Data Plan Optional? AT&T Activation

[natejohnstone@g]

$39.99 data plan REQUIRED

I just talked to an AT&T rep. He confirmed that the iPhone would fall under the same category as their PDAs and Blackberrys, and would REQUIRE a data plan. In the case of the iPhone, that data plan is $39.99 a month and covers unlimited everything.

This is bad news for me, and means I won't be getting an iPhone. $40 a month adds up to about $1000 over the 2-year contract, and that's $1k that I will hardly use since I have free WiFi about 98% of the time.
So much for Apple wanting to change the industry. They are simply making a cell phone, just like any other cell phone manufacturer.

 

[failsafe1]

That's funny... Cingular told me that insurance wasn't available on my W810i.

When I bought my W810i from Cingular insurance was not available. It is now available for that phone.

 

[Aperture]

I just talked to an AT&T rep. He confirmed that the iPhone would fall under the same category as their PDAs and Blackberrys, and would REQUIRE a data plan. In the case of the iPhone, that data plan is $39.99 a month and covers unlimited everything.

This is bad news for me, and means I won't be getting an iPhone. $40 a month adds up to about $1000 over the 2-year contract, and that's $1k that I will hardly use since I have free WiFi about 98% of the time.
So much for Apple wanting to change the industry. They are simply making a cell phone, just like any other cell phone manufacturer.

Although it seems like it will be $39, you never know. They haven't made anything official yet and it seems every AT&T guy gives you a different story. I would take what he said with a grain of salt.

 

[Plutonius]

Sounds weird and complex to me. One thing is certain: when iPhone arrives to Europe it must be unlocked with no contracts at all. This is what some off the local laws say. And as I said before, in Finland it is illegal to sell locked non 3G phones. So in here it will definitely be unlocked and sold just the phone it self. But what will be the price? Best Nokias are about 600-700€ (700-800$) and reasonable price for iPhone would be less than 500€.

So before christmas you can buy one unlocked piece from Europe. Free to choose your operator and even use the prepaid services. Simple.

One option is that Apple uprages iPhone to 3G device before selling it in Europe..

I doubt you will ever see the iPhone in Finland.

 

[KurtangleTN]

oh I can see it now

"So the Mac Mini, has been updated to Core 2 Duo, and we are really pleased about that.

So, thats the mac news, it's going to be a great year for the Mac, but let's talk about the iPhone now"

 

[Ugg]

I doubt you will ever see the iPhone in Finland.

Of course you will. One of the most saturated cell phone markets in the world and one that has more than a few Mac fans as well. Apple having a foothold in the land of Nokia would be quite a coup!

My bet is Europe will see a Europe wide carrier, one that offers almost free country to country roaming. Such a plan would totally shake up a lot of national telcos that are resistant to change.

I just talked to an AT&T rep. He confirmed that the iPhone would fall under the same category as their PDAs and Blackberrys, and would REQUIRE a data plan. In the case of the iPhone, that data plan is $39.99 a month and covers unlimited everything.

This is bad news for me, and means I won't be getting an iPhone. $40 a month adds up to about $1000 over the 2-year contract, and that's $1k that I will hardly use since I have free WiFi about 98% of the time.
So much for Apple wanting to change the industry. They are simply making a cell phone, just like any other cell phone manufacturer.

I really wonder about this.

Apple's goal is to sell as many of these as possible. However, AT&T is interested in getting as much revenue as possible and prepaid plans don't do that.

It could be that Apple rolled over and is allowing there to be no prepaid plans or, they might wait a few months before releasing one.

I certainly hope so because I see no point, like you, in forking over so much money for so little in return. I don't make that many calls and have lots of free wifi available. I'm definitely not a power user but would love to have something a little less bulky than my 12" PB.

Time will tell.

 

[danny_w]

I really wonder about this.

Apple's goal is to sell as many of these as possible. However, AT&T is interested in getting as much revenue as possible and prepaid plans don't do that.

It could be that Apple rolled over and is allowing there to be no prepaid plans or, they might wait a few months before releasing one.

I certainly hope so because I see no point, like you, in forking over so much money for so little in return. I don't make that many calls and have lots of free wifi available. I'm definitely not a power user but would love to have something a little less bulky than my 12" PB.

Time will tell.

I agree and wish that Apple/At&t would allow activation w/o a data plan. I am assuming that the WiFi will take preference for data if it is available. It would be even better if the iPhone could be set to disable cell data (but I don't expect that to happen). I would get one to replace my RAZR if this were the case.

 

[kcross]

the thing i cant figure out here is this:

1. the iphone is an ipod/browser/phone.
2. it gets wireless data through edge/wifi
3. unless you live in select cities wifi isnt really widely available (not near the coverage area of even the worst of cell phone carriers).
4. some of you want an iphone, with no data plan, so youd have to be at home/work/hotspot to access data. so at very least when you leave wifi zones you now have just a phone/ipod.
5. theres really not a lot of a point to using the browser on an iphone if you are at work or home because your probably sitting at a computer or not far from one (considering that most of us have laptops anyway judging from apples sales numbers)
6. why not get a macbook, tack on an ev-do card, save 1500$ over two years, get a free (or heavily discounted) smartphone and have a more feature full computing experience? sure its not always convienent but nothing is always convenient. im sure the iphone will prove to be a nusience at times when it doesnt support something or another (flash, java). anyway, the apple logo is bigger on a macbook/mbp. way more street cred in the long run.

obviously some of you want it just to have it. its apple, its cool, whatever. yet some of you are talking about being practical because you cant afford/dont want a data plan (or edge specifically)... how does that make the iphone practical at all if you nix the data. its bad enough that it uses edge (which isnt always terrible, works good on my 7130 for simple browsing [full websites/not mobile ones]), but to cut yourself off outside of the range of wifi? get a differnt smart phone then. its not as if appe is the only game out there, they just market it better. half the features they talk about have been around for a while in other phones.


im not trying to be inflammatory, i just wanted to get some thoughts.

 

[Ugg]

im not trying to be inflammatory, i just wanted to get some thoughts.

Here's my situation. I don't use my cell phone very much, maybe 60 minutes a month and about 20 text messages. I'm currently a Virgin Mobile customer and am happy with their prepaid plan that costs me a total of $60 per YEAR. I also have a 12"PB and am on the go a lot. The PB is great, but it's sort of bulky, etc, etc. There's plenty of free wifi around so I only rarely have to pay for it.

For me, having a web browser, email, voicemail, phone, camera, music and movies is ideal! But a 12" PB is not that convenient. The iPhone is ideal for my purposes but not when it costs $1400+ for a two year contract. I'd pay up to $20 a month but no more.

We all have different needs and desires. I really desire an iPhone but I don't need to spend that much money on a monthly basis to do what I want. I'm sure PAYG plans will come out and I won't be an iPhone buyer until they do.

 

[bobznc]

the thing i cant figure out here is this:

1. the iphone is an ipod/browser/phone.
2. it gets wireless data through edge/wifi
3. unless you live in select cities wifi isnt really widely available (not near the coverage area of even the worst of cell phone carriers).
4. some of you want an iphone, with no data plan, so youd have to be at home/work/hotspot to access data. so at very least when you leave wifi zones you now have just a phone/ipod.
5. theres really not a lot of a point to using the browser on an iphone if you are at work or home because your probably sitting at a computer or not far from one (considering that most of us have laptops anyway judging from apples sales numbers)
6. why not get a macbook, tack on an ev-do card, save 1500$ over two years, get a free (or heavily discounted) smartphone and have a more feature full computing experience? sure its not always convienent but nothing is always convenient. im sure the iphone will prove to be a nusience at times when it doesnt support something or another (flash, java). anyway, the apple logo is bigger on a macbook/mbp. way more street cred in the long run.
thoughts.

Well, I am a student in a college town full of academic, local business, and residential wifi hotspots. To and from class/ work all I'll need is music and call capability, but nearly anywhere on-campus that I'll be will be near wifi. I'll want texts, but no more need for additional non-wifi data.

You're right, I have a 12" 3.5 yr old PB and I could use that do to my web-browsing, but it'd be nice if instead of paying attention in lectures, I can now even more discreetly browse the internet and not put my powerbook through more wear and tear and make it susceptible to theft. Its nice not to need to carry a comptuer around when you already have a days worth of textbooks on your back/ shoulder.

The iPhone is cool, if apple didn't release it I probably wouldn't be paying so much attention to it, but I've been a Mac user since 1992 (I was 6), so I'm still a fanboy. But regardless, my current phone is over 2 years old, doesn't have any notable features, and the buttons aren't working too well, so I'm in the market for a new phone. Being a current AT&T customer, I am hoping that I'll be able to purchase the phone, keep my current voiceplan, nullify my text plan with one of the unlimited data iPhone plans, and within the first month HOPEFULLY I'll be able to cancel the data plan and replace it with just a text plan.

I agree and wish that Apple/At&t would allow activation w/o a data plan. I am assuming that the WiFi will take preference for data if it is available. It would be even better if the iPhone could be set to disable cell data (but I don't expect that to happen). I would get one to replace my RAZR if this were the case.

While I am wishing, and it was mentioned by Danny W, I hope the iPhone will allow me to ban the phone from contacting the EDGE network, so I will not incur erroneous data request charges. If this isn't possible I may just have to be careful of where I am when I browse. I don;t think my thinking is too crazy, because Mac OSX system preferences is very detailed in what you can connect to, so I'd be safe to assume the iPhone would be detailed in where it connects.

Here's my situation. I don't use my cell phone very much, maybe 60 minutes a month and about 20 text messages. I'm currently a Virgin Mobile customer and am happy with their prepaid plan that costs me a total of $60 per YEAR. I also have a 12"PB and am on the go a lot. The PB is great, but it's sort of bulky, etc, etc. There's plenty of free wifi around so I only rarely have to pay for it.

For me, having a web browser, email, voicemail, phone, camera, music and movies is ideal! But a 12" PB is not that convenient. The iPhone is ideal for my purposes but not when it costs $1400+ for a two year contract. I'd pay up to $20 a month but no more.

We all have different needs and desires. I really desire an iPhone but I don't need to spend that much money on a monthly basis to do what I want. I'm sure PAYG plans will come out and I won't be an iPhone buyer until they do.

The iPhone most likely isn't for you, you'll be in too deep financially.

 

[chillywilly]

I'm sure PAYG plans will come out and I won't be an iPhone buyer until they do.

My second phone is a PYOP Go Phone (it's a Moto SLVR L7).

I'd love to buy just the data plan for the iPhone and move my current SIM card to the phone without having to do the 2-yr contract.

Guess we'll wait and see what AT&T offers in the future.

 

[Yankees 4 Life]

turns out you need the data plan.. who'd thunk it?