iPhone data plans: Cheap or pricey?
How much will your messaging cost?
(Credit: CNET Networks)The announcement today of AT&T's iPhone service plans puts one of the last remaining pieces into the Apple puzzle. The data plans, which range in price from $60 per month to $100 per month depending on the number of anytime calling minutes, are unique to the iPhone and will not apply to other AT&T handsets. The number of night weekend minutes will vary as well, but all plans will include visual voice mail access, unlimited e-mail and mobile Web surfing, free mobile-to-mobile minutes, and 200 text messages. Current AT&T customers can add unlimited iPhone data features to their existing account for $20 per month.
So what does this all mean for iPhone buyers? Are these plans cheap, or are they expensive? It's an important question to ask, particularly since iPhone owners will be shelling out $500 or $600 for the handset alone. And remember that those service plans come with a two-year contract and a $36 activation fee.
On the whole, the iPhone data plans aren't a great deal more expensive, nor are they significantly cheaper than plans options with other carriers. But for some consumers, they might be easier to deal with. For example, AT&T's data plans for its other phones include only the data access; calling minutes are purchased through a separate plan. So if you buy a Samsung BlackJack, you can get a PDA Personal Max plan for $44.99 per month. While that will give you unlimited data access and 1,500 messages, you'll need to purchase a calling plan if you want to talk to someone. At the very least, that means an additional $39 per month for 450 anytime minutes. That's a monthly total of $83.99. Options for BlackBerry devices are about the same; a little more expensive, but not much.
Some of T-Mobile's options wind up being a batter bargain than the iPhone's plans. The T-Mobile Sidekick data plan is a reasonable $29 per month for unlimited data, though a calling plan is extra. The cheapest is $29 per month for 300 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends. Its BlackBerry plans are quite a bit more, but they include some calling time. The BlackBerry Minutes and Mail Ultra is $79 for 1,500 anytime minutes and unlimited data and e-mail, while the BlackBerry Minutes and Mail plan is $59 per month for 1,000 anytime minutes and unlimited data and e-mail. No night and weekend minutes are included, but the plans are pretty comparable just the same.
Verizon Wireless has bundled data and calling plans, which also rank relatively well with the iPhone service. The carrier's Core Choice 450 will give you 450 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, and unlimited data. Or for a bit more, the Extra Choice 1350 plans will give you 1,350 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, and unlimited data for $109 per month.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
Odd how you didn't mention Sprint.. biased?
costs new subscribers $9.99) Media Net (data) plan which is limited (amount of
data transferred). So, I have no problem paying $20 for an unlimited plan with a
phone whose internet features far surpass the Moto Razor I'm currently using.
per phone; txt messages are $5.00 for 250 or $10/500 messages per phone
per month. The phones have bluetooth for the bluetooth earphone, but
verizon doesn't let you directly send your own pictures to your own computer.
The sending picture cost is embedded with the text messages and I find that
feature rather combersome. I used to be able to send my pictures directly via
bluetooth when I was with cingular. I believe if I want modem hookup for your
computer to get on the internet anywhere, it costs even more/month and I
don't know that it is apple friendly. So not counting the kids, our contact for
myself and my husband is about $80 something a month. If two of us can get
the apple phone for 100 per month, it wouldn't be terrible. The extra kids on
our contract cost us about 40/month for two of them. I don't think I would be
helping them out if we got the iphone.
I'm assuming the transfer of funds between Crave and Sprint fell through.
when you add ANY voice service (including the $29 voice plan), the Sidekick
unlimited data plan goes down to $20 per month. So that total monthly bill
would be $49. And a very important other note there: all Sidekick data plans
include UNLIMITED TEXTING which as far as I can tell, is not offered by ANY
OTHER carrier, even T-Mobile's Blackberry service doesn't include unlimited
texting (have to pay extra).
Anyway, the fact that you didn't mention these vital pieces of information for
the T-Mobile Sidekick plans, which I know well, brings into question all the
rest of the rate plans you mentioned. Now I don't trust your entire article, and
my googling of "iPhone plan cheaper" that brought me this article as the top
result, should be put way WAY down in the useful, accurate, search results.
please do better research in the future,
John-Eli
p.s. from what Apple/AT&T have so far announced, to get unlimited data/text
like Sidekick(Danger-hiptop)/T-Mobile offers, you need to spend $80 per
month minimum, while Sidekick's is $50 month minimum -- $30 MORE PER
MONTH, for what amounts to essentially 150 voice minutes per month,
though you can also chose a 1000 minute voice plan with a Sidekick,
bringing the unlimited data/text/voice total to $60 per month, but then you
leap-frog the AT&T 450 minutes in the $80 plan (only talking unlimited text
setups). I really wish iPhone had more texts per month included, or at the
very least an IM program, so it could be nearly as useful as the Sidekick
plans.
The T-mobile $29.99 unlimited data plan for smartphones such as the Windows Mobile based Dash include unlimited Wi-Fi access at all T-mobile hotspots (i.e. all Starbucks, many Borders, etc). The T-mobile blackberry unlimited data plans are $19.99 (with no Wi-Fi).
Sprint and Verizon data plans are EVDO or 3G, so they arguably provide a much better value than the EDGE iPhone plan.
Finally, there's a pretty good reason that other 2G based smart phones don't have a full featured web browser. You don't want to browse full websites at EDGE speeds! It's painfully slow, to the point of being useless if you want to check something quickly!
Just thought I'd mention that... I'm really starting to think that if the iPhone was the winPhone everyone would be complaining about the misinformation around the 2G vs Wi-Fi while everyone seems to be glossing over this important info now.
These errors are pretty bad. Crave always was the sweaty dark armpit of cnet though.
TOUGH LUCK, APPLE SUCKS
APPLE-H8R
**EMAIL ME AT: APPLEH8R@YAHOO.COM TO LEAVE ME FEEDBACK. I WILL ALWAYS RESPOND--GOOD OR BAD.
- $500 and No 3G? What a joke!
- by shredderc June 28, 2007 9:31 PM PDT
- If these posters are correct, and the iphone only has EDGE capability, I am flabbergasted. Why on Earth would anyone be interested in browsing via the painfully slow EDGE? Well, I suppose one could listen to a couple of songs or make some phone calls (I think that's possible) while waiting for a page to load. I agree with the poster who said full web pages and EDGE don't mix. I bought a Blackjack a few weeks ago because it's a pocketable smartphone using a widespread platform (my previous phone used Symbian), uses the HSPDA (so-called 3.5G) network, and has a DEDICATED KEYBOARD. Gravy for me is that it's Rhapsody-compatible. (Rhapsody is a subscription music store).
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(11 Comments)But I'm not selling my Apple stock just yet. They have some things they are working on, and they have the best marketing.