Tethering will be available on OS 3.0, but it's up to the carrier to allow it. We'll see what AT&T will have to say once the new OS is released.
What about the reverse direction? An iPod Touch tethered to a standard cell phone via bluetooth? (Since we know the current touch has bluetooth...) Or is this against the AT&T contract, or outside of Apple's view of acceptable? I would think that many more units (touches) would be sold if that were the case. But this is about the iPhone eh? ugh.
I have a Gen1 iPhone. I pay $20 a month for unlimited data and 200 text messages.
The 3G plan is $30 a month and doesn't include text messages. You have to pay an extra $5 just to get the 200 messages I'm getting now. That's $35.
Paying more ($30) and getting less (no texts). That's what I mean.
So it's $15 more a month for the same options. By less, I thought you were stating that you couldn't get the same options. Like a BB user saying that they get less with the iPhone is true if the physical keyboard and corporate email is important to them.
I was thinking the same thing. People try to make AT&T sound outrageously expensive by comparing a regular voice/text plan to a smartphone plan.
We know it's not more expensive, but wanting an iPhone without a data plan because they don't want it and/or don't want the fee as viable argument. Of course, the handset would cost more if they allowed that.
Sounds as though you don't really need an iPhone, you just need something with a qwerty keyboard and an unlimited texting plan.
Just to be pedantic, the iPhone has a qwerty keyboard.
The thing I'd like to see in terms or pricing (and I think a lot of folks are in the same boat right now), is just fair pricing for what we use. Right now I get 6GB of data for $30 a month but I have WiFi at home and at work so I only use a few MBs a month. Most months I could almost say I use about a thousand times less data than I am supposedly paying for! That's a lot.
If 6GB of data a month is really worth $30 then I should really only be charged about 30 cents a month for my data needs, making my bill closer to $40 than the $70 is is right now.
Even if it's pro-rated, and you say I only get 6GB for $30 because some will use it and some will not, hundreds, and in some case a thousand times as much is just insane.
Give me the standard (in my area) low cost $12 phone plan and an extra $10 or even $15 for data and one could say that the cell company is being a good citizen.
Just to be pedantic, the iPhone has a qwerty keyboard.
The thing I'd like to see in terms or pricing (and I think a lot of folks are in the same boat right now), is just fair pricing for what we use. Right now I get 6GB of data for $30 a month but I have WiFi at home and at work so I only use a few MBs a month. Most months I could almost say I use about a thousand times less data than I am supposedly paying for! That's a lot.
If 6GB of data a month is really worth $30 then I should really only be charged about 30 cents a month for my data needs, making my bill closer to $40 than the $70 is is right now.
Even if it's pro-rated, and you say I only get 6GB for $30 because some will use it and some will not, hundreds, and in some case a thousand times as much is just insane.
Give me the standard (in my area) low cost $12 phone plan and an extra $10 or even $15 for data and one could say that the cell company is being a good citizen.
Anything less is just theft by another name.
Oh give me a break. What's happened to the world where everyone now thinks that anyone who gives them a service at the agreed rate is robbing them? You don't like it, cancel your service!
Because it costs ATT $600 to get an iPhone, so they will never make a dollar off of you. Capitalism is a bitch (if you can't afford the fun toys).
Finally, someone with some sense. This is ALL about money. Like he said, if AT&T pays Apple $600 for each phone, and they make a 60% profit on each current plan (completely random number), they are still not making a profit until 15 months into the most basic $70 plan. Now, I believe they make more than that, but I'm just trying to make a point. If AT&T and Apple still make an acceptable profit, they will lower the rate. Until then, don't bet on it.
We know it's not more expensive, but wanting an iPhone without a data plan because they don't want it and/or don't want the fee as viable argument. Of course, the handset would cost more if they allowed that.
I don't think this is necessarily true. All the providers offer free/low cost handsets no matter what plan you buy. Each month, at least for the term of the contract, you're paying for a level of service plus the subsidy for the real cost of the handset. They can lower the quantity of the service provided and lower the monthly charges without giving up the subsidy payback.
What are you people doing.? How can you so willingly pay AT&T rates just to own an iPhone. Here's some food for thought.. I have an iPhone on T-Mobile & get Unlimited Minutes, Internet Access & 200 text for $42.00 per month, after my 2nd phone discount & student discount. Anyone who can justify paying AT&T the rates they ask must have "More Money Than Sense" & deserve what they get. AT&T knows that there are other cells companies with better plans but just count on all you impulsive iPhone buyers to pay their rates.. Sad really how some people willingly waste their hard earned money.. Hopefully when Verizon gets their iPhone the AT&T shitheads will be forced to lower their rates even further, but the number of people who continue to sign up will dictate that scenario.
I don't think this is necessarily true. All the providers offer free/low cost handsets no matter what plan you buy. Each month, at least for the term of the contract, you're paying for a level of service plus the subsidy for the real cost of the handset. They can lower the quantity of the service provided and lower the monthly charges without giving up the subsidy payback.
Right, but as you go lower in service price, profit goes down. It does not cost ATT, in any real marginal cost sense, $10 to provide 200 minutes of airtime. But if you go down to a lower level of service, you pay $20 less. So revenue goes down $20, and costs stay essentially the same for ATT, meaning that they make $20 less. Marginal cost of offering service on a cell network is essentially zero. It's all fixed and infrastructure costs, so a wireless provider has no reason to encourage those cheaper plans except for that nasty competition word.
What are you people doing.? How can you so willingly pay AT&T rates just to own an iPhone. Here's some food for thought.. I have an iPhone on T-Mobile & get Unlimited Minutes, Internet Access & 200 text for $42.00 per month, after my 2nd phone discount & student discount. Anyone who can justify paying AT&T the rates they ask must have "More Money Than Sense" & deserve what they get. AT&T knows that there are other cells companies with better plans but just count on all you impulsive iPhone buyers to pay their rates.. Sad really how some people willingly waste their hard earned money.. Hopefully when Verizon gets their iPhone the AT&T shitheads will be forced to lower their rates even further, but the number of people who continue to sign up will dictate that scenario.
You paid an early termination fee if you got a discounted iPhone, so add that $175 into your monthly fee (prorate over 12 months until further notice). That brings your monthly cost to around $55. Then add in the fact that you had to go through the trouble of unlocking and risking the functionality of your phone, and that you now have to deal with T mobile's lack of 3G coverage, and you're getting the reason.
You say more money than sense, I say more money than time. Time is valuable, and it's worth some amount of money to have everything just work. For instance I'd pay Apple $30 a month for MobileMe's contacts/calendar syncing if that was the price, but thankfully it's only $8 per month. One day you'll earn more money, and you'll have less time, and you'll understand too. If not, then you'll spend 2 hours Saturday afternoon cutting coupons out of the newspaper to save $10 at the store and wonder why all those idiots waste their money buying full priced groceries.
Yes AT&T also offers other phones that are free with cheaper terms than the iPhone. The question is what other carrier offers a real iPhone competitor at a cheaper rate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss
I don't think this is necessarily true. All the providers offer free/low cost handsets no matter what plan you buy. Each month, at least for the term of the contract, you're paying for a level of service plus the subsidy for the real cost of the handset. They can lower the quantity of the service provided and lower the monthly charges without giving up the subsidy payback.
What if you only have one phone and not a student?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancelot9201
What are you people doing.? How can you so willingly pay AT&T rates just to own an iPhone. Here's some food for thought.. I have an iPhone on T-Mobile & get Unlimited Minutes, Internet Access & 200 text for $42.00 per month, after my 2nd phone discount & student discount. Anyone who can justify paying AT&T the rates they ask must have "More Money Than Sense" & deserve what they get.t
Comments
I have a Gen1 iPhone. I pay $20 a month for unlimited data and 200 text messages.
The 3G plan is $30 a month and doesn't include text messages. You have to pay an extra $5 just to get the 200 messages I'm getting now. That's $35.
Paying more ($30) and getting less (no texts). That's what I mean.
Tethering will be available on OS 3.0, but it's up to the carrier to allow it. We'll see what AT&T will have to say once the new OS is released.
What about the reverse direction? An iPod Touch tethered to a standard cell phone via bluetooth? (Since we know the current touch has bluetooth...) Or is this against the AT&T contract, or outside of Apple's view of acceptable? I would think that many more units (touches) would be sold if that were the case. But this is about the iPhone eh? ugh.
I have a Gen1 iPhone. I pay $20 a month for unlimited data and 200 text messages.
The 3G plan is $30 a month and doesn't include text messages. You have to pay an extra $5 just to get the 200 messages I'm getting now. That's $35.
Paying more ($30) and getting less (no texts). That's what I mean.
So it's $15 more a month for the same options. By less, I thought you were stating that you couldn't get the same options. Like a BB user saying that they get less with the iPhone is true if the physical keyboard and corporate email is important to them.
I'd pay $20 a month for 1 Gb of data with 0 minutes (10 cents a minute). Why can't they have a plan like that?
And you'll pay full price for the device with that plan?
I wouldn't switch to ATT even if it were free.
I doubt that. If you were offered free mobile service, including data, you'd be a fool to turn it down.
Enough hyperbole, just makes one seem narrow-minded, and we've had enough of that in the past few years.
guess what you don't have? a smartphone with t-mobile. if you did, they would force you to pay for a data plan too..
I was thinking the same thing. People try to make AT&T sound outrageously expensive by comparing a regular voice/text plan to a smartphone plan.
We know it's not more expensive, but wanting an iPhone without a data plan because they don't want it and/or don't want the fee as viable argument. Of course, the handset would cost more if they allowed that.
Sounds as though you don't really need an iPhone, you just need something with a qwerty keyboard and an unlimited texting plan.
Just to be pedantic, the iPhone has a qwerty keyboard.
The thing I'd like to see in terms or pricing (and I think a lot of folks are in the same boat right now), is just fair pricing for what we use. Right now I get 6GB of data for $30 a month but I have WiFi at home and at work so I only use a few MBs a month. Most months I could almost say I use about a thousand times less data than I am supposedly paying for! That's a lot.
If 6GB of data a month is really worth $30 then I should really only be charged about 30 cents a month for my data needs, making my bill closer to $40 than the $70 is is right now.
Even if it's pro-rated, and you say I only get 6GB for $30 because some will use it and some will not, hundreds, and in some case a thousand times as much is just insane.
Give me the standard (in my area) low cost $12 phone plan and an extra $10 or even $15 for data and one could say that the cell company is being a good citizen.
Anything less is just theft by another name.
I'd pay $20 a month for 1 Gb of data with 0 minutes (10 cents a minute). Why can't they have a plan like that?
Because it costs ATT $600 to get an iPhone, so they will never make a dollar off of you. Capitalism is a bitch (if you can't afford the fun toys).
Just to be pedantic, the iPhone has a qwerty keyboard.
The thing I'd like to see in terms or pricing (and I think a lot of folks are in the same boat right now), is just fair pricing for what we use. Right now I get 6GB of data for $30 a month but I have WiFi at home and at work so I only use a few MBs a month. Most months I could almost say I use about a thousand times less data than I am supposedly paying for! That's a lot.
If 6GB of data a month is really worth $30 then I should really only be charged about 30 cents a month for my data needs, making my bill closer to $40 than the $70 is is right now.
Even if it's pro-rated, and you say I only get 6GB for $30 because some will use it and some will not, hundreds, and in some case a thousand times as much is just insane.
Give me the standard (in my area) low cost $12 phone plan and an extra $10 or even $15 for data and one could say that the cell company is being a good citizen.
Anything less is just theft by another name.
Oh give me a break. What's happened to the world where everyone now thinks that anyone who gives them a service at the agreed rate is robbing them? You don't like it, cancel your service!
Because it costs ATT $600 to get an iPhone, so they will never make a dollar off of you. Capitalism is a bitch (if you can't afford the fun toys).
Finally, someone with some sense. This is ALL about money. Like he said, if AT&T pays Apple $600 for each phone, and they make a 60% profit on each current plan (completely random number), they are still not making a profit until 15 months into the most basic $70 plan. Now, I believe they make more than that, but I'm just trying to make a point. If AT&T and Apple still make an acceptable profit, they will lower the rate. Until then, don't bet on it.
Just to be pedantic, the iPhone has a qwerty keyboard.
I was talking about something other than the iPhone.
We know it's not more expensive, but wanting an iPhone without a data plan because they don't want it and/or don't want the fee as viable argument. Of course, the handset would cost more if they allowed that.
I don't think this is necessarily true. All the providers offer free/low cost handsets no matter what plan you buy. Each month, at least for the term of the contract, you're paying for a level of service plus the subsidy for the real cost of the handset. They can lower the quantity of the service provided and lower the monthly charges without giving up the subsidy payback.
I don't think this is necessarily true. All the providers offer free/low cost handsets no matter what plan you buy. Each month, at least for the term of the contract, you're paying for a level of service plus the subsidy for the real cost of the handset. They can lower the quantity of the service provided and lower the monthly charges without giving up the subsidy payback.
Right, but as you go lower in service price, profit goes down. It does not cost ATT, in any real marginal cost sense, $10 to provide 200 minutes of airtime. But if you go down to a lower level of service, you pay $20 less. So revenue goes down $20, and costs stay essentially the same for ATT, meaning that they make $20 less. Marginal cost of offering service on a cell network is essentially zero. It's all fixed and infrastructure costs, so a wireless provider has no reason to encourage those cheaper plans except for that nasty competition word.
What are you people doing.? How can you so willingly pay AT&T rates just to own an iPhone. Here's some food for thought.. I have an iPhone on T-Mobile & get Unlimited Minutes, Internet Access & 200 text for
You paid an early termination fee if you got a discounted iPhone, so add that $175 into your monthly fee (prorate over 12 months until further notice). That brings your monthly cost to around $55. Then add in the fact that you had to go through the trouble of unlocking and risking the functionality of your phone, and that you now have to deal with T mobile's lack of 3G coverage, and you're getting the reason.
You say more money than sense, I say more money than time. Time is valuable, and it's worth some amount of money to have everything just work. For instance I'd pay Apple $30 a month for MobileMe's contacts/calendar syncing if that was the price, but thankfully it's only $8 per month. One day you'll earn more money, and you'll have less time, and you'll understand too. If not, then you'll spend 2 hours Saturday afternoon cutting coupons out of the newspaper to save $10 at the store and wonder why all those idiots waste their money buying full priced groceries.
I don't think this is necessarily true. All the providers offer free/low cost handsets no matter what plan you buy. Each month, at least for the term of the contract, you're paying for a level of service plus the subsidy for the real cost of the handset. They can lower the quantity of the service provided and lower the monthly charges without giving up the subsidy payback.
What are you people doing.? How can you so willingly pay AT&T rates just to own an iPhone. Here's some food for thought.. I have an iPhone on T-Mobile & get Unlimited Minutes, Internet Access & 200 text for