Comments on: Dear AT&T: Maybe It’s Time to Get On the iPhone Bandwagon

By: bob

bob — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:15:22 +0000

iPhone 3Gs is nice but I am going to wait until the rate plan drops by $10 as mentioned.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:44:05 +0000

I’m an old dude who doesn’t get out much. My issue is the contract prices and what I can justify. I don’t use many cell phone minutes and I have WiFi in my house where most web use would occur. Given my limited need, it is an expensive toy that is difficult to justify to myself much less my wife.

The senior rate for 200 minutes without rollover isn’t offered. I’d have to buy 450 minutes with rollover. But, even if they offered it the price goes from $39 to $29 for dropping 250 minutes and eliminating roll over. Doesn’t really help much. The price should go down more than $10 and/or with rollover. ATT’s rollover option does seem very nice to me!

On the data side, $30 for unlimited seems a bit more fair. Limited programs should include a fair amount of data. My inclination is that it should be in the GB range. Adding a rollover feature would be a big plus because it could then be used occasionally on vacation or such when away from home.

Everyone knows that text prices are a joke given the small amount of bandwidth used but MMS would probably jack that up a bit. I might buy the 200 messages for $5 but not sure if I’d keep it.

The question from their standpoint is – would I return a profit for them. Business is after all optimal when it is a win – win situation. On a $50 per month rate, I’d return $1,200 in two years and probably cost them little other than billing. Hard to believe that I’d cost them $600 in real $’s other than some load on the network.

I’ve been on Sprint’s network using under a 100 minutes a month and 0 data. My phone is 3.5 years old and see no reason to buy a new one with a new contract. So, they’ve doubled their return on my phone purchase. I’ve been a very good deal for Sprint even though they keep trying to get me locked in again even if it’d cost them money.

How about it ATT, make it easier for me. You might even get my wife’s phone – then we’re talking about minutes.

By: Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:55:53 +0000

“There is an Apple phone coming to Verizon soon.” Soon as in 2012, after LTE?

By: Johnny

Johnny — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:37:09 +0000

Still no Wi-Fi phones on Verizon? Really? Newsflash. There are quite a few Verizon phones with Wi-Fi (e.g. Omnia, Saga, Touch Pro, etc.). In addition, the Storm 2 will have Wi-Fi. That took about two minutes to look up. Try harder next time.

Oh, and there is an Apple phone coming to Verizon soon. Trust me.

By: Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:47:29 +0000

The other thing that hasn’t been said about Verizon is the reason why they turned down the iPhone — their pricing model. Verizon’s phones are awful because Verizon demands control over the interface and the right to control the browser and music downloads so that they can charge separately for them. Even the Blackberry Storm has Verizon’s interface on it. I don’t see how either the Pre or the iPhone will end up on Verizon’s system unless the company changes its pricing model, which seems VERY unlikely!

By: Davy

Davy — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:01:17 +0000

Well said!

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:24:15 +0000

Craig,

“As for MMS and tethering, I’ve heard these are being released in OS 3.0 which is due to be released in the US on June 17.”

Yes, in the iPhone OS. But they’re useless until a carrier supports them. 20-plus carriers worldwide will do so at release, but AT&T is not one of them. AT&T has already stated that MMS will not be available to iPhone users until late Summer, and for tethering they will not even provide a date.

Your other points are fairly noted. AT&T’s slower 2G EDGE, for example, is hampered by the fact that it cannot do voice and data simultaneously, yet Verizon’s 3G suffers that same limitation while AT&T’s 3G does not. I can’t help but think Verizon will hit more snags/growing pains in their LTE rollout than AT&T will.

By: craig

craig — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:07:40 +0000

One more comment: If you live in a market where Alltel and Verizon both serve, then you too will be going through a network merger. Good luck! With this type of merger there will be winners, and there will be losers.

They won’t keep all of the cell sites from both companies. Some have to go. This is the only way to justify the cost of the acquisition in the first place to the shareholders.

By: craig

craig — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:04:42 +0000

Let’s see – where do I start? First off, the complaint over the cost to upgrade is a little off base. If AT&T were to allow you to dump your previous 3G iPhone, then they would be eating the subsidy. I’m amazed they are even giving an out at all. You could just pay the termination fee and upgrade to a new 3GS, but that would probably be more for most consumers.
If I bought a BMW this year, and next year they changed the design, would they let me out of the lease without a fee? They would roll the fee into the new car, but I’d still pay it.

As for MMS and tethering, I’ve heard these are being released in OS 3.0 which is due to be released in the US on June 17. I don’t think AT&T or Apple went on the record as to why these features weren’t available before, but everyone is firmly committed to blaming AT&T. Apple has a very strong hand in the decisions with this phone.

The network. Unfortunately, Verizon has the lead in this category. It isn’t by magic or by money; it is because they have had several years CDMA experience over AT&T. AT&T has nearly 2 years now with the launch of UMTS and they are gaining ground rapidly. AT&T also receive a lot of negative publicity merging the Cingular and AT&T (old) networks. Both of these events are in their rear-view mirror and they are catching up quickly. If you read the techy blogs, you’ll see the UMTS version of CDMA is superior to the EVDO version of CDMA. This is also represented in Verizon’s desire to launch LTE quicker.

Finally, for those of you who want an iPhone and blast AT&T’s customer service, you must be blind-folded. Verizon was offered the iPhone first and turned it down. For that, they turned their back on their customers and for that, I’m an iPhone user and an AT&T customer. I’m not going to sit around and wait for Verizon to get one.

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:26:52 +0000

Kevin,

True enough.

By the way, SMS is why I mentioned the rumored “low rate” plan could save $10-15 a month. It seemed to me $10 less for capped data, and maybe save another $5 by tossing in 200 SMS texts.

As it is, AT&T is being as tight-lipped about their future plans for iPhone as Microsoft is about Windows 7 pricing. The fact that they haven’t made up their minds yet on this stuff just boggles the mind.