“Apple and AT&T released details on their rate plans for the iPhone on Tuesday, and the service plans are on par with what you’d get with other phones – though you get fewer text messages for your money,” Sascha Segan reports for PC Magazine.
“Apple’s six individual plans and six family plans start at $59.99 for 450 minutes, plus unlimited data, 200 text messages, 5,000 night and weekend minutes, and unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes,” Segan reports. “That’s within $5 of the monthly price for 450-minute plans from [other carriers].”
“The iPhone’s plan prices fall between the prices for existing AT&T smart phones without keyboards and those with keyboards, as the two groups are priced differently. Data plans on AT&T smart phones with QWERTY keyboards, such as Palm Treo, Blackberry, or Windows Mobile devices, are typically much more expensive. AT&T’s ‘PDA Connect’ data plans start at $39.99 per month, although they also include 1,500 SMS messages – a $10 add-on for the iPhone. Still, that ends up as $10 more than the iPhone plan plus the SMS add-on,” Segan reports.
Full article, with huge chart comparing carriers and rate plans, here.
True, not as many text messages, though I’m sure they assume you won’t be texting as much when you just send an e-mail.
The Text number doesn’t bother me much (btw, will those unused text messages roll over too? Doubt it, sigh), but the “family plan” deal their foisting really irks me. If I were already a ATT wireless user, I could add my iPhone into my standard plan for an extra $20 per month, but if I want to come in and switch me to an iPhone and my wife to some “free” basic phone, we have to pay an extra $10 for the same service, plus $30 for the extra phone. That’s $40/month extra, which is insane.
Maybe I could understand the extra fees if we both went in and bought iPhones, but hers will just be a regular phone with no bells and whistles. I’m certainly not jumping ship until their family rate plans are more reasonable for those of us with just one smart phone on the plan.
Sorry, bad grammar: their should be they’re. And I was an English major. Heh.
AT&T’s new marketing campaign for the iPhone:
Treo and Windows Mobile phone users, switch to iPhone and save $20 bucks a month.
They really are trying to sell more iPhones than anything else.
If we’re judging grammar problems today: $20 bucks is a little repetative.
G-Man in B’ham-
If we’re judging grammar problems today: “repetative” is repetitive
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Maj,
That’s not grammar… that’s spelling
I really think AT&T put these iPhone rates right on par. I am surprised actually, I really thought they would charge up the rear-end for service. And people would have bought the phones anyway…
Just text with meebo.com and do it for free.
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I can’t believe that no one has noticed that with the “UNLIMITED DATA” you can use google or any number of websites and get FREE UNLIMITED SMS MESSAGES!
Geeze. Are people that dense?
I send msgs to my wife with google all of time
MSN: Addition, as in This is a free addition to the iPhone if you just use it.
I’m surprised no one has picked up on the fact that their price charts for family plans are incorrect.
The sad reality is that family plans for the iPhone are 30-40 bucks cheaper than the iPhone.
Two words: iPhone Bitches!
Oops–cheaper than the competition that is.
I don’t see why they are restricting SMS, especially when they have unlimited data plan?
I don’t think I do 450 minutes of overall telephony in a month though my wife probably does, but we all do more than 200 texts. While it would be nice to choose less minutes and more texts, it’s no big deal. I’ll tell you what will suffer from this: the obsolete landline business. I’d give up my second line to help pay for an iPhone plan.
Expect landline prices to increase in line with reduced usage.