“Rather than choose a separate messaging plan, customers will have the option of a ‘Talk, Text, Web & E-mail’ plan that already factors in unlimited MMS and SMS,” Electronista reports. “The chart spied by Engadget shows that each carry a $20 premium over the standard versions, or roughly the same price as needed for choosing unlimited access on its own.”
Electronista reports, “The lower-tiered bolt-on messaging plans will still be available and cost $5 for 200 messages per month or $15 for 1,500. The plans don’t give customers a cost advantage and appear designed primarily to simplify options for subscribers who don’t know of the separate plans or want them factored into a single bill.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Smoke and mirrors; preying on the ignorant.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]
in other words, AT&T is going to trick people into thinking they are getting a good deal, when in reality, they could be saving money by getting separate talk and texting plans with smaller texting amounts.
AT&T would be making you pay a premium, for services you might not really need, in order to have a more simplified-looking bill.
nice move AT&T.
ATT is lowering price of iPhone plans – now it will be total of $35 per month for lowest minute plan (complete with data) – I think it it 400 or 500 minutes – plus data!! will apply to all existing accounts, not just new ones, celebrate, ATT FTW!
As much as I like my iPhone 4, AT&T has been ripping subscribers on the test messaging plans from the get-go.
No intermediary plan for text messaging from the $5 200 text messages, to the $15 1,500 text messaging.
IMHO, AT&T is actually losing money doing it this way. People would pay a few extra dollars to make sure they don’t go over their allocated amount under the $5 plan.
AT&T missed the boat on this one.
If you look at the plans, they are still confusing and they are still making a ridiculous distinction between data and texting and the price is still the same.
And AT&T coverage is still kinda sucky in my area.
Swell.
Textfree and textnow apps free unlimited texting. $15/mo 1500 texts?!! Give me a break! This is a preemptive strike on T-Mobile’s generous text plans if/when it carries the iPhone officially!
Text is data, and data that costs AT&T absolutely nothing. For those who don’t know, text messages cost carriers nothing, because they are sent out in what can best be described as the ping signals from the towers to the phone. They have to be sent out anyway, so the texts just hitch a ride, costing the carriers absolutely nothing. This is also the reason they’re limited to 160 characters or w/e it is. Either way, if you pay for data, that should include texting.
I think they’re trying to find ways to lower that surprising 73% approval rating.
Charging for texting is the biggest scam going in consumer products. It runs just slightly ahead of inkjet printer cartridges and premium HDMI cables.
@John –
It’s not just the daggone text plans that need an intermediate option (or better yet, simply be included in the data plan); the call minutes go from 750, which is too low for my family, to 1,500, which leaves us with rollover every single month. For us, 1,000 would be the sweet spot, but instead we pay through the nose for 1,500. For the record, here in the Twin Cities, I have very few dropped calls or call failures, although Sprint was just as good here two years ago when I was with them. Sprint’s customer service was terrible, though. They were completely incompetent.
@Macromancer
Amen, Amen, and Amen…and…er…amen to the amens.
@ aka Christian
I’m also in the Twin Cities but on T-Mobile for the last three years. ATT didn’t work for us between our home, my wife’s job in Edina (they hate cell towers) and daughter in Mankato. T-Mobile works great, I just hope they get the iPhone. I’ll jump on that the first day.
I have 5 iPhones on a family plan and pay $30 a month for unlimited texting covering all 5 phones. That is a pretty good deal to me since my kids text thousands of messages a month. Three of the phones have grandfathered unlimited calling and two I reduced to $15 data usage. I am very happy with my plan’s price.
Texting is to cell carriers as french fries are to fast food “restaurants”.
Despite anything those lying AT&T sons of bitches may say, the only “cost advantage” they are interested in promoting is one that gives them more of your money.
@alansky – That would be it. We’re the phone company and we don’t care. Years of monopoly operation has bred a toxic corporate culture.
To me the data plans are the worst with options. 200mb to 2gb… Seriously? They could not have offered some middleground option? This seems to be a conscious scheme they have to force people up to higher levels or rake in overage charges on the lower ones. Another reason I hate AT&T.
U guys are dead on! Big gap between the plans.. I’d still like to see a pay as you go/ month to month, like the iPad. And let contract be linked to the minutes.