2nd bullet from the bottom
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-pho...als/iPhone.jsp

"Add a Consumer Data Plan for iPhone 3G to a qualified voice plan for $30 per month"

I also signed up for a family plan two days ago (will be "exchanging" my phone on the 11th, or whenever they get phones in). I was able to get either sms per line. you can do under that FAMILY plans if you sign up and then add options like insurance, SMS, etc., or get the unlimited for the family plan. The family share plans are considered "qualified voice plans"

As far as I know,...no insurance available on the iPhone.

[WPB2]

Originally Posted by greenmymac

Meaning you dont have to get a credit check on the day of reducing the time you will be there

I went to the AT&T store right by my house, and they told me I would have to get a credit check today and then again on the day I purchased the iphone 3g. I brought the printout of "get iReady" they are f**ing stupid. They told me that since they get paid by commission I would have to see the same sales person to not have to get my credit checked again on launch day. So I just said F-it. I will come back on launch day (actually send my wife on launch day) and do the credit check then, and all that retarded stuff. If anyone else goes to pre-register at AT&T store post your results.

[DeuceDeuce]

Originally Posted by ec51

The increase really has nothing to do with 3G. The data plan for a Blackberry on At&t is $30 for unlimited data and $20 for unlimited texts, WHICH IS THE SAME FOR THE NEW iPHONE. Everyone thinks that they increased the prices FOR the 3G service, but this is incorrect. They increased, thats it and it brings the iPhone up with the rest of At&t data plans. If you dont want to pay the increased price you have the option of sticking with the original iPhone....

SO STOP COMPLAINING, they could be forcing all of us original iPhone users to add the NEW $30 data plan. Except they are allowing those plans to remain...and even allow new users with old iPhones to still use that plan.

AMEN!!!

[supmango]

Originally Posted by ceuyan

when is the last day to activate an old iphone to be eligible for the iphone 3G at $199?

I would like to know this as well. Has anyone tried it and seen what happens on their online account? Perhaps someone who plans on getting an iPhone 3G no matter what they have to pay should do this because if it is an actual loop hole, then they may be saving themselves 200 bucks. And if it does work, I will be doing it as well.

[vanwas]

Originally Posted by ec51

As far as I know,...no insurance available on the iPhone.

Sorry, meant to add that to my post where I put you could add features and such. No insurance on the iPhone, but you can still add it to non iPhones on your family share plans. I've been hearing the same thing about insurance... none for (Homeowners/Renters works though)

[rtsnatrts]

Originally Posted by marksman

Small price to pay to get rid of Sprint.

???....sprint is among the cheapest of the carriers, at&t is among the most expensive. granted, sprint stinks, but it's better than getting screwed by the apple/at&t monopoly.

[rtsnatrts]

Originally Posted by pavvento

"Why do the consumers on this board insist on getting the latest tech for peanuts?"

Because most people have this sense of entitlement. They feel that either because they have been an Apple fanboy for years or with ATT for years that they somehow should be placed in a special pricing category.

or maybe it's because we know a screw when we feel one. why not open it up to multiple carriers and allow good 'ol fashioned market competition to allow the prices to be driven down somewhat instead of one carrier who can essentially name their own (high end) prices?

[Quillz]

Originally Posted by rtsnatrts

???....sprint is among the cheapest of the carriers, at&t is among the most expensive. granted, sprint stinks, but it's better than getting screwed by the apple/at&t monopoly.

Frankly, all mobile carriers have a monopoly of sorts. There are really only four providers: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. All others, for the most part, are owned by one of those four.

[Digital Skunk]

Originally Posted by rtsnatrts

???....sprint is among the cheapest of the carriers, at&t is among the most expensive. granted, sprint stinks, but it's better than getting screwed by the apple/at&t monopoly.

Agreed but all carriers stink in some area. For Sprint it may be the coverage, or the billing process in one area, while in another it's lack of EVDO or something else.

AT&T stinks in price hands down, and for me personally customer service. I will be sticking with Sprint unless there is some miraculous happening that occurs at AT&T which lowers the iPhone prices down to competitive levels, and not the gouging that they are doing since people want the hottest piece of eye candy on the market.

Originally Posted by rtsnatrts

or maybe it's because we know a screw when we feel one. why not open it up to multiple carriers and allow good 'ol fashioned market competition to allow the prices to be driven down somewhat instead of one carrier who can essentially name their own (high end) prices?

Yeah, spoken like an enlightened consumer. We do know a screw and AT&T is good at doing that. Apple is learning how to do it better as well.

They don't even have to open it up to other carriers, just price it competitively and give me a reason to leave better, cheaper service with phones that have more features for more expensive services with missing options for a phone with just a slick UI and nothing more.

[rtsnatrts]

Originally Posted by Quillz

Frankly, all mobile carriers have a monopoly of sorts. There are really only four providers: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. All others, for the most part, are owned by one of those four.

they're "monopolies of sorts" all over the place (see cable tv, gasoline, etc) but with the iphone, the lack of competition allows at&t to set their prices wherever they feel...open it up to those four companies and at&t might be less bold to set such outrageous minute & text prices.

[jplan2008]

Originally Posted by supmango

I would like to know this as well. Has anyone tried it and seen what happens on their online account? Perhaps someone who plans on getting an iPhone 3G no matter what they have to pay should do this because if it is an actual loop hole, then they may be saving themselves 200 bucks. And if it does work, I will be doing it as well.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...49#post5694649

[oacory]

Originally Posted by vanwas

No insurance on the iPhone, but you can still add it to non iPhones on your family share plans. I've been hearing the same thing about insurance... none for (Homeowners/Renters works though)

Um.. when I upgraded my phone in 2007 I was told by att that the reason my phone wasn't insurable was that I had a music playing phone (I have a LG CU500). My brother got his phone insured though because he did not have music capabilities (he got the LG CU400 for free). As far as I know that is still the policy since my friend who upgraded in March told me that same story. I have not actually seen this in writing so we both could have had dumb sales people but it is a weird coincidence. I am assuming that since the iphone is capable playing music it then falls under that policy.

The applecare is available so as long as you don't do something stupid with it you can always try and pass it off as something that can be fixed by applecare.

[Digital Skunk]

Originally Posted by oacory

Um.. when I upgraded my phone in 2007 I was told by att that the reason my phone wasn't insurable was that I had a music playing phone (I have a LG CU500). My brother got his phone insured though because he did not have music capabilities (he got the LG CU400 for free). As far as I know that is still the policy since my friend who upgraded in March told me that same story. I have not actually seen this in writing so we both could have had dumb sales people but it is a weird coincidence. I am assuming that since the iphone is capable playing music it then falls under that policy.

The applecare is available so as long as you don't do something stupid with it you can always try and pass it off as something that can be fixed by applecare.

That's the sad part. Most carriers insure all of their phones regardless or type or cost. And a lot of incidents can't be covered by Apple Care and aren't in the realm of ignorance. When my fiancee was held up at gun point for instance. Luckily the guy was in such a rush that he didn't bother opening her trunk which had about $3000 of her camera gear inside.

But a call to Sprint was made, $50 charged, and four days later a new Treo 650 was at the door step. You just can't get that with AT&T.

[minchman]

Originally Posted by latestmonkey

You know what absolutely cracks me up? The people who think AT&T is going to crash and burn because THEY will not pay $75 for service.

Oh dear, what will poor At&T and Apple do when the line to buy the iphone is 99999 deep instead of 100000. Now, not all pricing models are bulletproof but I'm going to go ahead and assume that AT&T has run plenty of models on this pricing structure and came to an optimized pricing point for AT&T. Not you, individual consumer, but AT&T and the masses. If you can't afford it or don't want to pay, that's fine... the door is that way.

I was really happy when they announced $199/$299 pricing. But then I found out that I wouldn't be eligible because I just upgraded in January and I would have to pay the full price at $399/$499. Now, I have 3 options:

1) don't buy the new iphone. wait till I'm upgrade eligible
2) suck it up and pay $399/$499
3) rage impotently on message boards

What exactly does option #3 get me? NOTHING. That's why I'll just suck it up and pay it -- You know why? Because when I upgraded my phone in January, I knew full well that AT&T was subsidizing my Sony Ericcson for 2 years in order for me to pay only $.01 on it. You never get anything for free. Why do the consumers on this board insist on getting the latest tech for peanuts?

beautifully put!

[Mac Dummy]

I heard that AT&T was going to charge an $18 upgrade fee to new 3G iPhone customers. It sounded like they were talking about current non-iPhone customers regardless of contract status. I been a AT&T/Cingular customer for 4 years and have been out of my contact for 3 years. I never have changed my handset or calling plan.

This was straight of the AT&T wireless website. http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-pho...phone-info.jsp

Will I pay an upgrade fee?
Yes. You will pay an $18 upgrade fee.

WTF?!

Costumer loyalty counts for absolutely nothing these days!

[natejohnstone@g]

Can someone nice please explain what the FAN discount is?

Does AT&T give discounts for military or university staff?

Thanks!

[supmango]

Originally Posted by jplan2008

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...49#post5694649

Thanks!

[ec51]

Yeah, the $18 upgrade fee is the only thing that really surprises me. After having At&t for over 5 years, I never was charged an upgrade fee when changing phones. Only the activation charge when I went from a single line to a family plan.

[brewser]

I searched this thread and can't seem to find the answer to this:
My understanding is the new iphone 2.0 upgrade will allow you to connect with corporate email through exchange. Do I need to upgrade to AT&T's corporate plan to do this or will it work with an individual plan?

[MV ROB]

Originally Posted by IOIIOOO

I think it has more to do with the fact that while yes, this pricing is in line with AT&Ts other phones, it seems apparent that AT&T overcharges for data across the board. Look at Sprint where you can get unlimited calls, texts, and data for $99. And it's not like AT&T was dominating on their traditional phones before the iPhone came out - their exclusivity has given them the reign to not compete in pricing with the other carriers.

Oh, and the reason why the original iPhone could justify cheaper pricing than the other phones AT&T offers, at least from a consumer perspective, is that the iPhone was not subsidized in any way by AT&T. Every other phone was discounted, sometimes up to a few hundred dollars, in exchange for the two year contract. With the original iPhone, we had no subsidy, but still had the two year contract. From my perspective, that lack of subsidy is offset somewhat by the "cheaper" data plan compared to the other AT&T phones.

What I REALLY don't get, though, are the people on this board who seem to be AT&T justifiers. It's natural for people to want competition and better pricing.

+1 couldnt have said it better myself

[MV ROB]

Originally Posted by rtsnatrts

they're "monopolies of sorts" all over the place (see cable tv, gasoline, etc) but with the iphone, the lack of competition allows at&t to set their prices wherever they feel...open it up to those four companies and at&t might be less bold to set such outrageous minute & text prices.

+1 well put!

My eyes will be on Sprint to see how they fare, i sure do love their plans of late. Too bad they didnt have Tmobiles customer service record though

[MV ROB]

Originally Posted by rtsnatrts

???....sprint is among the cheapest of the carriers, at&t is among the most expensive. granted, sprint stinks, but it's better than getting screwed by the apple/at&t monopoly.

agreed

[dstrauss]

Originally Posted by supmango

I would like to know this as well. Has anyone tried it and seen what happens on their online account? Perhaps someone who plans on getting an iPhone 3G no matter what they have to pay should do this because if it is an actual loop hole, then they may be saving themselves 200 bucks. And if it does work, I will be doing it as well.

I activated an 8gb iPhone I on Tuesday afternoon, and within the hour my account status was updated to show I was eligible for the discount price.

[Filmoetonyc]

Originally Posted by rtsnatrts

???....sprint is among the cheapest of the carriers, at&t is among the most expensive. granted, sprint stinks, but it's better than getting screwed by the apple/at&t monopoly.

Why does Sprint stink? I cant even hear anyone on my new att phone, its not clear and it drops calls. My Sprint Centro never dropped calls ever, even in Boise or the north shore.

[Filmoetonyc]

Originally Posted by MV ROB

+1 well put!

My eyes will be on Sprint to see how they fare, I sure do love their plans of late. Too bad they didnt have Tmobiles customer service record though

sorry, but when I changed back to sprint yesterday. They gave my the instinct for 229, gave me the $100 mail in rebate and $100 credit, plus they wiped out my bill of $223.00 thats service.. I'm still with you guys on apple products. I love them all, but att is getting over with $150 for unlimited plans, which is what I need. The only problem is the instinct is sold out and I have to wait two weeks for it, but they said they would give me an additional $50 off my $100 unlimited plan for the first month for the wait.