Jason Unger

iPhone Mixed Family Plan Pricing Revealed

Posted by junger - 07/01/08 at 02:07:24 pm

Got a first-gen iPhone you want to mix with a new, 3G unit in an AT&T family plan?

Here's how it's going to be priced, according to an AT&T CSR I spoke to today (this is assuming you go with the lowest, 450/700 minute plan):

- The phones share a voice plan ($69.99 for 2 units)
- The 3G model pays a monthly $30 data fee
- The EDGE model pays its normal $20 data fee
- The EDGE model still gets its 200 text messages built in
- The 3G model can add text messages at the indidividual rate ($5/month for 200, $15 for 1500, $20 for unlimited)

Total that up — for a 2 person family with one 3G iPhone and one EDGE iPhone, both at the lowest plan:

$69.99 (voice)
$30 (3G data)
$20 (2G data)
$5 (200 text messages for 3G)
=
$124.99

Presumably, you will pay the data rate for each additional iPhone added and $9.99 more for voice, so another EDGE phone would be $29.99 more and another 3G phone would be $39.99 more.

Compare that to the 2 line, 3G-only FamilyTalk plan.

At first, it seems reasonable — but consider that two individual plans would cost you only $10 more and you'd get 200 more voice minutes.

When I spoke to the CSR today, she had to go to a higher-up to find out this info — so hopefully AT&T gets their act together and distributes it to store reps soon.

Now that Debbie has an iPhone, this is most likely the route we're going (especially since she gets to keep her text messages).

iPhone 3G: What you need to know (AT&T)

3G iPhone News Galore

Posted by junger - 03/28/08 at 12:03:33 pm

Everyone's got news about the 3G iPhone today — here's the quick rundown.

3G iPhone launch seen in 2nd quarter

Apple (AAPL.O) is expected to launch a high-speed wireless version of iPhone in the second quarter and to produce as many as 8 million of the devices in the third quarter, according to Bank of America.

Gartner Clarifies 3G iPhone Reports

Technology research firm Gartner on Thursday tried to clear up reports that it had said Apple might be buying 10 million iPhones capable of connecting to much faster data networks.

The iPod Observer reported this week that Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said Apple may have ordered 10 million iPhones that support 3G networks, based on rumors in Asia. That report later got circulated on the Web, where the comments were misinterpreted as a Gartner prediction, said Bob Hafner, Dulaney's boss.

Gartner doesn't know whether Apple has actually placed an order for 3G iPhones, but the researcher does believe the next version of the touch-screen smartphone will have those high-speed capabilities. "If Apple was to place an order, then 10 million would be a reasonable number," Hafner said. "And we absolutely believe that in the next-generation iPhone, 3G will be there."

Apple picks trusted supplier to assemble 3G iPhone

It should be no surprise that Apple has turned to Foxconn, the trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industries, to build the next generation iPhone.

China’s Commercial Times reported early Friday that Foxconn was competing for the business, and the Dow Jones newswire, citing “a person familiar with the situation,” now reports that Apple (AAPL) has awarded the Taiwan-based firm the exclusive contract.

As long as it doesn't look like this stupid clamshell mockup, I'm psyched.

We Got An iPhone: w00t

Posted by junger - 03/26/08 at 10:03:23 am

I've been wanting to post about this for awhile, but now I actually can: Debbie got an iPhone for her birthday on Tuesday.

Last week when I was in Boston, AT&T starting selling refurb 8GB iPhones online … for $249.

Her cellphone contract with Sprint is up, but we had pretty much decided to wait until the 3G version came out (in June, so says Kevin Rose). But at $350 less than when it first came out … it was a no-brainer.

So now, she has an iPhone. It's sweet, obviously.

As she was playing around with it, she commented on how the novelty of it won't wear off. She's absolutely right, but it's not the novelty … it's the practicality. We always find ourselves wanting to find directions or stores or a piece of info when we're on the road; now, we can.

The Wii is a novel gadget — fun to play, but gets old after awhile. Using the iPhone won't. (Plus, she can check facebook from anywhere.)

We're heading out to California for a week-long vacation in May, and having fingertip access to the Internet while on the road is going to be huge. That alone is worth the investment.

Since it looks like AT&T is no longer selling the units online, I'd say it was a pretty sweet deal. If we decide to upgrade her to 3G in the future, we'll figure it out then … but I'm just trying to find a way to get out of my Sprint contract (one year left … anyone?) without paying up the wazoo.

PS – with the new SDK, it would be HUGE to have a Vonage app for the iPhone. That way we could make calls using our home number on the iPhone — it wouldn't waste minutes and be a great option if AT&T service is as bad as Sprint's in our place (we don't get any Sprint reception). VoIP is coming — Vonage, please get in on it.

iPhone 2.0 Coming: 3G, But What Else?

Posted by junger - 02/28/08 at 01:02:49 pm

The 3G iPhone everyone is looking forward to is reportedly coming by mid-year, according to German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG, which says it is making the chips for the phone.

3G iPhone To Include Infineon Chip, Launch By Mid-Year: UBS:

UBS also believes that 3G-enabled iPhones will be released by mid-year, and that the current EDGE iPhone platform is being ramped down earlier than expected to "clean" inventories.

This is the news I've been waiting for. I want to buy an iPhone, but based on your recommendations, I'm waiting until the second-gen launches (and 1.5 didn't cut it).

So, beyond 3G, what other new features will the phone have? Probably "business"-related things, like Exchange support, and hopefully some of the things I need to switch.

It's an exciting day. Hopefully they will announce more at the SDK event next week, but I'm not holding my breath.

You know Apple.