No shit sherlock! Apple could always design a CDMA iPhone. Thats why I said US only.
Well Verizon had a chance* and their greed dictated their decision not to work with Apple.
I am glad they did. Otherwise, we might still be waiting in Canada. But hey, I guess I am as self-centred as you. Right now I am getting 2245 Kbs via 3G, I can't remember the last time it dropped a call, and all it costs me for may data plan is $30 CDN ($24 US) a month. Albeit my data plan is limited, i.e., 6MBs/month for 3 years I have never used more that 225 MBs in one month since I got my iPhone last July.
I agree wholeheartedly with lepton who said, "It's not the data plan that has me annoyed, it is the basic $40 cell plan. It is much, much more than I need. I don't need 450 minutes, frankly 60 minutes is enough for me. I use the phone for data much more than for voice. Having a lower tier voice plan would save me a lot of money."
AT&T is definitely the ball and chain around the iPhone's ankle.
I'd like to see a $30 data plan with laptop tethering included and cell phone options as follows:
$10 per month for 125 minutes
$20 per month for 250 minutes
$30 per month for 375 minutes
$40 per moth for 500 minutes
$50 per month for unlimited calling
I am pleased that they unbundled Text Messaging when the 3G was introduced enabling me to opt out. In all my years of cell phone usage I've sent and received a grand total of zero text messages not including those from AT&T
I use my iPhone 3G constantly throughout the day. Once in a while I even use it for a phone call but the telephone is around 8th or 9th on my list of the things I use it for.
Who is this Wu? All I'm seeing is speculation that anyone on these forums could make.
Quote:
I use my iPhone 3G constantly throughout the day. Once in a while I even use it for a phone call but the telephone is around 8th or 9th on my list of the things I use it for.
I just noticed that Verizon added free calls to favorite numbers just like T-Mobile. Five numbers for individual and 10 for family plans. I wonder how long it will take AT&T to do the same. That along with changes to the data plan would be nice.
If this is true, this is the perfect solution to the problems the iPhone is currently facing.
Instead of coming up with an iPhone Nano, the same phone can be made available with different data plans, thus catering to customers with different budgets.
Absolutely. My wife and I use our iPhones as 2nd phones only ... and, of course, as iPods... we call only each other, and between the two of us we probably use 40-60 minutes a month of voice - and zero data. We've never downloaded an app or even visited the app store. We've never launched Safari or visited YouTube or even turned WiFi on. We've never watched a movie (we have a 54" HDTV at home, so why would we watch a movie on the iPhone? :-). My wife basically just wanted an iPod that was also a phone, so I got these as Christmas presents.
All my email comes in and out of my Blackberry (T-Mobile). I just can't get my huge fingers and thumbs to make that itty bitty keyboard on the iPhone work without an error every other letter :-) I find the keyboard super frustrating to use.
The weird thing we've noticed is that Apple's laptops use widescreen LCDs - great for video but lousy for text, creating extra scrolling. Meanwhile, the iPhone's keyboard is not widescreen enabled, again, lousy for text. What does Apple have against text?
If Apple would enable the keyboard to go horizontal so it can get larger, and I could copy/paste text from one email to another, I'd probably ditch the Blackberry, even though AT&T is viciously expensive. It's a nicer phone overall than the Blackberry but it's just lacking in some real key features.
In the interim, there's no way I could manage the typical incoming of hundreds of email on an iPhone with its neonatal keyboard & no copy/paste. So, an AT&T plan with zero data would be perfect for us, and save us $720 annually.
The solution is not to offer tiered data plans, it is to lower the cost of ridiculously expensive cellphone, data and text messaging plans.
Agree, although the 'problem' is that this is a revenue-loser for AT&T, unless they believe that they'll lose more business if they don't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by amac4me
I simply want a tether option for my existing plan
What I'd prefer is to have it already built into my laptop, so that I don't have to tether the silly thing. Just let both run on a single mobile account.
... and we all know that its not a "Technology Problem" that's stopping this from happening today ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by lepton
It's not the data plan that has me annoyed, it is the basic $40 cell plan. It is much, much more than I need. I don't need 450 minutes, frankly 60 minutes is enough for me. I use the phone for data much more than for voice. Having a lower tier voice plan would save me a lot of money.
Same here. I use my personal cellphone for <400 minutes PER YEAR. The reason why is partly - - but not exclusively - - because my employer has stapled a Blackberry onto my hip. Ignoring business calls, I make perhaps 30 minutes worth of cellular calls per month, which means that my "true" cellphone cost is around $1/minute.
Nearly the same applies for my wife, so we're very seriously considering pay-as-you-go plans...and the result is that we'll have no real loss in features, but we'll reduce how much we're paying to the cellphone companies by around 66%.
Quote:
Originally Posted by walshbj
Reminder - we're talking about carriers here. They're not going to make things easier on us because of "economic hardship." More likely, they want to jack up the price of the $30 data plan, so they'll provide another plan with a lower rate.
They can try, but the larger economics are a reality to consider. With the beginning of the iPhones coming off their 2 year contract this summer, they'll be watching things extremely carefully - - best thing that we can do is to encourage all of the early-adopters to drop their service for 3-4 months (use a prepaid TracPhone) and encourage AT&T to panic about competitive forces ...
Refer to the above statement where I said that AT&T is unlikely to reduce rates unless they're afraid of losing more business ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by NOFEER
sprint has a 50$ unlimited everything plan that's where
AT&T verizon sees pressure not phone price it's the monthly
Bill problem people see. People have become smarter
When it comes from smart phones
It's the monthly plan costs.
Exactly. The tough economy's really making people think twice as to where their money is going.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rot'nApple
Agreed. althoough I'm gonna be flammed especially by those who have a hatred for AT&T but I would like to see the philosophy that the longer the contract, the lower the data plan. They got your phone plan rates and for a longer period of time.
I'd say $40.00/mo for unlimited data for a one year commitment.
$30.00/mo for unlimited data for a two year commitment.
$20.00/mo for unlimited data for a three year commitment.
$10.00/mo for unlimited data for a four year commitment.
$5.00/mo for unlimited data for a five year commitment.
This is a relatively fair approach, which is why it won't ever happen (bummer!).
Quote:
Originally Posted by davesmall
I agree wholeheartedly with lepton who said, "It's not the data plan that has me annoyed, it is the basic $40 cell plan. It is much, much more than I need. I don't need 450 minutes, frankly 60 minutes is enough for me. I use the phone for data much more than for voice. Having a lower tier voice plan would save me a lot of money."
AT&T is definitely the ball and chain around the iPhone's ankle.
Remember: they're only able to get away with it because "we" are willing to pay.
Quote:
I'd like to see a $30 data plan with laptop tethering included and cell phone options as follows:
$10 per month for 125 minutes
$20 per month for 250 minutes
$30 per month for 375 minutes
$40 per moth for 500 minutes
$50 per month for unlimited calling
How about also adding:
$5 per month for 60 minutes ...?
Quote:
I am pleased that they unbundled Text Messaging when the 3G was introduced enabling me to opt out. In all my years of cell phone usage I've sent and received a grand total of zero text messages not including those from AT&T...
I'm not pleased about that, because as far as I can see, there's no real difference technically for the bandwidth consumed by text messaging vs. normal email. As such, this is merely a technique to rip-off the younger generation who's comfortable with texting for an extra $5/month.
OTOH, perhaps a smart move for all iPhone consumers to provide AT&T with a little bit of "too d@mn expensive" consumer feedback would be to grass-roots organize a text message fee boycot and drop payment of that service en mass. Afterall, if a few million iPhone customers were to all drop texting fees on ... say, Apple's anniversary (1 April) ... there's absolutely no way that AT&T executives wouldn't hear about it.
For the desperate texters, realize that it only needs to be for ~3 months for AT&T to get the clue.
Comments
No shit sherlock! Apple could always design a CDMA iPhone. Thats why I said US only.
Well Verizon had a chance* and their greed dictated their decision not to work with Apple.
I am glad they did. Otherwise, we might still be waiting in Canada. But hey, I guess I am as self-centred as you. Right now I am getting 2245 Kbs via 3G, I can't remember the last time it dropped a call, and all it costs me for may data plan is $30 CDN ($24 US) a month. Albeit my data plan is limited, i.e., 6MBs/month for 3 years I have never used more that 225 MBs in one month since I got my iPhone last July.
*http://www.iphonematters.com/article...own_the_iphone
AT&T is definitely the ball and chain around the iPhone's ankle.
I'd like to see a $30 data plan with laptop tethering included and cell phone options as follows:
$10 per month for 125 minutes
$20 per month for 250 minutes
$30 per month for 375 minutes
$40 per moth for 500 minutes
$50 per month for unlimited calling
I am pleased that they unbundled Text Messaging when the 3G was introduced enabling me to opt out. In all my years of cell phone usage I've sent and received a grand total of zero text messages not including those from AT&T
I use my iPhone 3G constantly throughout the day. Once in a while I even use it for a phone call but the telephone is around 8th or 9th on my list of the things I use it for.
I use my iPhone 3G constantly throughout the day. Once in a while I even use it for a phone call but the telephone is around 8th or 9th on my list of the things I use it for.
Hah, that's the way I am as well.
Taxes + Fees add another $9 (give or take a few)
What state is that? Every cel phone plan I've ever had usually has taxes + fees that run about 20% of the rate.
And true to that, here in NYC - base plan $69.99 + 20% fees and taxes = $83.00 each month.
If this is true, this is the perfect solution to the problems the iPhone is currently facing.
Instead of coming up with an iPhone Nano, the same phone can be made available with different data plans, thus catering to customers with different budgets.
Absolutely. My wife and I use our iPhones as 2nd phones only ... and, of course, as iPods... we call only each other, and between the two of us we probably use 40-60 minutes a month of voice - and zero data. We've never downloaded an app or even visited the app store. We've never launched Safari or visited YouTube or even turned WiFi on. We've never watched a movie (we have a 54" HDTV at home, so why would we watch a movie on the iPhone? :-). My wife basically just wanted an iPod that was also a phone, so I got these as Christmas presents.
All my email comes in and out of my Blackberry (T-Mobile). I just can't get my huge fingers and thumbs to make that itty bitty keyboard on the iPhone work without an error every other letter :-) I find the keyboard super frustrating to use.
The weird thing we've noticed is that Apple's laptops use widescreen LCDs - great for video but lousy for text, creating extra scrolling. Meanwhile, the iPhone's keyboard is not widescreen enabled, again, lousy for text. What does Apple have against text?
If Apple would enable the keyboard to go horizontal so it can get larger, and I could copy/paste text from one email to another, I'd probably ditch the Blackberry, even though AT&T is viciously expensive. It's a nicer phone overall than the Blackberry but it's just lacking in some real key features.
In the interim, there's no way I could manage the typical incoming of hundreds of email on an iPhone with its neonatal keyboard & no copy/paste. So, an AT&T plan with zero data would be perfect for us, and save us $720 annually.
The solution is not to offer tiered data plans, it is to lower the cost of ridiculously expensive cellphone, data and text messaging plans.
Agree, although the 'problem' is that this is a revenue-loser for AT&T, unless they believe that they'll lose more business if they don't.
I simply want a tether option for my existing plan
What I'd prefer is to have it already built into my laptop, so that I don't have to tether the silly thing. Just let both run on a single mobile account.
... and we all know that its not a "Technology Problem" that's stopping this from happening today ...
It's not the data plan that has me annoyed, it is the basic $40 cell plan. It is much, much more than I need. I don't need 450 minutes, frankly 60 minutes is enough for me. I use the phone for data much more than for voice. Having a lower tier voice plan would save me a lot of money.
Same here. I use my personal cellphone for <400 minutes PER YEAR. The reason why is partly - - but not exclusively - - because my employer has stapled a Blackberry onto my hip. Ignoring business calls, I make perhaps 30 minutes worth of cellular calls per month, which means that my "true" cellphone cost is around $1/minute.
Nearly the same applies for my wife, so we're very seriously considering pay-as-you-go plans...and the result is that we'll have no real loss in features, but we'll reduce how much we're paying to the cellphone companies by around 66%.
Reminder - we're talking about carriers here. They're not going to make things easier on us because of "economic hardship." More likely, they want to jack up the price of the $30 data plan, so they'll provide another plan with a lower rate.
They can try, but the larger economics are a reality to consider. With the beginning of the iPhones coming off their 2 year contract this summer, they'll be watching things extremely carefully - - best thing that we can do is to encourage all of the early-adopters to drop their service for 3-4 months (use a prepaid TracPhone) and encourage AT&T to panic about competitive forces ...
Refer to the above statement where I said that AT&T is unlikely to reduce rates unless they're afraid of losing more business ...
sprint has a 50$ unlimited everything plan that's where
AT&T verizon sees pressure not phone price it's the monthly
Bill problem people see. People have become smarter
When it comes from smart phones
It's the monthly plan costs.
Exactly. The tough economy's really making people think twice as to where their money is going.
Agreed. althoough I'm gonna be flammed especially by those who have a hatred for AT&T but I would like to see the philosophy that the longer the contract, the lower the data plan. They got your phone plan rates and for a longer period of time.
I'd say $40.00/mo for unlimited data for a one year commitment.
$30.00/mo for unlimited data for a two year commitment.
$20.00/mo for unlimited data for a three year commitment.
$10.00/mo for unlimited data for a four year commitment.
$5.00/mo for unlimited data for a five year commitment.
This is a relatively fair approach, which is why it won't ever happen (bummer!).
I agree wholeheartedly with lepton who said, "It's not the data plan that has me annoyed, it is the basic $40 cell plan. It is much, much more than I need. I don't need 450 minutes, frankly 60 minutes is enough for me. I use the phone for data much more than for voice. Having a lower tier voice plan would save me a lot of money."
AT&T is definitely the ball and chain around the iPhone's ankle.
Remember: they're only able to get away with it because "we" are willing to pay.
I'd like to see a $30 data plan with laptop tethering included and cell phone options as follows:
$10 per month for 125 minutes
$20 per month for 250 minutes
$30 per month for 375 minutes
$40 per moth for 500 minutes
$50 per month for unlimited calling
How about also adding:
$5 per month for 60 minutes ...?
I am pleased that they unbundled Text Messaging when the 3G was introduced enabling me to opt out. In all my years of cell phone usage I've sent and received a grand total of zero text messages not including those from AT&T...
I'm not pleased about that, because as far as I can see, there's no real difference technically for the bandwidth consumed by text messaging vs. normal email. As such, this is merely a technique to rip-off the younger generation who's comfortable with texting for an extra $5/month.
OTOH, perhaps a smart move for all iPhone consumers to provide AT&T with a little bit of "too d@mn expensive" consumer feedback would be to grass-roots organize a text message fee boycot and drop payment of that service en mass. Afterall, if a few million iPhone customers were to all drop texting fees on ... say, Apple's anniversary (1 April) ... there's absolutely no way that AT&T executives wouldn't hear about it.
For the desperate texters, realize that it only needs to be for ~3 months for AT&T to get the clue.
-hh