So - if the iPad requires no ATT contract....

[samcraig]

If you buy the 3G model - do you think you'll be able to turn your 3G account on and off at will?

Will ATT charge full months or pro-rate?

If you decide you just want 3G here and there during the year, will you be able to do that - or how will that work...

It will be interesting to see how this model ACTUALLY works and how "flexible" this no contract is.

 

[admanimal]

If you buy the 3G model - do you think you'll be able to turn your 3G account on and off at will?

Will ATT charge full months or pro-rate?

If you decide you just want 3G here and there during the year, will you be able to do that - or how will that work...

It will be interesting to see how this model ACTUALLY works and how "flexible" this no contract is.

I would be surprised if you can turn it off and on at will. I'm guessing once you pre-pay for a month, you aren't getting any of that money back.

I can see how it would be nice to buy maybe just a few days at a time for when you know you'll be on vacation or some other trip away from Wifi. At the same time, $15 or $30 isn't really that much in the grand scheme of travel costs. Even if you only really need it for a day, $15 isn't much and I'm sure you could find a way to get your money's worth out of having the 3G service for the rest of the month.

 

[samcraig]

I would be surprised if you can turn it off and on at will. I'm guessing once you pre-pay for a month, you aren't getting any of that money back.

I can see how it would be nice to buy maybe just a few days at a time for when you know you'll be on vacation or some other trip away from Wifi. At the same time, $15 or $30 isn't really that much in the grand scheme of travel costs. Even if you only really need it for a day, $15 isn't much and I'm sure you could find a way to get your money's worth out of having the 3G service for the rest of the month.

I'm inclined to go with your model. So do you think you'll be able to turn it on/off monthly?

This is ALL conjecture of course. Like I said - it will be interesting to see how flexible this model is.

It will also be interesting to see all the bitching/complaining about any inflexibility (i.e. @#$%^ ATT - they charged me for 2 months and I only used it for 31 days)

Not only those types of threads - but people who try and manipulate the system.

 

[calderone]

I don't see how it is conjecture. They were pretty explicit in the keynote.

You buy a month, unlimited or 250MB. After that, you can buy it again or not. If you decide not to, but want it in a few months, you pay for it again. It is pre-pay. They can't charge you for two months. Once your pre-pay is up, you are done.

You activate it all from the device.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

I'm inclined to go with your model. So do you think you'll be able to turn it on/off monthly?

This is ALL conjecture of course. Like I said - it will be interesting to see how flexible this model is.

It will also be interesting to see all the bitching/complaining about any inflexibility (i.e. @#$%^ ATT - they charged me for 2 months and I only used it for 31 days)

Not only those types of threads - but people who try and manipulate the system.

It's prepaid i'm 99% positive. So you are buying 30 days worth of data - your choice of how much data you buy.

i'm sure AT&T will allow you to set it up as a recurring charge, but it is month to month, so you can stop it when you want. I bet there is a choice when you activate it if you want it a one time or the monthly.

Someone with a GoPhone might have more answers on how it works right now.

But my "guess" is that 31 days is 2 months - if you have only paid for one month, you won't have access on that 31st day to complain about having to pay.

 

[bossxii]

If you buy the 3G model - do you think you'll be able to turn your 3G account on and off at will?

Will ATT charge full months or pro-rate?

If you decide you just want 3G here and there during the year, will you be able to do that - or how will that work...

It will be interesting to see how this model ACTUALLY works and how "flexible" this no contract is.

Based on the information available from the Keynote and some press releases form AT&T. You will pre pay for a month. This all done from your iPad, so you decide you want unlimited today, you would be charged $29.99 from your iPad on an account you have setup with AT&T you could then "turn it off" and then use the 3g data for 30 days.

I'm guessing, but none of the wording indicates a pro rated system. Pay for a month of data and the clock starts and runs for 30 days. If they were allowing you to use it for a pro rated amount say 2 days etc.. they would be selling Data packages vs cap'd (250mb) and unlimited. They are stating caps on amounts, not specific data amounts. If they said 100mb is $9.99, 250mb is $14.99, 1gig is $19.99 etc.. then I would think you could use it for a day, an hour or whatever, the current wording looks pretty clear to me as it sounds like a buy 30 days at a time is about as flexible as we can expect.

Honestly I wouldnt' trust AT&T's billing enough to even buy pro rated data lol. I've had enough issues with a set monthy phone bill as it is. I'd hate to seem them try to manage prorating data by usage vs 30 day chunks, that's just scary stuff

 

[samcraig]

I don't see how it is conjecture. They were pretty explicit in the keynote.

You buy a month, unlimited or 250MB. After that, you can buy it again or not. If you decide not to, but want it in a few months, you pay for it again. It is pre-pay. They can't charge you for two months. Once your pre-pay is up, you are done.

You activate it all from the device.

No. They weren't specific. Can you quote the specificity exactly? They just said no contract. They gave two plans. They didn't say when/if there was pro-ration. They didn't say you could turn on and off at whim. They didn't say you couldn't but they didn't confirm that you could. So yes - it's conjecture until the full plan is revealed.

Just like no one knew for certain what MMS would cost - only that it was coming UNTIL AT&T made a statement.

And all that pre-pay means is exactly that - you pay in advance for usage. That doesn't mean ATT won't offer options when registering the device ala - pay and cancel at any time (recurring) or single payment which you then need to keep logging in and "re-charging".

Calderone - do you work for AT&T? Do you have information about the specifics? I thought not.

 

[samcraig]

Based on the information available from the Keynote and some press releases form AT&T. You will pre pay for a month. This all done from your iPad, so you decide you want unlimited today, you would be charged $29.99 from your iPad on an account you have setup with AT&T you could then "turn it off" and then use the 3g data for 30 days.

I'm guessing, but none of the wording indicates a pro rated system. Pay for a month of data and the clock starts and runs for 30 days. If they were allowing you to use it for a pro rated amount say 2 days etc.. they would be selling Data packages vs cap'd (250mb) and unlimited. They are stating caps on amounts, not specific data amounts. If they said 100mb is $9.99, 250mb is $14.99, 1gig is $19.99 etc.. then I would think you could use it for a day, an hour or whatever, the current wording looks pretty clear to me as it sounds like a buy 30 days at a time is about as flexible as we can expect.

Honestly I wouldnt' trust AT&T's billing enough to even buy pro rated data lol. I've had enough issues with a set monthy phone bill as it is. I'd hate to seem them try to manage prorating data by usage vs 30 day chunks, that's just scary stuff

I agree... And clearly I'm playing devil's advocate as to how this will all ACTUALLY work. I am sure there will be threads "I signed up for 3G access and I can barely get coverage where I am (or where I'm going) and now AT&T won't issue me a credit. Yadda yadda...

 

[calderone]

No. They weren't specific. Can you quote the specificity exactly? They just said no contract. They gave two plans. They didn't say when/if there was pro-ration. They didn't say you could turn on and off at whim. They didn't say you couldn't but they didn't confirm that you could. So yes - it's conjecture until the full plan is revealed.

Just like no one knew for certain what MMS would cost - only that it was coming UNTIL AT&T made a statement.

And all that pre-pay means is exactly that - you pay in advance for usage. That doesn't mean ATT won't offer options when registering the device ala - pay and cancel at any time (recurring) or single payment which you then need to keep logging in and "re-charging".

Calderone - do you work for AT&T? Do you have information about the specifics? I thought not.

Did you watch the keynote?

1. No Contract
2. Activated from the device
3. Two Plans

Does AT&T currently offer recurring pre-pay? If they do, great. But it is on the customer to cancel. If they go 31 days and forget to cancel and they get charged, that is their own damn fault.

Does AT&T currently pro-rate pre-paid plans? Sure you can turn off 3G from the device, but you are getting a refund because you did so.

From the details gathered, you can apply logic and know what is going on. Sure this may not be the case when all the details are here, but I am working with what is available. Conjecture is creating new things: like pro-ration. If it is all conjecture, why waste your time creating a thread where people could make stuff up and end up getting nowhere? I gave you what will likely be the case based on the details given. If that doesn't satisfy you, then this thread is pointless. Since no answer can be verified and thus will not be accepted by you.

 

[admanimal]

No. They weren't specific. Can you quote the specificity exactly? They just said no contract. They gave two plans.

Steve at the keynote:

"There's no contract; it's pre-paid and you can cancel it any time you want"

I'm guessing any time you want means after any month is up.

 

[samcraig]

Thanks Calderone for reminding me not to try to engage you in conversation since your logic doesn't measure up. I am well aware of the current information. And I'm well aware of what was said at the keynote. Having a DISCUSSION with you is fruitless. "why waste your time creating a thread where people could make stuff up and end up getting nowhere?" That's hilarious given that nearly every single thread so far is CONJECTURE since the iPad (as it will be released) isn't in anyone's hands. You might want to look up what conjecture actually means. It's the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof.

Admanimal. Very true. So we'll just have to see if ATT gets cranky regarding all the start/stopping people MIGHT do.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Thanks Calderone for reminding me not to try to engage you in conversation since your logic doesn't measure up. I am well aware of the current information. And I'm well aware of what was said at the keynote. Having a DISCUSSION with you is fruitless. "why waste your time creating a thread where people could make stuff up and end up getting nowhere?" That's hilarious given that nearly every single thread so far is CONJECTURE since the iPad (as it will be released) isn't in anyone's hands. You might want to look up what conjecture actually means. It's the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof.

Well, count me in with him - i guess at this point it is all interpretation of the info presented.

Some of us are using our previous experience with data plans to add to the conjecture.

Admanimal. Very true. So we'll just have to see if ATT gets cranky regarding all the start/stopping people MIGHT do.

They will have NO CHOICE, people can have it every other month if they want.

What is there to get cranky about?

They agreed to provide a NO CONTRACT service on this Apple device. Period.

I'm actually envisioning you being able to use iTunes cards to pay for it if you want (think about all those credit cards Steve says is on file). We shall see how that goes....

ETA: Maybe you should go read how the 2 AT&T pre-paid wireless options work. Pay-as-you-go vs Pick your plan

 

[roland.g]

I'm guessing it is pre-paid but will charge you for another month if you do not cancel.

I would love to see a pay $20-30 for 250 MB model where you are warned via an email when you are low and then can refill your account. That way if it takes you 2-3 months to use that 250 you don't get raked for being a low user. Seriously, a lot of people will use it on WiFi but might only occasionally need the 3G access and only for email or whatever. Do we really have to pay $15 a month for that access. Under that model they could even set a monthly minimum of 10MB or so, so if you don't use it or don't use it much, they could at least chop off some your account balance.

 

[cube]

Nobody said you'll be able to reactivate your account without paying for a new SIM.

 

[calderone]

Thanks Calderone for reminding me not to try to engage you in conversation since your logic doesn't measure up. I am well aware of the current information. And I'm well aware of what was said at the keynote. Having a DISCUSSION with you is fruitless. "why waste your time creating a thread where people could make stuff up and end up getting nowhere?" That's hilarious given that nearly every single thread so far is CONJECTURE since the iPad (as it will be released) isn't in anyone's hands. You might want to look up what conjecture actually means. It's the formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof.

Admanimal. Very true. So we'll just have to see if ATT gets cranky regarding all the start/stopping people MIGHT do.

You mean like the start stopping people with pre-paid plans already do?

So, by me making a formulation based on known facts, how does my expression not have sufficient evidence? I am using known facts as given in the keynote. Which is sufficient evidence for what I explained above.

Now, you however are dealing in pure conjecture. Such as recurring payment systems, pro-ration systems, etc. There is no evidence to support these, yet you want to talk about them and expect to get somewhere.

So, maybe you want to go read the definitions again. However, that wasn't the point. The point was that not everything about the 3G in the iPad is conjecture. We have some facts. If you find it necessary to ask silly questions that no one can answer, have at it. But let's not ignore the facts that exist about iPad and pre-paid plans in general.