Today saw the announcement of the new 3G iPhone from Apple. It looks very promissing and the price cut to $199 USD sounds like a really good price point to get more people to jump on the iPhone bandwagon. Afterall, this thing is twice as fast, but half the cost.
What was not mentioned in Job’s keynote was AT&T’s iPhone 3G plan pricing. And, why should they; AT&T and Apple have severed their revenue sharing deal they had with the initial iPhone release one year ago. However, don’t let the $200 discount on a new iPhone fool you. Let’s do some math…
The old iPhone plans started at $59.99/mo. If you signed a two year contract you would pay roughly $1,440 over the life of the contract. The new plans, according to the press release, start at $39.99 voice plan PLUS $30 per month for unlimited data. Now you’re looking at $1,680 over the live of the contract. That’s $240 more (per contract) than the previous iPhone plans. Still feel like you’re getting a good deal? You just spent $240 to save $200. No word on family plan pricing or if they have family plans for the iPhone.
Will I get one? Probably. :\
Update: Looks like there’s no special treatment for new iPhone users and the standard plans and rates apply. It makes it a little easier to swallow a family plan at $59.99/mo for two lines of service but I have yet to find out if the family plan is available for the iPhone 3G. Interesting thing I found looking for answers to the question What plans are available for the iPhone? I Suppose they should update this if it’s not true.
Update #2: I just spoke with a Karen George in AT&T customer service and from what she told me the iPhone plan is the same, just going up in price $10/mo (this kind of contradicts the press release though). She also confirmed that the family plans are available for the new iPhone. I asked if the new iPhone plans will still include the 200 text messages and she said yes. I also asked if the MEdia(TM) Max Unlimited data plan (which, at $35/mo includes unlimited data and texts, seems to be a better deal) would be available for the iPhone and she said yes. I’m a little skeptical about what some random customer service rep says at this point, so take it with a grain of salt. Especially when she tells me they (customer service?) are not being told ANYthing about the details of the new iPhone and/or plans.
NB: If you’re wondering about the ‘AT&T Gets the Skins’ bit of the title, I’m referring to the San Bromista Cat Ranch.
[...] per month than … (follow link to read)Phone Scoop - Latest News - http://www.phonescoop.com/Apple’s iPhone 3G Not So Cheap Afterall, AT&T Gets The SkinsThe old iPhone plans started at $59.99/mo. If you signed a two year contract you would pay roughly [...]
[...] Apple’s iPhone 3G Not So Cheap Afterall, AT&T Gets The SkinsWhat was not mentioned in Job’s keynote was AT&T’s iPhone 3G plan pricing. And, why should they; AT&T and Apple have severed their revenue sharing deal they had with the initial iPhone release one year ago. However, don’t let the $200 …randys.org - http://www.randys.org [...]
[...] Apple’s iPhone 3G Not So Cheap Afterall, AT&T Gets The SkinsWhat was not mentioned in Job’s keynote was AT&T’s iPhone 3G plan pricing. And, why should they; AT&T and Apple have severed their revenue sharing deal they had with the initial iPhone release one year ago. However, don’t let the $200 …randys.org - http://www.randys.org [...]