preview.tinyurl.com/ypxpov -> www.engadget.com/2007/06/26/how-does-the-iphone-stack-up-in-total-cost/
Not exactly the streamlined customer Apple experience cherishes, so the iPhone just comes with just a few service options (and not a lot to configure) -- but is there really the "Apple premium" associated with buying an iPhone and using the iPhone plan with AT&T? A note on AT&T data plans We know AT&T has a lot of data plans to choose from, and your average AT&T CSR would have told us that to match the iPhone's service features your average smartphone user would need to buy the PDA Personal plan (for $30 a month) with a $5 200 SMS add-on.
We know this isn't the "official" way of comparing AT&T's listed prices, but it's certainly the most fair real world scenario. Ready to dig into the numbers that dig into your wallet? All prices listed include current rebates and promos (where available), valid as of June 26th. Adding an iPhone and smartphone with data and 200 SMS to your family plan costs the same, but the base service for that first line is where there's a price disparity -- $10 per month. The bottom line Shockingly enough, iPhone users actually stand to save a decent chunk of change if they're on family plans -- but for the most part the significantly higher cost of the device will offset that savings there as well as in comparable individual plans. It's just really hard to argue with a $75 BlackJack, you know? But to put this another way: those worried that your iPhone will cost you a lot more in service fees than you'd pay otherwise, worry not. You're (obviously) going to pay more for the device itself, but the iPhone plans are totally fair, based on AT&T's current pricing scheme. PS -We're sincerely hoping we didn't fudge any of those numbers, but please let us know if they don't quite add up!
Jun 26th 2007 4:24PM Square, start by looking at the total on the first chart and subtract "Cost /2yr" from "Cost Total." This value is the same as "Price /2yt" (which should be 2 yr). This is the price for a 2 year activation which includes the discounts.
For 3G phones you usually have to get the $40 data package. I know because I got my mother a Treo 680, which is a 2G phone. The Cingular store guy said that for smartphones they usually require the $40 plan, but since the 680 is only 2G they would simply put her on the MM200 plan. This may be one of the reasons why the iPhone only has an EDGE connection. For all who dont know, EDGE can actually get up over 200KB/sec in some cases. My phone is only limited by the speed of the phone, not the speed to the edge connection. I know this because my mothers Treo can browse significantly faster than my D807.
and consequently look for the absolute smallest personal phone they can find. business PC dont even come with mine sweeper) unless Apple can come with some fancy way to integrate it into the corporate culture. As a runner, I would not give up my nano for this phone. As a Verizon customer I would not switch to AT&T (and don't get me wrong, there is no love for Verizon on my part - they just work well. I am sure this product will somehow work, but with a two year contract, the iPhone is no longer just an impulse item. It requires some fiscal-digestion, contracts to expire at the right time, and a desire to purchase. I will be really curious to see what happens over the next month or so...
The $25 Smartphone plan is for Windows Mobile 5 devices without a QWERTY keyboard. The MediaNet plans are for phones that do not fall into the above categories (except for the Blackberries, which have their own plans). The difference is that the MEdiaNet plans use AT&T's web proxy and the others do not. Reps are not supposed to put PDA phones on the cheaper plans, but sometimes they don't care and/or don't check to see what phone you have.
Jun 26th 2007 3:50PM Sorry, not doing pre-paid plans here! This is an apples to apples comparison (no pun intended), wherever possible, and the iPhone isn't pre-paid.
Siegel states that all existing iPhone customers must upgrade to a new two year contract. According to Siegel, the clock starts over regardless of whether the customer is a GoPhone customer, on an existing family plan, or so forth. What remains unclear to me is if you can buy the GoPhone and agree to the 2 year commitment for the data only."
Jun 26th 2007 4:25PM True that, I'd even say you'd want to go with something else than iPhone (what a blasphemy though :) IF you are a corporate type and travel a real lot, but I'm stuck in downtown Philly, which is turning into a hot-spot over the next year or so, so... Still, there's a serious talk, that wi-fi will replace all other wireless networks in the long run. Sure enough that would happen around generation 2 or 3 of given device, but the fact that I had my previous cell for a little longer than 3 years, - I'm looking for something "smart" and with wi-fi as well. And not being all-business and all-corporate, iPhone falls under do-business-and-have-fun category gadget. Comparisons are cool and make you think, but decisions are better be made on what you really need.
Jun 26th 2007 11:29PM Tony - if you are mostly at work and home anyway, then what's wrong with just relying on WiFi in those places? That's where you'll be most often, and then you can either use pay WiFi if you really need speed, or just use the actual phone network in-between or while traveling. At least you almost always have some kind of data network at hand.
Jun 26th 2007 3:54PM You conveniently forgot to add the rebate + discount you get with a 2 yr contract. I got my BB Pearl from t-mobile when it got released - paid 75$ for it after 2 yr contract. And I am paying 20$ for data extra on top of my family plan for BB Pearl.
Jun 27th 2007 8:32AM I like how they removed my comment from yesterday. I guess the author of the article can't handle it when shown that he is wrong. In this case he's not comparing the true cost of purchasing the phone due to the fact that he's only using 1 purchase point (AT&T online) which tends to be more expensive than other purchase points. So, let's try it again, and we'll see if they remove it a second time. While the author did simply rip those prices from AT&T's website (including rebates), he conviently choose to ignore the REAL cost of those phone. Everyone with 1/2 a brain knows that different stores have different prices. Hell, an AT&T store has different prices than they do online. And those prices are different from buying from AT&T on the phone, and are different from upgrading your phone when you are a current AT&T customer. And then there are 3rd party stores which can have massively discounted 2yr contract plans. Maybe these guys need to spend a little more time doing real research before they write another article."
Jun 27th 2007 5:27PM @Square - You got shot down, but they are all incorrect. I have a BB Pearl through T-Mobil and AFTER tax pay 68 dollars/month with 1000 minutes and unlimited data. Take that into account and you're looking at subtracting almost 300 cost from the yearly. Not even close boys, do more research on the available plans. I'll even scan my bill and make it available if need be.
Jun 26th 2007 3:58PM This and wi-fi+multimedia capabilities, numbers are right, but when you think about what you get for your money - iPhone certainly more favorable.
Then to be fair, we should add the cost of a 3G radio to the iPhone, right? DivX, OGG, Flac, whatever oddball format you prefer, and all the normal ones too (MP3, MPG, WMA, WMV) Not to mention these have different interfaces to suit your tastes. so no, that's not something exclusive that makes the iPhone more valuable.
Jun 26th 2007 5:01PM So if one user in a group has a iphone and the other one or two lines have regular phones then it's just $10 each for the other phones right? After seeing the Google maps on this you know they are going to put GPS in on ver.
Jun 27th 2007 9:55PM @steve: Nearly every phone with a data plan can run Google maps, or Windows Live. Yes, it has a mapping feature, but honestly REAL GPS SOFTWARE kicks the snot out of Google Maps. For one thing, the search functionality is next to useless. Try and search for someplace for pizza near your hotel in Chicago. No, Google Ma...
|
http://csua.com/feed/