AT&T's Glenn Lurie on the iPhone

[davidee]

I will NOT pay for a data plan that costs $50.00 or so a month - or approximately $1200.00 over the life of the minimum contract. If I could use the data plan at home and use the phone in place of my home land-line phone, then I would. I can't. It just is not reliable enough (i.e. reception) and I cannot have 3 phones scattered through the house where I can pick up one as I can with my land-line.

The value just is not there.

If reception were excellent though you might think about it though. As far as a value...please see my rant below

On a relevant note, the unlimited data plan with AT&T is $40 on top of your phone plan. That makes the iPhone's cost of ownership incredibly high.

<rant>
Some of us are already paying 39 unlimited data + text (current package $44) for use with a blackjack/treo 750 (I have both). So I guess I have to ask how much better does it have to be for those of us stuck with a winmobi device to move to an iphone, and that is assuming its the same data package?

The way the treo/blackjacks were originally intended to be used for was email/pim functions. Assuming that the iphone does it too and as well, what is the real difference? 1-200$? If you go and buy a treo at full price you are going to pay 4ish anyway.

So really...excluding the other apps that can run on them (I use ssh/sftp/ftp, video/audio, gps, doc viewers, and sadly more) all it has to do to really compete with treo/blackjack is email,web,some kind of doc viewer.

I love my treo 750 and blackjack each for different reasons, but you better be damn sure I'm going to buy an iphone the second it comes out if it does the above. oh and I need to be able to swap out sims.

would you rather the same (assuming) TCO on a treo/blackjack or iphone, that's really the question.
</rant>

"It just works....now go try and copy functionality on winmobi 6 ...."

 

[Manfr3d]

Like basically every GSM phone on the market, you won't be able to use it at all for anything without a SIM card in it.

Thats clearly not true. Just as an example: Most XTC Smarphones can be used as an organizer/musik player without a simcard in it. You can actually turn the
phone part off without shuting it down, leaving the other functions enabled.

 

[pederg]

Enough of the "I dont have Decent Credit so I need a Pre-Paid option" ideas.

Not gonna happen.

The prepaid has nothing to do with credit for me. Firstly i live in switzerland, and if it wasn't you bulls*****g the other thread, i would have no clue as to what credit was and how important it is for your *status* Secondly, i probably have awesome credit, if we even have it, and am happy to get a contract when i get the iPhone. But what i was talking about was getting the iPhone in Europe at the same time as it comes out in the US. And that would only be possible with a prepaid or without contract, since im not gonna get a subscription to use an iPod more or less, since it won't work with other carriers. So how is affording an iPhone for JUST the iPod ghetto/walmart.7-11 style? Better value than your ugly BMW's you go on about...

 

[sbrownla]

Yessir!!! Allelujaahhh!!!

<rant>
Some of us are already paying 39 unlimited data + text (current package $44) for use with a blackjack/treo 750 (I have both). So I guess I have to ask how much better does it have to be for those of us stuck with a winmobi device to move to an iphone, and that is assuming its the same data package?

The way the treo/blackjacks were originally intended to be used for was email/pim functions. Assuming that the iphone does it too and as well, what is the real difference? 1-200$? If you go and buy a treo at full price you are going to pay 4ish anyway.

So really...excluding the other apps that can run on them (I use ssh/sftp/ftp, video/audio, gps, doc viewers, and sadly more) all it has to do to really compete with treo/blackjack is email,web,some kind of doc viewer.

I love my treo 750 and blackjack each for different reasons, but you better be damn sure I'm going to buy an iphone the second it comes out if it does the above. oh and I need to be able to swap out sims.

would you rather the same (assuming) TCO on a treo/blackjack or iphone, that's really the question.
</rant>

"It just works....now go try and copy functionality on winmobi 6 ...."

Finally someone who gets it. *sigh* 8525/mpx220(yes it still works great)/Razr user here. 39.99 plus 59.99 + 2 lines on a family shared plan. 120/month, but I pay it cuz I love it.

And I will be getting an iPhone when it comes out just for fun.

 

[Evangelion]

Actually, it's more like saying if you can afford an HDTV that costs 4x any other HDTV, you can afford $150 cable.

Are you saying that iPhone is 4x more expensive as competing phones? Well, last time I checked, Nokia N95 costs over 700e. And no, you can't get it "for free".

Don't forget the fact that the only things the iPhone does that others don't is sync movies with iTunes, and brandish the Apple logo, but notice we are willing to pay 4x the cost of other phones for it.

It also has an UI that is leaps and bounds above anything else on the market. And I say that as a Nokia E61-user. And the edsign on the device is simply sublime when compared to just about any other phone out there. And those things do cost money.

 

[KirkJT]

visual voice mail is not a FREE feature. It is the next tier up from enhanced voicemail and will be 4.99

PDA would be about 34.99 but you might have something like BB messenger which would use data and not SMS

now if you need unlimited SMS and unlimited DATa then it's 49.99

and you need 7 to 7 cause I'm not spending another 20 bucks to get 900 minutes when I can double my minutes by getting 7 to 7

How are you gonna have any rollover minutes with 450 anytime minutes thats like what 4 2 minute calls a day!!!

Wifi will only work if you have unlocked wifi at your work or home, but on the road att has about 40,000 wifi locations that is why i use the 19.99 bolt on.

So really you are looking at least a 110 bucks or more for this. It's still a great deal.

I'm following this thread with a mix of curiosity and surprise. Seen from Italy, it seems U.S. is kinda archaic about mobile offerings! Here most of the companies just compete on the market with flat fees in the range 19,90€-29,90€ per month (that's circa 26-39$). I've an all inclusive contract with Three ITA for 29,90€/month (39$) and it includes:

- 1 full hour of phone calls/video calls per day
- 5 GB of HSDPA/UMTS/GPRS data traffic per week
- full access to DVB-H mobile TV offering
- free access to contents available on their mobile portal

Competitors offer similar contracts, someone pushing more on the voice traffic (unlimited calls) and someone else on data traffic (2 to 5 GB per week).

You can understand it's quite surprising the market in U.S. is not that "competitive" as one could think on this side of the ocean.

K.

 

[wnurse]

WTF? How does that make sense? If you're not using the cellular functions of the phone then why would the offline iPod features be disabled? That sounds bogus to me.

How many times is a dead horse gonna get beaten.. people repeat after me..
THE PHONE IS NOT UNLOCKED!!. You cannot get the phone without a contract. The iphone is not the first phone with wi-fi capabilities to hit the U.S (i know, hard to believe apple is not a pioneer with this capability) and no U.S (i repeat no U.S) carrier allows you to buy wahtever phone they have with wi-fi phone without a contract!!!. What are you people smoking?.

 

[wnurse]

Are you saying that iPhone is 4x more expensive as competing phones? Well, last time I checked, Nokia N95 costs over 700e. And no, you can't get it "for free".



It also has an UI that is leaps and bounds above anything else on the market. And I say that as a Nokia E61-user. And the edsign on the device is simply sublime when compared to just about any other phone out there. And those things do cost money.

You must have an advanced copy of the phone. How do you know the touchscreen UI is leaps and bounds above anything else on the market?. Have you tried it yet?. Oh i see, apple said it is leaps and bounds so it must be so. If the great one Jobs decrees it, it is so.

 

[Evangelion]

You must have an advanced copy of the phone. How do you know the touchscreen UI is leaps and bounds above anything else on the market?. Have you tried it yet?. Oh i see, apple said it is leaps and bounds so it must be so. If the great one Jobs decrees it, it is so.

Well, we have all seen the Keynote, right? And fact of the matter is that no other phone on the market does what the iPhone did during the keynote. That is a fact. And I have tested quite a few phones.

Yes, I can propably do most of the things SJ did with the iPhone during the demo with my E61. Apart from photos, music and videos of course. Hell, this phone even has a OK-ish web-browser. But fact remains that the UI on this thing is bland and boring. I have to use plastic buttons to drill down on menus and options. I have no idea how to create a conference-call on this phone, I guess it's buried somewhere in the options.

This phone even has push-email and WLAN. And no, I still don't see any inline images in the mails like you could see on the iPhone. It just doesn't work. No, I do not have concurrent SMS-chats either. Resizing pictures and websites by pinching or double-clicking? No, it doesn't work. How do I click on links in websites? Well, I use a joystick to move around a tiny cursor that I then use to click on the links. And since the accuracy of the cursor is so bad (it moves several pixels at once), it sometimes jump over the link. Either it's few pixels above the link, or few pixels below it, making it next to impossible to click the link.

How about automatically turning the image sideways when I tilt the phone? Nope, doesn't work. Proximity-sensor? Nope, can't find that either. A cool metal-surface that feels great in your hand? Nowhere to be seen. Widgets? Nope. Google Maps? Haven't tested it, but I doubt it would work.

And this is one of Nokia's top-of-the-line phones... Seriously: it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure this out. Go watch the keynote. And while SJ shows off various features of the phone, ask yourself "does my phone do that?". In my case it was either "no" or "yes, but...".

 

[AidenShaw]

Thats clearly not true. Just as an example: Most XTC Smarphones can be used as an organizer/musik player without a simcard in it. You can actually turn the
phone part off without shuting it down, leaving the other functions enabled.

Same with Windows Mobile - "flight mode" turns off the radios, but leaves PDA/media player functions fully operational.

 

[whooleytoo]

Actually, while this doesn't affect me directly (as a Euro potential customer), I'm optimistic hearing that they're really pushing people to go for unlimited data plans.

I'm really hoping the pricing parallels the music download industry where Apple pushed for a model where reasonable pricing (together with ease of use) stimulated higher volumes. Apple are obsessive about the user experience, and I simply cannot see them leaving AT&T free to charge high data rates; which could turn off customers from using the web/mail features of the phone entirely.

I can't speak for the US mobile industry, but here the networks here have invested a lot into 3G network infrastructure, and have marketed them extensively; but are really struggling to get the wider (consumer) public to use it. My last 4 phones have all had full web and mail functionality, but I hardly ever use them. (The last time I tried, it cost me 300 euros in one month!).

Apple is trying to push the phone as a mobile internet device that people actually use; I can't see them fixing half the problem (slow, hard to use interfaces) and ignoring the other (very high data rates).

 

[MonkeyClaw]

OK I've read all your posts and You seriously need a proffesional help. You obsessed with translating iphone into size of your penis!
Change your name from tattoo to something "I hate people that doesnt show off their credit score and BMW"

I think his problem is that his penis is so small that hes trying to make up for it with unimportant things like his BMW and credit score. Its okay, hes probably just a spoiled teen that lives in a rich family that doesn't know how the real world works for the majority of people. When he grows up though and has to get that first job at a McDonalds cause daddy wont buy him a new BWM or an iPhone, his little egotistical ass hole bubble will just burst.

I would love to have a picture of this little prick working next to the same "Pre-Paid, Walmart loving, 7-11 shopping, Ghetto homeless" that he loves to rip on.

 

[Evangelion]

yeah thats in "3-4" years and this is NOW.

your also right apple is an innovative company.. this multitouch is kind of innovative I guess...and the full fledge HTML internet, visual voicemail, fully syncing calenders, pictures of family and friends, a camera to take pictures off hands, maybe make a phone call, and oh when I want I can play music on it or watch a movie as I sit in the airport. I can do all of this in one device thats all touch screen?

now, i love the iphone, but looking at your list of features, iphone would not be "innovative". i have full html internet on my phone. my calendar has full two-way ota calendar-syncing (i add something to my lotus notes calendar and it automagially appears on the phone few minutes later and vice versa). true, my phone does not do video or pics, but thats due to this specifc model. and we gave had devices that have big toychscreen in the past.

iphone does kick ass. but not due the features listed, but due to how it does them.

 

[e-coli]

would you rather the same (assuming) TCO on a treo/blackjack or iphone, that's really the question.

Well, those devices sync with Exchange servers, which means I can use them for business applications. Also, there's certainly no indication so far that the iPhone will have a document viewer on board. Lack of these business apps is almost a deal breaker. What's the point? You're still going to have two devices to slog around (Blackberry-ish device and iPhone).

That's a huge issue, unless of course you don't work for a living, then whatevs. But at the moment, it appears to be a very expensive toy.

 

[Gators Fan]

I'm thinking the "data plan" will be similar to access charges now attached to Blackberry-like equipment: a monthly fee of $45 over and above any contracted charges for straight phone calls. With taxes and what-nots, that puts phone use costs at $100 a month (minimum). Add-in the $600 for the iPhone and you're looking at a cool $3K for a two year contract. Ouch!

I'm sorry, but even if this uber-device allowed me to connect with the Starship Enterprise, or to receive nightly phone calls (including her heavy breathing) from Nicole Kidman, being in such close contact with the human race is just not worth that kind of money.

On the other hand, if T'pol were able to take it into the shower with her fine self --it is waterproof, isn't it?-- and beam the signal to me in widescreen HD living color, then, well, maybe I'll consider it.

 

[MacGuffin]

I'm gonna stick my head back up my ass so I don't have to hear about successful Apple products on an Apple enthusiast site.

Just get the appropriate data plan and you'll be fine, vanished head or not.

 

[fluidinclusion]

Agreed

I agree with this, but the voting links should work in the first place.

I have voted many times, but the positive or negative count never takes my vote into consideration in the totals. Irritating.

 

[nutmac]

I'm thinking the "data plan" will be similar to access charges now attached to Blackberry-like equipment: a monthly fee of $45 over and above any contracted charges for straight phone calls. With taxes and what-nots, that puts phone use costs at $100 a month (minimum). Add-in the $600 for the iPhone and you're looking at a cool $3K for a two year contract. Ouch!

That is one of the most misunderstood facts. Most Cingular sales rep will try to upsell data plan with PDA/smartphone/Blackberry/3G phones as if the plan is required. And if you want to buy the phone from them, you will likely be forced to get the data plan (usually unlimited). But the data plan is entirely optional (required for some mail-in-rebates) and you can choose to drop it whenever at a later time.

 

[thedbp]

dont mean to be rude here, but i think you forgot what it is like to be young. aside from that, many, if not all adults do NOT need a phone that also is an ipod.

the kid probably does need a cell phone. this day and age, if i was a parent i absolutely would want my child to have a phone. so what if he wants it to also be able to house his music.

also, i think you are wrong about "reinforce bad habits like blowing your money on a shiny tech product rather than thinking about whether you actually NEED it." kids like kevin saving up actually does the opposite. it can teach them the value of the dollar and how to save. a skill you will need for years to come. start a baby on baby food first, not a steak. he'll learn to save now for the small and later save for a house.

i am sure you had stuff you didnt "need" as a kid, but wanted.

No, I was on welfare, and am much better off as an adult because I wasn't spoiled rotten and know what the difference between want and need is.

And kids DO NOT need cellphones. They DON'T. Cellphones weren't even mainstream until about 10-15 years ago. There is no way that in that short time span, these ridiculous little gadgets became a NECESSITY FOR SURVIVAL.

I haven't forgotten what its like to be young. You've forgotten that entitlement is just a feeling and not a reality.

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

Learn from history

Ever

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

Learn from history

Ever heard of killing the goose that laid the golden egg? I hope Apple doesn't kill the iphone out of greed. A $600 phone plus expensive data plan!!! That is going to be one small market!!

No 3G, Wi-fi(n), etc etc plus $$$$$... sell your apple stock Monday...