New iPhone 3G More Expensive Than the Previous Offering
June 20, 2008
When Steve Jobs took to the stage at WWDC and proclaimed that the iPhone 3G would cost just $199, everyone thought that they were saving $200 in the process.
After all, the current Apple iPhone retails for $399 (assuming that you can still find it in stores). $200 is $200, right? Well, it turns out that this new price point is actually more expensive than the previous offering.
You see, the old iPhone had a minimum monthly service subscription of $60. With that plan, you could get in some data, some minutes, and some text messages. With the pending launch of the second-generation Apple iPhone, AT&T and Cupertino are raising the minimum bar to $70. Over the course of a two-year contract, you’re looking at an extra $240 worth of monthly charges. If you add to that the $199 price of the iPhone 3G, you’re looking at a total cost that is $40 more than the outgoing version.
Further still, it is not possible to purchase the Apple iPhone 3G without latching onto a contract, so it’s not like you can unlock and hop over to a competing carrier either. Apple (and AT&T) smells monopoly, methinks.
Source:
newlaunches.com
The new plan at $70 is assuming the data plan of $30 and the lowest plan of 450 minutes for $40. It is important to remember that the new $30 data plan is only for access to the internet, and does not include the 200 SMS messages which were already built into the original $20/month data plan. If you still want to text, it will run you an additional $5 for 200 messages. So if you plan on having the same feature’s as the original $60/month plan, it will now run you $75, or $15 more per month, which over the course of 24 months will be $360. This means you will actually be paying $120 more, not $40, over the life of the contract. And lets not forget that this is only base price. The addition of $15 per month will also be increasing your monthly taxes, fees, and regulatory charges, so you will actually be paying a little more on that part of your bill as well. Expect a total monthly bill of at least $80 to $85+, depending on where you live. Oh, and if you’re not already an AT&T customer, add the $36 activation fee - and depending on your credit rating, you might also need to fork over a substantial deposit in order to start a contract - usually around $200 or more.
Yes, Mr. Jobs, I’d say your new strategy is definitely worth the applause. Apple and AT&T really know how to give it to the consumers - right in the shorts!
Not true. The 3G I-Phone will be unlocked eventually, if it hasn’t already been, and will only be difficult if new locking mechanisms are in place. I say if it hasn’t been due to the fact that dealers get a hands-on pre-release version of almost every phone, so assuming they got the 3G already, they have probably already unlocked them and are ready to start selling the software.
Next, have you ever been to eBay? Who wrote this artice!? It has never been hard to get an I-Phone without a contract, geez!
To sum it up, the 3G will be unlocked, and you can purchase it out of a contract and switch to T-Mobile or any other GSM network you choose!