Jobs also said it was 'thinner' - when it is 7.9% larger by volume.
Wow, you people will really twist anything in order to complain. I always hope it's just Internet people, but sadly whinier and whinier people march into my office with each passing year.
I don't see why everyone is blaming this on AT&T... Seems to me that the real problem isn't just the price hike of the plans, it's that Steve Jobs announced that Apple wanted to recognise that cost was an impediment to iPhone ownership, so they were cutting the price by $200. --> Which sounded great and got us all excited.
Because it lowers the barrier to entry. It's $200 cheaper to get the phone. The service price never had anything to do with it. iPhone plans have been priced aggressively for their featureset.
Then we learn that although Steve said that he was "cutting the price by $200" he was actually RAISING the price by $160.
No, it's up $40. If you choose to add the text option, it's up a bit more. You see, you ask for more options, but when they give them to you, you still manage to complain.
The dollar crashed. Strict numeric prices weren't going to fall. That would be ridiculous. Adding in text messaging, $120, is a total increase of $160. Considering the inflationary pressures, plan pricing is actually pretty close to par.
But this was a lame move on Steve's part - a deliberate ploy to fool people who couldn't afford an iPhone into getting one when now they REALLY can't afford it.
Given the typical wireless bill, it's a steal. Very few people opt for the low-end plan. Its price/value ratio is terrible. AT&T's most popular plan is $59.99, and I've heard that the typical bill is about $74 for individual customers. With the iPhone 3G, you're looking at about the same, unless you add texts.
Factor in the $200 cheaper phone, and the issue was squarely addressed, particularly considering that $1400 last year is $1530 today. If you want to factor irrelevant costs into the "more expensive" iPhone, consider that. The total price of the plan would have to go UP $140 to be the same value as it was in June 2007.
Without the text messages, TCO in real dollars is down. Even with it, it's only up $20 over the life on the contract, which is more than offset by the $200 price reduction of the hardware.
And this is not AT&T's fault - remember that Apple banks loads of cash from these service plans as well.
No they don't. The revenue sharing is over.
2yrs of service on the 450min plan, with data:
24 x (39.99+20) = roughly $1440
2yrs of service on the 450min plan (3g) with data:
24 x (39.99+30) = $1679
$1440 in 2008 dollars = $1564 (add the iPhone, and you're up to $1964)
Add the iPhone 3G, and you've got...$1879.
Real cost is still down, all things considered. Since you're considering the price of the plan, you must also account for the one year gap between plan announcements. I've even given you the benefit of a 2G iPhone purchase in today's dollars at today's $399 price.
