either way is fine with me cause im not going to get rid of the iPhone. But still not seeing why they would do this. All of the people i know with iPhones would never switch
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AT&T to Raise Early Termination Fee for iPhone and Other Smartphones to $325
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You must not know too many people with iPhones then
All of the people I know with an iPhone are finding it more and more difficult to stay with AT&T. The iPhone is a great device. I love mine. But AT&T's network in southern California makes the device useless.
I can't tell you how many times in one day I see "no service" or 1 bar on my iPhone. I can't help but think about that $50 POS flip phone I used to have on Verizon having no less than 4 bars in all of the same locations.
I'm definitely done with AT&T. If Apple wants me and countless others to continue using an iPhone (and buying more apps as a result) then they're absolutely going to have to make iPhone compatible with another network.
The higher ETF isn't so much of a problem as it is AT&T having the balls to raise their ETF for such substandard service.
Of course, ETF's wouldn't even exist if the last administration's FCC hadn't approved all of the mergers and left us with 0 competition in the wireless market.
This ($'bkj company doesn't understand that they can charge $1,000 fee and I would pay it just so I never have to deal with them EVER!!! I hope Apple never makes another mistake like this again.
It would be great to have multiple carriers. With some competition At & t will lower their prices and fix their network. But thats like asking for world peace
But thats like asking for world peace
am I missing something or isn't this a non-issue for those who already have an iPhone ?
my 3G contract expires in a few months anyway, if Verizon has it by then or it looks likely that they will have it, I don't see how this affects me at all.
I suppose if you absolutely had to have the new one the moment it came out, but if you can afford to do that, you can probably afford the fee.
As it is I'll probably wait to get a sense of what the track record is on Verizon in reality. My general impression of Verizon is besides coverage, they generally suck as much as AT&T and in some ways have even more unhelpful customer service. Generally it's been Apple customer service that has actually helped and has had knowledgeable people to talk to, unlike cell phone companies.
my 3G contract expires in a few months anyway, if Verizon has it by then or it looks likely that they will have it, I don't see how this affects me at all.
I suppose if you absolutely had to have the new one the moment it came out, but if you can afford to do that, you can probably afford the fee.
As it is I'll probably wait to get a sense of what the track record is on Verizon in reality. My general impression of Verizon is besides coverage, they generally suck as much as AT&T and in some ways have even more unhelpful customer service. Generally it's been Apple customer service that has actually helped and has had knowledgeable people to talk to, unlike cell phone companies.
I'm guessing you're so MAD at ATT that you broke your current contract?
And for the record ALL carriers do this so you're not paying an arm & leg for the phone. Spend $500 on the new google phone if it bothers you that much.
Crash, I'm with you on this! I've been a loyal iphone user for the past 3 years. I love the iphone, but i'm at my wits end with dropped calls. I don't have a problem with the etf. But I do if the service is *****. I've previously had vzw before AT&T and they have their issues as well. They will nickel and dime you for features that SHOULD be included with their plans, go look at the current Android plan. They charge extra for the visual voicemail...wtf?? Also, let's not forget how they lamed up bluetooth file transfers years ago. remember that?? so what'll they do to an iphone if they get it? lame up tethering?? I'm done with AT&T for my phone service. They get enough of my money with UVerse as well. I will miss the iphone, but my calls are more important. EVO 4G..here I come... my 2 cents.
In Canada it's 400 for everyone, deal with it
Yeah but at least we get free tethering
Oh and a phone replacement program, meaning you can upgrade or replace your phone at any time.
I am all for the wireless providers being pushed into accepting Net Neutrality as well. Would solve a lot of these issues.
Provide bandwidth and let us decide what to do with it. If this means you can't afford reasonable priced unlimited bandwidth so be it. If it means people who want to hog on their cell connection and use 100 gigs a month need to pay $120 a month in data fees I am fine for it.
Just provide me with a reasonable price for my 2 gigs of data, and stop worrying what people are doing with it.
Would I prefer that we have reasonable unlimited bandwidth pricing? Sure.. because I don't really want to have to burden myself with managing such mundane things.
However if they fact that some people are simply going to use way more bandwidth than everyone else, and thus make it more expensive for everyone else, I say let them pay for the bandwidth they use. At this point I am looking for net neutrality on wireless internet connections and more tiered pricing. I am tired of subsidizing people who use a lot more bandwidth than I do.
By the way, this whole mindset is counter to what I have believed for the past 17+ years, from when I owned an ISP. I always wanted to see things be as open as possible and with unlimited pricing, but it simply does not work right. So now it is time to go back to the stone age, and make data pricing more convoluted and complex.
You must not know too many people with iPhones then
All of the people I know with an iPhone are finding it more and more difficult to stay with AT&T. The iPhone is a great device. I love mine. But AT&T's network in southern California makes the device useless.
I can't tell you how many times in one day I see "no service" or 1 bar on my iPhone. I can't help but think about that $50 POS flip phone I used to have on Verizon having no less than 4 bars in all of the same locations.
I'm definitely done with AT&T. If Apple wants me and countless others to continue using an iPhone (and buying more apps as a result) then they're absolutely going to have to make iPhone compatible with another network.
The higher ETF isn't so much of a problem as it is AT&T having the balls to raise their ETF for such substandard service.
Of course, ETF's wouldn't even exist if the last administration's FCC hadn't approved all of the mergers and left us with 0 competition in the wireless market.
sad but true. in cambridge/boston my iphone drops a call at least every 10 min. the voice quality goes from great to almost incomprehensible throughout every phone call. the data speed is sometiomes great, sometimes it takes 5 minutes to update emails. impossible to have an email conversation. the quality of ATT in cambridge has gone down in the last two years.
i like the iphone but the only reason i really need one is that i don't have wifi at work and can not access my private email through my work computer (and i don't want to for privacy reasons). with my 3g ipad i get reasonable email access even through ATT at work (i work out there in the suburbs) so I don't need the iphone anymore. it's nice to have but $100 a month for that lousy service will not keep me. i plan to finish my contract and then i switch to a cheaper contract at verizon and maybe a cheaper phone. and it's just a matter of time till there will be iPad contracts from other companies as well.
Basically the hand that "this" administration is forcing with health care. Let's just say you ain't seen nothing yet!
Why should they? They subsidize the phone if you sign a contract for two years. They already have an upgrade pricing scheme where you get a partial subsidy. I think that's fair enough. Why should iPhone customers be entitled to special treatment? If you're going to complain that the telephone companies should change the way they do business, it's not like Apple and Google haven't tried to change the way the cell phone industry works as far as purchasing goes. The original iPhone was freaking expensive but you could get a new, fully subsidized phone upgrade/downgrade whenever you wanted to along with a cheaper data plan. Everyone wanted a cheaper phone, so Apple retreated to the traditional subsidized route. Google tried to do the "buy an unlocked phone from us and get your own plan" thing, but that clearly failed. You want to blame anyone? Blame your fellow consumers.
Why do people make such assumptions?
1. The contract, which has never been discussed publicly, could easily have had it's terms modified numerous times since originally done. So no. It's NOT necessarily 2012 "at the earliest".
2. Just because something has been done one way in the past, does not indicate it will always be done the same way forever and ever. Using that logic, Apple would never have been announced the first iPhone since it 1) Wasn't done in June, and 2) since they had never made a phone before! Point of the story? Things change. And business needs fluctuate. They aren't locked in stone. I could easily see just an AT&T phone being introduced in June and a later Verizon (or other carrier) being introduced in the fall.
So even if you hear nothing in June, and even if nothing happens in fall it doesn't mean that it won't. Again, things change. Android is here now. And all "traditions" go out the window when your business is being threatened. Expect some changes.
Look it's like having the option to marry Roseanne Barr With the option to divorce within 2 years for $325 vs. marrying Megan Fox with a divorce option for $350. Me, I'd pay the extra $25
So why won't AT&T unlock your phone after your contract is up (2 yrs) or if you've paid the ETF? They do it for all other phones except the iphone.
Also, why can't we get a factory unlocked iphone from the apple store and I have to get mine from Europe?
I get 900 minutes + 3G from AT&T for $62 everything included with the iphone 3gs I bought last year (on a different line) and cancelled on day 31. I'm not selling my phone, I just did this so I didn't have to change my plan to the iphone plan that'll cost me $15/extra per month, that adds up to $360 over 2 years.
Also, why can't we get a factory unlocked iphone from the apple store and I have to get mine from Europe?
I get 900 minutes + 3G from AT&T for $62 everything included with the iphone 3gs I bought last year (on a different line) and cancelled on day 31. I'm not selling my phone, I just did this so I didn't have to change my plan to the iphone plan that'll cost me $15/extra per month, that adds up to $360 over 2 years.
offer the iPhone 4G for a cheap price to reel everyone in...nobody reads the contract they sign to know a $325 ETF....if they try to leave, they'll have a big $300 decision to make
You must not know too many people with iPhones then
All of the people I know with an iPhone are finding it more and more difficult to stay with AT&T. The iPhone is a great device. I love mine. But AT&T's network in southern California makes the device useless.
I can't tell you how many times in one day I see "no service" or 1 bar on my iPhone. I can't help but think about that $50 POS flip phone I used to have on Verizon having no less than 4 bars in all of the same locations.
I'm definitely done with AT&T. If Apple wants me and countless others to continue using an iPhone (and buying more apps as a result) then they're absolutely going to have to make iPhone compatible with another network.
The higher ETF isn't so much of a problem as it is AT&T having the balls to raise their ETF for such substandard service.
Of course, ETF's wouldn't even exist if the last administration's FCC hadn't approved all of the mergers and left us with 0 competition in the wireless market.
+1
Hahaaaaa.. Glad I took off over a year ago, lol I got out for the $175. Been using another cheap phone but hey, it does the job. Now when this version goes to other carriers I can pick it up and it has more features than ever.
The fact that they raised it should tell everyone two things. One is that the phone is most likely FINALLY going to be picked up by other carriers and two is that people are most likely already abandoning AT&T like I did.
AT&T's behavior during its ownership of the iPhone market has been nothing but 'slash and burn'.
They had such an unprecedented opportunity to use their exclusivity to build out their network and compete on features and pricing.
Instead, they just consistently disappointed customers for 3 years, and now the day of reckoning is coming, and I can't wait.
The climax was their Luke Wilson marketing campaign where they just completely ignored the issues being raised by customers and Luke Wilson sabotaged his career.
Doubling the EFT to curb their losses is nothing more than proof positive that any AT&T iPhone customer should absolutely not re-up with AT&T EVER.
The only reason I can think of for anyone re-upping with them is just unbelievable laziness, because given a Verizon and AT&T iPhone, AT&T has no value proposition whatsoever.
They had such an unprecedented opportunity to use their exclusivity to build out their network and compete on features and pricing.
Instead, they just consistently disappointed customers for 3 years, and now the day of reckoning is coming, and I can't wait.
The climax was their Luke Wilson marketing campaign where they just completely ignored the issues being raised by customers and Luke Wilson sabotaged his career.
Doubling the EFT to curb their losses is nothing more than proof positive that any AT&T iPhone customer should absolutely not re-up with AT&T EVER.
The only reason I can think of for anyone re-upping with them is just unbelievable laziness, because given a Verizon and AT&T iPhone, AT&T has no value proposition whatsoever.
If that's all true, what was Verizon's excuse for raising their ETF to $350??? Oh yeah... people were dropping them to get an iPhone on AT&T.
Had Verizon gotten the iPhone first, the complaints about their crappy service and screaming about their exclusivity would have been just the same as those being made against AT&T.
It's an old and tired argument that brings home the simple fact that you can never please everyone.
