6 More Reasons From ATT Not to Upgrade to the 3G iPhone
Crunchgear has the details on AT&T's 3G iPhone plans, and it's really full of great reasons not to upgrade. Here are a my six.
- $5 Extra for 200 SMS messages. The rumors were right, so maybe they were not rumors.
- My current plan is Nation 450 Rollover & 5000 Night/Weekend & Unlimited Mobile-To-Mobile Minutes for $59.95. This will increase to $69.95 plust $5.00 for the SMS messages. So I'll have to pay $15.00 more per month, for really bad reception.
- The AT&T Web Site is unusable. It says I can log in and check for my upgrade eligibility, but I can't find it. But this policy really does punish previous iPhone customers, who all paid full price for their first iPhones. I could see limiting upgrades to one per every 2 years, but none of us received a single discount when purchasing our first iPhone.
- If I am not eligible for an upgrade, I have to pay $499 for a new phone. That's more than I paid for my current iPhone. A Palm Centro is $99. I'm sure the Blackberry Bold will be less as well. Update: one of the commenters posted that all current iPhone owners are eligible for an upgrade. Still, I'm leaving this point. That's a lot for a new phone.
- Upgrading will include an $18 upgrade fee. This is another low-class nickle and dime charge, like the SMS messages. These fees are added on so the main rates can seem lower, when they aren't.
- Cheesy marketing writing on the AT&T web site, like this: "So, AT&T retail stores will be open at 8AM local time on the 11th, so be iReady!" iReady? That wasn't even creative in 2002.
Labels: Apple iPhone, ATT
posted by Joe at
9:28 AM
4 Comments:
If you're not eligible to get an iPhone for $199 then you're not going to be eligible to get the Palm Centro or Blackberry Bold for a subsidized price either. THINK IDIOT!
First of all, I love comments like this. So positive. And anonymous, so spineless to boot.
Otherwise the point is almost valid. True, I would not be eligible for an upgrade on a Centro or Blackberry, but the retail price on both would be lower.
all current iPhone customers are upgrade eligible. Every single one. Not that I'm upgrading, though. Too much more money for too little feature improvements.
Hi there, saw your link on scobleizer.
I can understand your concern in thinking that AT&T is imposing some kind of undue hardship on iPhone users but it's simply not true. All their plan + upgrade prices are normal operating procedure for ANY of the smartphone/pda devices they offer. This isn't some elaborate scheme on the part of AT&T to milk iPhone users for every last penny.
Secondly, as another poster stated, your not going to get those subsidized prices for a phone if you're still within contract. Sure, you say it will be less expensive to get a Bold for instance, but are you sure? I have purchased many unsubsidized devices form AT&T in the past and it wasn't uncommon at all for them to be upwards of $500. For instance, I got one of my employees a Tilt and looking at my receipt it was $630. I remember paying over $500 for a treo. Call up a store and ask them for a price on a particular phone saying you dont want it with a contract; and just want to pay and leave. I bet you'll be very surprised at some of those prices. A centro is probably going to run you at least $300 and it's not in the same league as an iPhone 3g for $200 more.
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