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AT&T iPhone 3G Pricing Details:

I just signed with ATT a few days after Job's $199 announcement. I asked the salesperson at my ATT store and he said I can definitely get the $199 price even if I sign up for it afterwards. He told me to sign up for ATT now so I can get a free phone and also get the iphone afterwards. I didn't think it was the right thing to do, but he suggested I do that.

Now, I'm stuck with a crappy phone and have to ask ATT if I can return my phone tomorrow. ATT has a 30 day customer satisfaction guarantee, but I think I'm screwed because they cut the upc code for the rebate the minute I signed the ATT contract.

I don't think they were trying to trick me, but I think they were just misinformed. I really don't want to argue with them, but I can't wait 2 years to get a iPhone 4G or whatever is out then. I also have 5 ppl on my family plan, 3 of which want a 3G iphone. ATT can make so much money from us, so I don't understand what else they want from us. Is anyone on the same boat as I am?? :mad:
 
ec51 said:
Why do you think that adding a new iPhone will change or up your RATE plan? Because it wont, your original RATE plan will remain unchanged and the new iPhone data will just be added to the line with the 3G iPhone.

The new plans listed on the At&t iPhone site are for NEW customers.
Click to expand...

I'm curious where you read that current price plans will be grandfathered and the only change will be the price increase of the data plan for current iPhone users.
I see that even my current price plan had increased in cost by $9 (for new customers) since I switched to AT&T last year.
 
gkarris said:
Here, here...

$64.99 for 1000 minutes, free nights/weekends, 400 texts, and unlimited data (with Hotspot access).

Which is why the iPhone is EXCLUSIVE to AT&T - they can start charging whatever they want.

Voice AND Data required (other PDA's they allow data only).

AT&T customers are chumped...
Click to expand...

Don't know that we are chumped. We get to use cool iPhones. Everyone else have to use crappy second rate phones.
 
Texting Does Not Cost More $

I do not understand all of you people complaining that texting is no longer included, or costs more money. If anything, ATT is giving yo more options now because you're not required to get a texting plan.

Original iPhone: Data=$15 200sms=$5 iPhone 'data'=$20/month
Data=$15 1,500sms=$15 iPhone 'data'=$30/month

The only change (in terms of data and text) is that the data plan is now $30 instead of $15. Your text message plan is still the same price.
 
jayducharme said:
What I'm wondering is whether AT&T is sick of Apple and is trying to kill the iPhone. To go from 200 texts a month to zero -- especially when texting is so popular -- seems like an attempt to alienate potential customers. You've really got to want an iPhone pretty badly now to want to deal with AT&T.

Maybe someone on high thinks that texting is no longer popular, and everyone will want to use e-mail from now on. I just don't understand the rationale of eliminating texting and then on the Family Plan lowering the number of minutes but raising the monthly cost. How about eliminating voice plans entirely and letting people use Skype? I'd happily pay $30 a month for a data-only plan where I can use VOIP.
Click to expand...

AT&T's PDA plan is $60/mo data only 5GB limit, I think (but you can tether), so don't hold your breath.

One thing to remember is that the carriers are dealing with multiple companies -- RIM et al. wouldn't be happy if the iPhone got better deals than their devices. The more it's treated like "any other smartphone," with subsidies, the more the other manufacturers would complain, I'm sure. Our solution is to give a better deal to everyone, AT&T's is to give the worse deal to everyone. I still think they must be giving SOMETHING for the "exclusive multi-year agreement," but apparently it's a higher subsidy/bigger rebate than they give on other phones, or it's something that isn't price-related at all (more 3G towers, or whatever) -- or, AT&T just got the upper hand in this round of negotiations because Apple was trying to make the device price the same in as many markets as possible.
 
teh_pwnerer said:
Their pricing is still out of whack then. All I have to do is sign up for a new contract then terminate it immediately and I still save about $150. (If they don't charge me for the first month than I save about $300).



How is this possible? I can use 3G devices on my old unlimited data plan now. I'll just get an unlocked 3G iPhone.
Click to expand...

If you cancel in the first 30 days you have to return the phone.
 
swarmster said:
I recently upgraded to a Palm Centro - right after the "cheaper" iPhone announcement, as much as it pained me to do so - and I know others that have started new accounts within the last couple weeks, also with the Centro. No "PDA" plan required, despite Palm being very much a PDA vendor. I get unlimited EVDO (faster than 3G? I haven't looked at hard numbers in a while), and as ncbill mentioned earlier, can tether with the right software. Unlimited texts, 500 minutes, early nights and weekends, even crap like Sprint TV that I'll never use. $30. The only reason ATT is $90+ is to rip you off.
Click to expand...

The only reason Sprint is so cheap is because nobody will pay for their crappy service. Some people would not take Sprint service if given to them for free.


If your main concern for a cell phone plan is price, than you should not be considering an iPhone. The Sprint Giveaway the Company plan is the right one for anyone whose only concern is price.
 
Plans

I just called the CSR about the new plan. He doesn't even have the new plan in front of him . . .

I have a family non-iphone plan for $69.99. So if I upgrade, I would have to pay $69.99 plus $30 unlimited data plan?

If I want to add text message plan on mine only, how much is it? Is it $20 individual, or I have to get $30?

If I can route emails to be received on the iphone free of charge, then I wouldn't need text messaging right?

Are there any other charges that I'm missing? If this is it and I can get the FAN discount, this won't be that bad. The CSR said the FAN discount is only for the voice plan, but not the data and text messaging. Is that true?
 
This pricing makes me so glad I re-upped with T-Mobile last week. They actually have better service than AT&T in my area from my experience. My girlfriend got a Sidekick LX with unlimited text, web, & email for $20 per month, I got a BB Curve with Unlimited Data/Web for $20 and a $5 400 text/mo add-on. Our combined voice minutes are 700 for $59.99/mo. So our monthly bill is $105 before taxes.

Sure neither of those phones are as sexy as the iPhone and they don't have 3G but they get the job done and they will cost much less in the long run. Also, from my experience, 3G is a huge battery drain and I wouldn't want to use it all the time anyway. If I am just using it to supplement Edge anyway why would I just not use Wifi?

On another note, I think the Sidekicks could actually compete with the iphone if they slimmed them down, put in a better camera, better voice quality, Wifi, and added a Youtube, and Google Maps app. I am quite impressed with my girlfriend's sklx. It has a very user friendly UI and the keyboard and screen are fantastic. The only reason why I got a BB Curve instead is that the Sidekicks are too bulky for me to carry around in my pocket and also, I found that her sidekick has a slight buzz in the background of calls that would have driven me crazy. When I had a 1st gen. iPhone it had the same thing though...
 
louden said:
How can some of you people be happy about these rates? I think they're a bit usurious.
Click to expand...

My comparable bill will increase $15 from where it was with the 2G iPhone. I think that is a reasonable fee for the upgrade in speed.

This is the case for most people.

People are making way more out of this than is necessary. AT&T made things overly confusing. Essentially the pricing is exactly what we all have been talking about for the past 3-4 weeks. Nothing new. No new surprises, so all these people acting surprised or changing their mind are boggling mine.


We have known the data plan will be $30.00. We knew that text messages were no longer included. That is it. All that has been known. Nothing new. Nothing ursurous about this.

Nothing about this announcement is anything mroe than paying $10 more a month for data and $5 more for the minimum text plan. That is it. Otherwise it is all the same as it was before.
 
marksman said:
My comparable bill will increase $15 from where it was with the 2G iPhone. I think that is a reasonable fee for the upgrade in speed.

This is the case for most people.

People are making way more out of this than is necessary. AT&T made things overly confusing. Essentially the pricing is exactly what we all have been talking about for the past 3-4 weeks. Nothing new. No new surprises, so all these people acting surprised or changing their mind are boggling mine.


We have known the data plan will be $30.00. We knew that text messages were no longer included. That is it. All that has been known. Nothing new. Nothing ursurous about this.

Nothing about this announcement is anything mroe than paying $10 more a month for data and $5 more for the minimum text plan. That is it. Otherwise it is all the same as it was before.
Click to expand...

Logic Lives!! I don't know what it is, but it's as if people were expecting faster data and lower monthly payments. ATT treated the first iPhone basically as a regular phone and allowed you to have the $15 media net unlimited as your data plan. Now that it's 3G they are treating it like every other smartphone they have and requiring a $30 plan.

I feel like some people here are used to getting more and paying less.
 
bigmc6000 said:
4836 day time, non-AT&T, non weekend mins? If so then, dang, that's impressive. But still - if it's business usage you should get the company you work for to pay some of it OR take the business use % off of your taxes at the end of the year...
Click to expand...

That is impressive. It means he is on his cell phone ~30% of the time that he is in the daytime/weekday window.
 
closenough said:
Yes it is... it's called Moore's law.
Click to expand...

Which applies to a specific industry.

Which also has never provided a 20x improvement in speed in a single year.

We did not go from having 16 mhz processors as the norm to 333 mhz processors as the norm 12 months later.
 
marksman said:
That is impressive. It means he is on his cell phone ~30% of the time that he is in the daytime/weekday window.
Click to expand...

yes I spent a lot of time on the phone we all do in the company....We had two first round draft picks in the NFL draft that we represent, so it pays off. I just wont give money away!
 
Confused...like Everyone else....

Ok, I have a question a little off topic, but is something I am confused about. Okay, so I am a secondary line on a family talk plan. I want to get an iphone, so I checked our eligibility on att.com. Anyway, on the main page it showed each phone and when they were eligible to be upgraded with a discount. But the main account number was eligible on 7/13/08, but the other 3 phones on the plan are eligible sometime in october. So my question is if I can get an Iphone 3g on the 13 of july on the main line then trade sim cards (or port the numbers) so that I could have the Iphone on my line. I don't see why the secondary lines are eligible to be upgraded about 4 months later while we added on the lines the same time we started the contract. I hope someone can help with my question.
 
Stop your whining people. Look the bottom line is that, we new this would be the deal. It aint really all that bad. Every other Att phone with 3g has the same data pricing, so quit complaining bout Att. For those have you that have quoted sprint's lower pricing...SPRINT SUCKS!!!! I currently have sprint and am switching to Att on the 11th. Sprint should be cheaper than all the other companies. If you are paying for the service, you should get your money's worth. Sprint should be free. My bro has the current iphone and he has always had decent service. Att is FAR from perfect, but its better than sprint in most areas.
 
chic said:
I just called the CSR about the new plan. He doesn't even have the new plan in front of him . . .

I have a family non-iphone plan for $69.99. So if I upgrade, I would have to pay $69.99 plus $30 unlimited data plan?

If I want to add text message plan on mine only, how much is it? Is it $20 individual, or I have to get $30?

If I can route emails to be received on the iphone free of charge, then I wouldn't need text messaging right?

Are there any other charges that I'm missing? If this is it and I can get the FAN discount, this won't be that bad. The CSR said the FAN discount is only for the voice plan, but not the data and text messaging. Is that true?
Click to expand...


One quick thought... is the texting important to you?
Yes, there is the email, but not everyone is sitting at their computer and not all cell phones get email.
 
Christ! Why so damn expensive? $70 plus the data package $30...so the cheapest plan is gonna cost me $100 +??? WTF!?!?!
 
I am leaving Verizon after 7 years. I had the old PacBell that became Cingular and now AT&T. Back then it was sucks. I hope At&T is better now.

Verizon is also sucks, that's why I am leaving it and in the end I am paying only $10 more a month for the iPhone family plan 700 minutes. I am getting only one iPhone and my wife will get just voice on a regular phone. I think the deal is great considering how bad and lame Verizon is. So I give thumbs up to At&T at this point.
I just hope I have good reception at my location. July 11, I will find out.
 
JZ Wire said:
Christ! Why so damn expensive? So if I have the basic plan now with text my bill is increasing by $20?
Click to expand...

If by basic plan you mean the $20 unlimited data and 200 text messages than no, it will increase by $15. Data=$30 and 200sms=$5 for a grand total of $35.

All of the text prices are staying the same, the difference is data is going from $15 to $30.
 
know-it-all5 said:
Stop your whining people. Look the bottom line is that, we new this would be the deal. It aint really all that bad. Every other Att phone with 3g has the same data pricing, so quit complaining bout Att. For those have you that have quoted sprint's lower pricing...SPRINT SUCKS!!!! I currently have sprint and am switching to Att on the 11th. Sprint should be cheaper than all the other companies. If you are paying for the service, you should get your money's worth. Sprint should be free. My bro has the current iphone and he has always had decent service. Att is FAR from perfect, but its better than sprint in most areas.
Click to expand...

I never thought sprint sucked and with free roaming. I was happy, but with all the apple stuff we have in the house. I needed the iphone, but i just dont see paying all that for the same stuff and more that i get with sprint. I change the other day and all i have is dropped calls. you may be right, but why pay more for the same service. it seems that wi-fi is wanted by a lot of iphone users, so why cant i just get a touch and keep it simple?
 
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