Pre-Paid iPhone Service to be Available?

[manu chao]

Is it possible that AT&T might offer phones without a fixed-duration contract, but locked to their network?

So even if they do offer options such as pay-as-you-go; users still won't have the option of cancelling and switching to another provider.

No, but they might have the option of selling via E-bay to Europe (at more than the price of purchase) and there somebody might unlock it.
(Anyway I thought locking is illegal, or least unlocking is legal in the US. Locking is certainly illegal in Europe, but that will only apply to stuff officially sold in Europe.)

 

[nagromme]

Please dont let every Tom, Dick and Harry off the street with a FICO score of 350 get an iPhone with a "Pay-as-you-go Food Stamp Plan"

Note: if you pay-as-you-go, you still DO pay... nobody is giving anything away to the undeserving lower classes you seem to be worried about

Pay as you go is great if you have low usage--sometimes you need to have a phone (and maybe a music/video player and organizer and email etc.), but not for hours a month. You may need it more "just in case" or in certain settings. Pay-as-you-go can then be cheaper. What's wrong with giving people different options?

 

[Analog Kid]

i dont see what the point of apple and ATT withholding contract information is. Its about four weeks away and no one has any idea what they are getting themselves into. Or what they could be. I have a blackjack, am under contract, what the hell are my options. Why not let us know now, so we can plan ahead. I think they could attract many more potential buyers if they say "hey, don't worry, you are under contract, we will let you extend it for an iPhone right now!" this hush hush garbage is causing nothing but frustration and doubt. At this point, we all know the iPhone is coming, obviously, what would be the harm in shedding some light on pricing, so people can plan ahead.

One possible explanation is that they're still negotiating the terms between AT&T and Apple...

I don't find this to be likely unless AT&T is just relying on exclusive features to lock users in. That's possible. Whatever they wind up with, I hope I can put a foreign SIM card into it so I can use it in Europe this summer.


Completely off topic, but what does "after the jump" mean in blog posts? I see that term used a lot, but I'm not sure what "the jump" is...

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

If I was able to get a basic voice plan for the iPhone even I'd get one just to have that big touch screen iPod to play with, even if it was only 4-8GB in capacity, then simply use the WiFi at hotspots. The only times I'd really care to use the internet is when I'm sitting around anyway, and since I have WiFi at home, and hang out at cafe's equipped with it, it's no sweat at all.

 

[nagromme]

If I was able to get a basic voice plan for the iPhone even I'd get one just to have that big touch screen iPod to play with, even if it was only 4-8GB in capacity, then simply use the WiFi at hotspots. The only times I'd really care to use the internet is when I'm sitting around anyway, and since I have WiFi at home, and hang out at cafe's equipped with it, it's no sweat at all.

I want full-time Internet for the sake of maps. But I doubt I'll be willing to pay what the data plan will cost So it's hotspots for me too! And a paper atlas

Now, by the time I get an iPhone (needs 16 GB for me, and since 3G is coming that's nice too) maybe a GPS will be added... THAT I would love.

 

[IEatApples]

Well, when it comes to Europe it MUST be sold with the option: "pay as you go!"

It's the European way!

 

[Aaargh!]

Im my opinion at&t needs to cut the Bull S*&% and just offer a unlimited Cell/Data plan for like $99.99 and call it a day.

Like anyone would buy a $99,99 unlimited plan. I pay about €17/month for unlimited data and more minutes of calling than I'll ever need. Unlimited data is already available as a €9,50/month option and I don't see why anyone would want to pay 90,- more a month just for unlimited voice, 90 a month already gets you 1000 minutes. Who the fsck are you going to talk to for more than a thousand minutes a month ?

 

[GooMan]

That's not a good market to target with a $500 price tag. young people don't have any money!

But those young people's parents have money and many of them will spend it on whatever their kids want. I'm guilty of it and I'm sure many here are as well.

 

[snulkin]

words from a Cingular account guy

so I was on the line with Cingular about my account, unrelated to iPhone. At the end he asked if there was anything else, and I asked about the iPhone.

he said it was coming out sometime this year. And that getting it would work exactly the same way as getting any other 'new' phone. He then said that if I signed for 2 more years, past Oct, that there would be a discount. I asked if he was sure, and he said of course. How much of a discount he didn't say, but then I didn't ask.

of course this doesnt' really mean anythign, he could very well be mistaken about this. I'm sure taking off 100-200 $ would be nothing for them, if they can get people into long-run contracts with data plans.

 

[Aaargh!]

Locking is certainly illegal in Europe, but that will only apply to stuff officially sold in Europe.

No, it's not. Unlocking, however, is legal. And the operator is required to supply the unlock code to you after a year, but only if you ask for it (At least in the netherlands)

 

[KingofAwesome]

Is it even certain or close to certain that the prices with contract will be what Jobs said? I was just thinking that this iPhone might make a tremendous splash if, when it goes on sale, Jobs adds "one more thing" - AT&T is subsidizing the iPhone with a 2-year contract, so the phone will typically cost consumers just $299/$399.

I certainly don't have any insider knowledge here, but I suspect that the iPhone would be a runaway success if the new lower prices were announced right when it went on sale.

 

[j05h]

I might be wrong in saying this but from what I can see - Mobile Phone Carriers have the "Prepaid" option for the typical "Low Income & Bad Credit" Crowd. Although some of those uses can be "younger folks" the majority of the cases is that a person going for a "Pre Paid" service has horrible credit and cant control thier finances. They would need a HUGE deposit after a credit check and run a very high risk of running up a $600.00 phone bill and not being able to pay it back.

I would hate to see Apple iPhone be branded as a "Pre Paid 7-11 Track Phone" for the Low Income/Bad Credit Folks.

I dont see the Motorolla "Q" smart phone or the "Blackjack" smart phone branded as "Pay-as-you-go Food Stamp Plans".

Im my opinion at&t needs to cut the Bull S*&% and just offer a unlimited Cell/Data plan for like $99.99 and call it a day. No minutes to worry about - everything unlimted - Hell, I would pay $149.99 for that service.

Please dont let every Tom, Dick and Harry off the street with a FICO score of 350 get an iPhone with a "Pay-as-you-go Food Stamp Plan"

Next we will have special rates for anyone on Welfare to buy a New BMW.

I have a prepaid phone because it is cheaper. If you use your phone over 300 minutes a month, it doesn't make sense to have a prepaid phone. But I don't use my cell phone much and only end up spending $15-$20 a month. It wouldn't make sense for me to pay $40 /month for a post paid contract.

 

[gkarris]

Would you need to have the phone on AT&T to have it function otherwise (like for notes, video, and music)? You can just get the pay-as-you-go and not activate it...

 

[buymeaniphone]

Did anyone else almost crap their pants when they saw this article?! This is great news (if its accurate), this means you can get an iphone with no contract and pray someone unlocks it and use it with Tmobile...not that I was planning on doing that.

 

[john7jr]

Completely off topic, but what does "after the jump" mean in blog posts? I see that term used a lot, but I'm not sure what "the jump" is...

It means a banner ad (or ads). Some people mistake them for the end of the article, but there's more info usually below the crap. Sometimes it's 80% of the article.

 

[j05h]

Did anyone else almost crap their pants when they saw this article?! This is great news (if its accurate), this means you can get an iphone with no contract and pray someone unlocks it and use it with Tmobile...not that I was planning on doing that.

Yes, I might buy a phone like this if I could use it on T-Mobile.

 

[scrambledwonder]

I might be wrong in saying this but from what I can see - Mobile Phone Carriers have the "Prepaid" option for the typical "Low Income & Bad Credit" Crowd. Although some of those uses can be "younger folks" the majority of the cases is that a person going for a "Pre Paid" service has horrible credit and cant control thier finances. They would need a HUGE deposit after a credit check and run a very high risk of running up a $600.00 phone bill and not being able to pay it back.

I would hate to see Apple iPhone be branded as a "Pre Paid 7-11 Track Phone" for the Low Income/Bad Credit Folks.

I dont see the Motorolla "Q" smart phone or the "Blackjack" smart phone branded as "Pay-as-you-go Food Stamp Plans".

Im my opinion at&t needs to cut the Bull S*&% and just offer a unlimited Cell/Data plan for like $99.99 and call it a day. No minutes to worry about - everything unlimted - Hell, I would pay $149.99 for that service.

Please dont let every Tom, Dick and Harry off the street with a FICO score of 350 get an iPhone with a "Pay-as-you-go Food Stamp Plan"

Next we will have special rates for anyone on Welfare to buy a New BMW.

I have great credit, but I really don't like the idea of signing a contract to use a phone. Contracts let cell phone providers get away with bad customer service, poor coverage and stagnant technology. What's worse, they ensure a steady revenue stream for providing those substandard services. Contracts are great for shareholders (who make money by sitting around trying to figure out how to screw people over), but they're bad for consumers.

 

[Aaargh!]

I was just thinking that this iPhone might make a tremendous splash if (...) with a 2-year contract, so the phone will typically cost consumers just $299/$399.

$299,- for a $499,- phone with a 2 year contract seems a bit expensive. $0 to $150 (depending on the contract) seems more on par with other phones in the same price range.

 

[Tattoo]

Note: if you pay-as-you-go, you still DO pay... nobody is giving anything away to the undeserving lower classes you seem to be worried about

Pay as you go is great if you have low usage--sometimes you need to have a phone (and maybe a music/video player and organizer and email etc.), but not for hours a month. You may need it more "just in case" or in certain settings. Pay-as-you-go can then be cheaper. What's wrong with giving people different options?

I know your trying to be "PC" and all of your reasons are valid BUT please dont act as if those are the reasons for having "Pay-as-you-go plans". You know damn well its people with Bad Credit - period. People of that caliper should NOT be looking at ANY smart phone - let alone an iPhone.

Leave the "7-11 Track Phone Metro PCS - No Credit Check - Pay As You Go Food Stamp Plans" to the phone that derserve that Badge.

 

[Aaargh!]

I have a prepaid phone because it is cheaper. If you use your phone over 300 minutes a month, it doesn't make sense to have a prepaid phone. But I don't use my cell phone much and only end up spending $15-$20 a month.

Uhh... a 300 minute contract is €7,95/month how the fsck is that more than $15-$20 ?

 

[Detlev_73]

I might be wrong in saying this but from what I can see - Mobile Phone Carriers have the "Prepaid" option for the typical "Low Income & Bad Credit" Crowd. Although some of those uses can be "younger folks" the majority of the cases is that a person going for a "Pre Paid" service has horrible credit and cant control thier finances. They would need a HUGE deposit after a credit check and run a very high risk of running up a $600.00 phone bill and not being able to pay it back.

I would hate to see Apple iPhone be branded as a "Pre Paid 7-11 Track Phone" for the Low Income/Bad Credit Folks.

I dont see the Motorolla "Q" smart phone or the "Blackjack" smart phone branded as "Pay-as-you-go Food Stamp Plans".

Im my opinion at&t needs to cut the Bull S*&% and just offer a unlimited Cell/Data plan for like $99.99 and call it a day. No minutes to worry about - everything unlimted - Hell, I would pay $149.99 for that service.

Please dont let every Tom, Dick and Harry off the street with a FICO score of 350 get an iPhone with a "Pay-as-you-go Food Stamp Plan"

Next we will have special rates for anyone on Welfare to buy a New BMW.

As nasty, vile, and elitist an attitude as the above comment may be, I have to agree with you. I have started to make my way back from "FICO-hell" as you describe it, I would hate to see someone who wasn't as qualified as myself or any other with a respectable credit score, get one of these phones for "pay-as-you-go" pricing. Apple would be sending the wrong message (in my opinion) out to all those little teenie-boppers out there, that it's OK to get keep bad credit.

 

[Tattoo]

Like anyone would buy a $99,99 unlimited plan. I pay about €17/month for unlimited data and more minutes of calling than I'll ever need. Unlimited data is already available as a €9,50/month option and I don't see why anyone would want to pay 90,- more a month just for unlimited voice, 90 a month already gets you 1000 minutes. Who the fsck are you going to talk to for more than a thousand minutes a month ?

(1) Not sure about where you live - but here in the USA - thats a great price for unlimitted.

(2) Some people work for a living and will use the iPhone for Business. 1000 minutes isnt Jack Sh&%t buddy.

 

[scrambledwonder]

I know your trying to be "PC" and all of your reasons are valid BUT please dont act as if those are the reasons for having "Pay-as-you-go plans". You know damn well its people with Bad Credit - period. People of that caliper should NOT be looking at ANY smart phone - let alone an iPhone.

Leave the "7-11 Track Phone Metro PCS - No Credit Check - Pay As You Go Food Stamp Plans" to the phone that derserve that Badge.

I was going to take the high road, but . . . people of your "caliper" shouldn't be looking to buy iPhones either.

 

[gugy]

so if we hack and unlock the iPhone can we use it with, let's say Verizon? Probably not because Verizon is CDMA, right?
Sucks, I don't want to switch to AT&T, they are sucks where I live.

 

[hcopp]

I know your trying to be "PC" and all of your reasons are valid BUT please dont act as if those are the reasons for having "Pay-as-you-go plans". You know damn well its people with Bad Credit - period. People of that caliper should NOT be looking at ANY smart phone - let alone an iPhone.

Leave the "7-11 Track Phone Metro PCS - No Credit Check - Pay As You Go Food Stamp Plans" to the phone that derserve that Badge.

jesus christ man. This is absurd, "food stamp plans"?

I don't fall into the category you are referencing, i just find it incredibly absurd that you don't want "those people" to have the same phone as you do, get a grip man. Its a CELL PHONE. i have been an apple user my entire life, dating back to the old Mac Plus we had bad in the late 1980's, I have accepted, many years ago, that me using a mac no longer made me "cool" or "different", and there will never be a point when having an iPhone will get you that claim. So shut up about the poor people having iPhones. Its incredibly absurd and you look like a complete imbecile saying stuff like that.