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PC World
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As with the original iPhone, you’ll have to sign up for a 2-year contract in order to grab an iPhone. The iPhone 3G will have slightly higher data plan prices than the original model: individual users will now pay US$30/month for unlimited data, and business users will have to fork over $45/month.
But there are also a pair of interesting behind-the-scenes developments in the Apple/AT&T relationship. According to the wireless provider’s press release, the two companies have ditched their revenue sharing arrangement: no longer will Apple get a cut of the monthly subscription fee that customers pay to AT&T.
To translate for us mere mortals: they’re artificially lowering the cost of the iPhone so they can sell more, and hence make up for the difference in cost. This does raise some questions, however: for example, it suggests that the price is subsidized in all 70 countries in which the iPhone is going to be on sale, since Steve Jobs said that the price would be a “maximum of $199” globally.
So, is it too good to be true?
iPhone 3G users will also have to pay for messaging separately. It’s not rolled into that $10 price jump for data. It’s in addition to it.
Who cares about the pricing – What the heck are you thinking embedding a 2321×2901 image in the article? Yikes!
[Fixed. – ed.]
iPhone 3G users will also have to pay for messaging separately. It’s not rolled into that $10 price jump for data. It’s in addition to it. The original plan included 200 text messages/month.
So will the 8g iPod Touch still be $299? It will be interesting to see what the price of the Touch will be after July 11th.
yeah it seems shady to me. Especially when you add up that extra 10 bucks per month for the faster data.
Sure it’s higher speed, but the Edge network was basically unuseable, so I’m not sure if it really warrants a price hike.
but yeah, if you add it up you are paying at least $240 more over the 2 year contract, and they’ve only lowered the price $100 from where the 2G iphone sat.
Noticed this “review” in passing yesterday. One of the dullest bits of “what-if” and “what-for” crap I’ve seen in a while.
I guess Moren [Moran?] got his word count satisfied and that was good enough for his editor.
What is the logic of this???
400$ iPhone + ATT revenues < 200$ iPhone + no revenues??????????
It would be nice if I could ditch the cable modem at home, link the phone to the home network and use the phone as a Wireless access point.
As is, you will be spending $400/year for iPhone internet access + $500/year for cable internet, for $900/year just to use have ‘universal’ internet access. Add $60/month for cable TV, and $60/month for a ‘real’ phone wireless account, $240/year for Netflix, $??? for iTunes store stuff, and your “connectivity and entertainment package” adds up to about $2500/year.
This stuff adds up quick!
If you figure the cost of everything including the Phone, Voice, and Data plan, using the full extent of the 3G Phone (45$/month 3G Plan), Add up to ~$2,200 while the original iPhone is ~$2,000 if you bought it immediately for $600. Both figures are given that you wait out the entire 2 year contract.
“Reality Distortion Field” + Internet Throttling ??? No thanks !!!
These cable companies that want to meter traffic are going to get burned. An enterprising Wi-Max start-up will offer all you can eat bandwidth and the fixed wired companies will choke on a big one. Cable companies are just like to oil companies – get as much money as you can now because our days are numbered.
I’m waiting for the Microsoft VistaPhone. I’ll have free calling as long as I accept 100,000 ads per day.
11: What exactly are you referencing? What’s this about Microsoft Vista and Advertisements?
#7 you can already do that with various Windows Mobile phones. Nokia N95 does that as well. You can make it become a Wireless AP any where anytime you have phone signal.
“So, is it too good to be true?”
FFS… IT”S JUST A PHONE. And not a particularly good one at that. Of all the people that I know, that own them, easily HALF of them hate their iPhones.
Give them 4-5 generations before they improve to the level of being a good phone. In the meantime I’ll stick with my Treo.
As I see it, Apple has finally delivered the iPhone that they announced a year ago. The phone they’ve been shipping up until now was obviously the beta version.
Now they’ve got 3G working, they’ve finished the real SDK. And they’ve worked out agreements with service providers so they are selling it like any other cell phone: you get a cheap ($199 is cheap?) phone linked to a 3-year contract.
i’ll stick with my i{pod touch. I get all the laptop replacement / look at me i’m all hi tech without having to pay for At&T malarkey. Thanks Philly Free Wifi
ANY cell phone sold on Seul/Tokyo is better than the iPhone. Why? Because everything within the iPhone is old news in S. Korea and Japan.
I have a basic Samsung cell phone that I use to make phone calls. I don’t play games on it, and I especially don’t text message on it.
I don’t need any of the bells and whistles Apple added to the iPhones. Why would I buy an expensive new phone (and change service to a carrier that has bad service, from previous experience), when the phone doesn’t offer any useful features?
I don’t know about $199 max globally, here in the UK the price, if you go for the lowest tariffs is £99 for the 8GB model, (£159 for the 16GB), so I guess that’s close.
On the lowest tariff, (£30 p/m) you don’t get many minutes (75) or text (125) and while that does include unlimited data that needs to be qualified so check the terms and conditions.
Also it looks from my quick glance that leave your home turf and roam and data becomes very expensive (£3 / MB in the EU and £6 / MB outside the EU). If you go on holiday, leave the iPhone at home.
Good Grief…
Ozzies get ripped off again!
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/06/exclusive_optus_iphone_pricing_details.html
99AUD and it’s not even unlimited.
No Iphone for me 🙁
Maple in Oz