Apple Announces iPhone 3G

[Anuba]

"AT&T Inc., the exclusive U.S. carrier for the phone, said its plans for the phone will start at $39.99 per month, plus $30 for unlimited data. That works out to be a $10 increase from the cheapest plan for the first-generation iPhone."

Great, now I'm going to have to pay 10 bucks more a month for 3G goodness?!

Jeebus what a ripoff... those rates are just insane. What is it with US carriers...

Telia, the iPhone carrier in Sweden, doesn't have any prices up yet but their unlimited Turbo-3G plan is 199 SEK / month. In USD that's... OK, deduct the 25% sales tax... 159 SEK = $26, but the comparison is skewed due to the rock-bottom value of the USD (6 SEK). The 'normal' USD rate is about 10 SEK, so think approx. $16/month for unlimited 7,2 mbit downstream.

 

[Dynasty]

I feel sorry for those who sold their 1st gen iphone in anticipation for the new one and have to wait another month until its out

Do you really? I sold my 16gb for $600. That is more than I bought it for...

Try seeing what it fetches now.

 

[Mr Maui]

Been saying this for quite some time. They don't care really for the Pro or Creative user, in fact, they go out of their way to mess with them.

Case points:

Macbook from 1st gen to Leopard one could NEVER play games, but for a small percentage of us, we could run motion, Open_GL went from 71% to as high as 171% with Leopard, again, no 3D games but motion would run, then APPLE put a stop to that nonsense and released X300 which crippled the Open_GL down to 71%. Hurting the smallest of small in terms of market share.

Same can be said for iMac, no Matte= no graphic machine for Pro's - which was NOT always the case as iMac's were once the designers choice. Not any more. Now its all about "Look honey, how pretty this monitor is....."

You can even go further to say that Apple messed with the FIREWIRE chipsets in the Macbook and iMac, dumping the industry standard TEXAS INSTRUMENTS for a cheaper and more conflicting chipset which has caused problems for audio/video users, again, forcing them into MBP or Mac Pro only.

It does seem like Apple is turning more into a MSFT than ever before (as predicted), especially with their new me.com, they are really catering to all users. While it might make sense as a business, apple has ignored the CREATIVE user while also punishing them (GPU in MB/Mini, (for no reason, we are not the market share)), no matte screen, poor firewire.

Hopefully this will change. Then again, I thought this would be the case last year and they have dropped COMPUTERS from the name, MAC from the SPECIALIST name, and more. They want to be an all for everyone and ignore the creative pro user base and take away their cookies (why bother with crippling the macbook in the 1st place? You could never play games, so it was just to effect the small % of pro users, terrible).

It seems to me that people ALWAYS want more and more and more for less and less and less. Then when Apple gives them something of that nature as they did with this iPhone 3G, people find more to complain about. Apple could give us incredible Macbooks, but people would find a reason to complain that it did have features that were as good as the Macbook Pro. Perhaps Apple should eliminate the Pro Line altogether and make just iMacs and Macbooks, and keep the prices for both at under $1000.

Think that would stop the complaints? Not on your life! People just live to complain.

 

[duncyboy]

I always planned to get an iPhone on Pay As You Go one way or another. Maybe the logic from Apple and (in the UK) O2 is- if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? Maybe it's better for Apple and the Carrier to lose a little on the iPhone (if they are losing cash) and recoup it in Pay-As-You-Go and iTunes/App sales?

Or am I being naive?

IF I can get the 16GB iPhone for £150 (approx) on Pay As You Go then count me as sold. My current O2 contract expires in a month or so and I've just signed up my interest on O2's page.

Time will tell...

 

[Mr Maui]

Jeebus what a ripoff... those rates are just insane. What is it with US carriers...

Telia, the iPhone carrier in Sweden, doesn't have any prices up yet but their unlimited Turbo-3G plan is 199 SEK / month. In USD that's... OK, deduct the 25% sales tax... 159 SEK = $26, but the comparison is skewed due to the rock-bottom value of the USD (6 SEK). The 'normal' USD rate is about 10 SEK, so think approx. $16/month for unlimited 7,2 mbit downstream.

Here is a suggestion for anyone who doesn't like the new iPhone 3G or the corresponding AT&T rate plans that go along with it. Get a cheap Nokia and Sprint with no 3G and stop complaining.

 

[geerlingguy]

Am I the only one who kinda wishes Apple would go back to before the iPhone WWDC's and focus more on the computer aspect. Think about it:
Macbook Pro/ Powerbook: 5 Years as the same design (If you ignore the Intel move, the iSight).
Macbook: 2.5 Years.
Mac Pro/ Powermac: 5 Years (I know the insides were changed a lot but the outer is the same)

I don't know, I just don't get as excited for WWDC's as I used to when they announced things like the G4 Cube or even the original G5.

I feel the same, in some ways. The Macbook is really just a slimmed-down, sleeker model of the iBook, which goes back a good 7-8 years... The iMac is really the only computer that's undergone a major design change in the Intel era. Apple seems to not focus as much of their design genius on the computers anymore... of course, the current designs aren't the worst in the world; they all are functional for the users the computers are catered towards.

But Apple doesn't have the cutting edge design appeal, especially on the Mac Pro and MacBook they used to have.

 

[Anuba]

Am I the only one who kinda wishes Apple would go back to before the iPhone WWDC's and focus more on the computer aspect. Think about it:
Macbook Pro/ Powerbook: 5 Years as the same design (If you ignore the Intel move, the iSight).
Macbook: 2.5 Years.
Mac Pro/ Powermac: 5 Years (I know the insides were changed a lot but the outer is the same)

I don't know, I just don't get as excited for WWDC's as I used to when they announced things like the G4 Cube or even the original G5.

I think they're as committed to the Mac as they ever were, but you gotta remember that Intel has a new platform just around the corner. It wouldn't make any sense to redesign the current products around the old platform, only to hit users with Nehalem-based machines in January next year.

Back in the PPC days they could surprise you out of the blue with the G3, G4 and G5, but Intel is totally open about their future products so you can pretty much look at their schedule and pinpoint likely times for Apple to release new machines.

(Yeah, I know that they recently updated the iMacs with some sort of Penryn/Nehalem hybrid, but the iMac lends itself well to such experiments due to being a desktop with mobile-grade components. Creating a similar makeshift MBP is probably a no-go).

 

[prawnballs]

I always planned to get an iPhone on Pay As You Go one way or another. Maybe the logic from Apple and (in the UK) O2 is- if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? Maybe it's better for Apple and the Carrier to lose a little on the iPhone (if they are losing cash) and recoup it in Pay-As-You-Go and iTunes/App sales?

Or am I being naive?

IF I can get the 16GB iPhone for £150 (approx) on Pay As You Go then count me as sold. My current O2 contract expires in a month or so and I've just signed up my interest on O2's page.

Time will tell...

There is NO way you'd get the iPhone on PAYG for £150. The iPod Touch is at £269 for the 16gb version. Throw in the phone tech, the 3g, the GPS and you're looking at something in the region of £399 for the new iPhone on PAYG. Even that would be cheap compared to most high end phones on PAYG.

 

[diamond.g]

10 bucks more for faster, unlimited data access with additional features like GPS that could cause you to use more data. Or with new apps like mlb.com or for sports fans, AP News for new enthusiasts, etc. Maybe we should go back to the original AOL setup of paying by the hour, or better still, paying by the KB. Most other carriers unlimited calling plans are $99.99 + $20 for unlimited texting. Not sure what their data package options are. Does this compare to the $69.99 package of the iPhone which you are referencing? I don't know what unlimited calling costs on the iPhone, and if anyone knows, I'd love to compare apples to s

AFAIK AT&T unlimited calling is $99.99 as well. They (unlike sprint) don't include Internet and Texting so add $50.00 to the $99.99 (30 for data 20 for texting). So in the end it is about 160 bucks for one phone.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Poor effort Apple, really poor. I was hoping to upgrade my OLD nokia N80 but can't believe they still haven't caught up with a half decent camera, small front facing camera for video calling and MMS !!!!! oh and no video recording, bloody hell, what planet are you on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like ill be getting the Nokia N96 instead, even has a TV tuner

Not your regular Cable/UHF tuner. But DVB-H. Unless you're in Europe or Asia its' currently USELESS to you in North America. Hence why Apple didn't implement it. Hope though, as DISH Networks already acquired bandwidth spectrum from the FCC and already launched a satellite, yes a satellite for DVB-SH for coverage across the USA and is already testing - since April this year. They expect to have programming ready by Xmas and go live around that time. But I'm not sure if DVB-SH will support DVB-H bands as its capable of DVB-H bands and higher spectrum frequencies that the N96 isn't capable of.

Of note if DISH does support DVB-H bands that the N96 supports then you'll have a SWEET mobile TV with roughly 13-32 channels at a CHEAP price along with ability to remind you of upcoming channel events or to record them on the built in 16GB memory or via MicroSD.

N96 doesn't support North/South American 3G bands (850/1900mhz) nor the AWS bands that T-Mobile USA uses for 3G.

 

[canucks-17]

Ya, the last really cool 'Apple-esque' computer that they announced was the G4 Mini. I'm not complaining about the WWDC, I would just like it more if they would lock Ives in a room for a month and pop out a new design every now and then.

 

[voicegy]

10 bucks more for faster, unlimited data access with additional features like GPS that could cause you to use more data. Or with new apps like mlb.com or for sports fans, AP News for new enthusiasts, etc. Maybe we should go back to the original AOL setup of paying by the hour, or better still, paying by the KB. Most other carriers unlimited calling plans are $99.99 + $20 for unlimited texting. Not sure what their data package options are. Does this compare to the $69.99 package of the iPhone which you are referencing? I don't know what unlimited calling costs on the iPhone, and if anyone knows, I'd love to compare apples to s

I don't care about mlb.com or for sports fans, AP News for new enthusiasts, etc. Here's what I'm paying now:
$39.99 Monthly cost = 450 Anytime Minutes/5000 Night & Weekend Minutes
$20.00 Monthly cost = iPhone Data + 200

Perfect for my needs, cheapest plan avail. for the iPhone. It would be a bit of an upset for me to see that go up another 10 bucks to $70.00 a month.

No, I don't want to see us going back to paying by the hour or paying by the KB. Sheesh, chill.

 

[brisweeney]

pay as you go

pay as you go will be at least £150-£200 more for the iphone than on contract. its always the way with any phone. they need to make some money back on each unit cause they're not guaranteed how much you'll top up, where as with contract you have to pay a certain amount every month.

 

[Anuba]

Here is a suggestion for anyone who doesn't like the new iPhone 3G or the corresponding AT&T rate plans that go along with it. Get a cheap Nokia and Sprint with no 3G and stop complaining.

I'm doing the opposite of complaining... I live in Sweden where we've had 3G for 4+ years, I already know my iPhone deal will be reasonable and Telia is already my carrier of choice.

I just feel for Americans who have to pay prices that suggest they're granted access to some sort of exclusive cutting-edge alien nanotechnology.

 

[voicegy]

Here is a suggestion for anyone who doesn't like the new iPhone 3G or the corresponding AT&T rate plans that go along with it. Get a cheap Nokia and Sprint with no 3G and stop complaining.

Not until you stop complaining about us complaining, and recommending that we just run out and buy a cheap phone. Thanks for the amazing input.

 

[Tsuchiya]

I'm somewhat disappointed...

That being said, if the build quality of these 3g iPhones matches the original then I may still consider getting one...if O2 also offer a good enough deal.

If not then Nokia will get my money Q4 with the N96.

 

[tallyho]

IF I can get the 16GB iPhone for £150 (approx) on Pay As You Go then count me as sold. My current O2 contract expires in a month or so and I've just signed up my interest on O2's page.

Time will tell...

Monthly Charge £30 £35 £45 £75
Cost of 8GB iPhone £99 £99 Free Free
Cost of 16GB iPhone £159 £159 £59 Free
Minutes 75 600 1200 3000
Texts 125 500 500 500
Unlimited Data & Wi-Fi
Visual Voicemail
Reduced Roaming Rates
Minimum contract length18 months 18 months 18 months 18 months

You can get the 16GB for £159 with an 18 month contract
It'll be about £400 on PAYG.
My two pence worth: that £35/month contract is actually OK, unlimited 3G data and the existing Cloud wifi deal as well. I reckon I'll be on that and get the 16GB.

 

[nvbrit]

I keep hearing about this conference call, but I've seen no links to it, nor have I heard any third-party sources on it... did it really happen? I want to know - because if you have to buy the phone with a plan (immediately), I won't be getting the 3G most likely; I'll buy the original from a friend.

You can listen the the webcast of the conference call here http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=113088&p=irol-eventDetails&EventId=1873725 They do not talk about specifics of the iPhone activation and plans, this is an investor call so they are talking about the business side of things and how the business model will change for the new pricing and that they are subsidizing the phones

 

[greenmymac]

Humm

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...activated_free_upgrade_for_recent_buyers.html

If that is true What happens if you need to restore your phone how will you activate it then?

 

[macenforcer]

Sorry but all the waiting and hype and all we get is 3g (which should have been in the first iphone) and a gps? I was waiting for front camera for ichat. That would have been great.

Now lets talk about the rediculous ipod touch pricing and the unbelievable ripoff that is now the mac mini. I mean really. A mac mini update is years overdue. But hey, lets charge the SAME price for it. Not cool.

 

[speedious]

What about Bluetooth Stereo? A2DP?

Is it included in new 3G iPhone?

 

[markym07931]

I always planned to get an iPhone on Pay As You Go one way or another. Maybe the logic from Apple and (in the UK) O2 is- if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? Maybe it's better for Apple and the Carrier to lose a little on the iPhone (if they are losing cash) and recoup it in Pay-As-You-Go and iTunes/App sales?

Or am I being naive?

IF I can get the 16GB iPhone for £150 (approx) on Pay As You Go then count me as sold. My current O2 contract expires in a month or so and I've just signed up my interest on O2's page.

Time will tell...

i think you're dreaming on that price.. it is £159 on a £35 a month contract, so you'll be looking at nearer £250-£300 on payg...

 

[markym07931]

, unlimited 3G data and the existing Cloud wifi deal as well. I reckon I'll be on that and get the 16GB.

and the addition of btopenzones... the wifi package you get is great with o2 now...

 

[macenforcer]

I have NEVER heard of ANY cellphone maker offering a rebate because someone bought a phone a day, week, or month before a new version came out. Can you imagine all the chaos that would ensue if that were to happen? With the amount of blackberry's on the market, if they offered an exchange or rebate program to current users every time they updated the phone...they would barely make a profit. Those of you
who just went out and purchased an iphone with all of the update rumors floating around...please remember "patience is a virtue" and "good things come to those who wait". I've been waiting for this update since they announced the first iphone last year.

Thanks for keeping me informed and entertained!!!!!

Funny because I have never heard of a cell phone that is not cheaper with 2yr contract, does not have the option of getting insurance, does not have a removable battery. Good try though.

 

[tallyho]

and the addition of btopenzones... the wifi package you get is great with o2 now...

yeah, just spotted that too - BT Openzone from 11 July. That's great - there are loads of the BT hotspots all over the place. I'm no expert, but it looks like we're actually getting a better deal than in the USA. Who would have thought it?