Comments on: Analyst expects low cost iPhone, service plan soon

By: sodell39

sodell39 — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:41:38 +0000

I have opted for an ipod touch as I will not pay the required $70 per month for an iphone. Therefore I have my tracphone (at $20 every 3 months) and my ipod to carry with me everywhere. My problem is I’d like one device and would happily invest in an iphone if not for the giant cost each month for service. I would never use 250 or 400 minutes per month for cell service and feel that I would be better served as well as many others with a lower cost, lower monthly minute plan option.

By: C E Crowlegy

C E Crowlegy — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:07:19 +0000

I’ve never been so disappointed in my service provider. Owning the iphone is not worth the price of dealing with AT&T. Their plans are way too expensive, they never listen to their customer complains and I think they are a bunch of crooks. I will be cancelling my iphone / at&t tryst at the end of the month and going back to Verizon. I’ve already reported AT&T to the Better Business Bureau.

By: dagwud

dagwud — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:19:20 +0000

Discounted prices for iPhones are a little bit slight-of-hand on the part of AT&T. They make back their money through the mandatory data contracts.

AT&T is going to sell the 8GB iPhone for $599 with no contract. They’ll discount it to $199 if you get a 2-year data contract. But that’s $720 for 2 years for the 3G plan. They more than make up the original discount, on average, through the data fees because the typical user won’t use as much 3G data as they pay for.

And I’d be willing to bet that AT&T doesn’t pay Apple $599 per iPhone.

I’m not writing this to criticize AT&T’s policies. There’s sense to it. But folks need to realize, there’s no free lunch and there really is no discount on iPhones.

By: John Dingler

John Dingler — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:52:42 +0000

The thesis to this turkey topic is entirely too thin to think about on this thursday.

By: RB

RB — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:00:21 +0000

Quite an interesting thought. Apple could have kept the original iPhone (Edge) as that low cost option for the hardware. I’m still using my 8gb iPhone, it works great but I’m looking forward to the new hardware in June/July.

But the burden of rate plan falls squarely on AT&T’s shoulders. iPhone users are getting screwed. Why should a minimal iPhone plan cost $70 a month? MMS may have been a missing feature from the iPhone software but why? Not because Apple couldn’t do it, but because AT&T probably wanted that feature crippled. And with the OS3 coming out and new hardware rumored to becoming this summer it’s almost a guarantee that the iPhone rate plans will increase while other smartphone plans remain untouched.

It’s hard to hook the young ones (and some old ones) even with the hardware subsidy, when the rate plan remains out of their price range or is more than what a parent is wiling/able to afford.