Cult of Mac: Apple News, Reviews and How Tos

53 comments

Now more than ever, Apple needs to expedite adding a 2nd or 3rd USA carrier. Hopefully by the end of the year… wishful thinking?

JamesR, on June 2nd, 2010 at 6:54 am

Engadget reported that this also included a 200MB for $15 tier, and that at the 2GB/$25 tier, overages would be $10/1 GB, and that they’d allow free shifting between the plans, including retroactively switching to the 2GB tier, with notifcations when you get close to a cap . . . similarly to how iPad plans work.

I reviewed my usage for the last 6 months — without making any effort at all to limit my usage, I was only over 200MB on my iPhone 2 out of the last 6 months. Some of that has to do with being around a good bit of WiFi, of course.

If this works the way Engadget suggests, then I will *save* $70 over the next six months (2 months at $25, the other 4 at $15, rather than all 6 at $30). While “unlimited” is great to have in theory, I rarely get near it, and I’d rather have some differentiated price points and non-insane overage policies.

So while data is still hideously overpriced as a whole (actually, text messaging is the worst offender here), this actually looks like a net positive to me; it moves away from any iPhone user simply automatically handing AT&T a $30 premium every month, and it may move us closer to actual competition on price between carriers for data.

Sam, on June 2nd, 2010 at 7:03 am

Sam, that is actually a very good point: AT&T, at least, made the overage charges here sane, which may well be an industry first.

John Brownlee, on June 2nd, 2010 at 7:06 am

I think this is great! I rarely use more than 1GB. As far as I see it, the current unlimited plan results in me subsidizing the very few extreme users (call them “internet hogs”). Now I get a $5/mo price cut. And the internet hogs will have to necessarily reduce their usage–which means a faster AT&T network for me. This is a big win for the 98% of users that never get close to the 2GB cap.

Stan, on June 2nd, 2010 at 7:09 am

Actually, I don’t mind either. I rarely go over 200MB per month, due to the fact that WiFi is ubiquitous. Why should I pay for heavy users? They should pay more since they take much of the traffic.

Thao, on June 2nd, 2010 at 7:15 am

i think the heavy users are of course going to cry about this. imo, i like it. i am a light ota data user (mostly use wifi), so i am sick of getting railed for $30 per mo.
i’m with verizon, so i hope vzw offers a couple data tiers in the future. $30 per mo for light data users is not good; it keeps a lot of people away from smartphones.
savvy users who know how to curb their ota data are probably happy with a “lower” tier.

rick, on June 2nd, 2010 at 7:45 am

VZW actually charges $30.00 a month for tethering, & it’s 5GB, not unlimited. It’s $15 for same amount if you have the $44.99 PDA package.

I think this move by ATT sucks, especially for iPad, but I won’t be surprised when I see others cell co’s do something similiar.

Jeff G, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:08 am

Jeff, can you source? I looked at Verizon’s own page, which is linked above, and it says $10 right now for 5GB of data tethering when attached to a $29.99 unlimited plan.

John Brownlee, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:11 am

Assuming Lord Jobs will fail to untie the iPhone from AT&T and allow it to be used on multiple carriers, this outrageous ripoff plan from AT&T is in fact the iPhone killer and I will not be buying any new iPhone that’s tied to this limited data fail plan.

Assuming Verizon and Sprint don’t follow suit and retain their unlimited data plans, they and Android platforms are in for a huge bonanza, and all the expense of Apple & iPhone. I’m thrilled now that I didn’t buy into the iPad 3G and one can easily imagine a stampede of people returning their shiny iPad 3Gs.

MarkByrn, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:12 am

Just looked at my data usage for the last few months and like the rest of you and I barely have over 200 MB in any given month. So, at first glance, I thought what’s the big deal if they cap it at 2GB since I’ve not even come close. Then, I remembered that this is not a fair comparison because I do not have the 4.0 firmware yet which will allow me to have background apps running (i.e. Pandora in my car). I may not still go over the 2 GB but I can’t make any inferences based on past usage. That being said I guess the plan is to keep my unlimited plan for a few months after the new firmware and then make a decision. Food for thought.

Jeff, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:13 am

By the way fanboys, stop spinning this ripoff as something good. The people who just purchased the iPad 3Gs with the unlimited data plan are now finding out that Jobs & AT&T have essentially lied through their teeth. Mass returns, class action lawsuits, FTC, hello?

MarkByrn, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:21 am

Put me down as one of the “network hogs.” I just looked and I stay in the 2.1-2.8GB/month usage. Once topped 3.2GB. Of course, this is because I have no wi-fi access anywhere near where I work. And yes, I tether through a jailbreak mod, but this simply shows how much I will use once I sign up for the tethering plan.

OK, charge $25 for 2GB/month, but once I opt to pay another $20 for tethering, my cap should go up to at least 5GB (which is the current “unspoken / fine print” amount on the unlimited plan).

As for the 3G iPad purchasers are concerned, this sucks!! This is AT&T screwing them over. They have had their iPads for a month or so and now this change? Apple needs to step in and put pressure on AT&T for this. Simply ridiculous. Of course, I am one that thinks iPad 3G owners who are already paying for an iPhone plan should be able to share the plan if not just be able to pay $5-10 more for the equivalent of adding a line to a current plan.

j.metts, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:51 am

This is exactly why I never changed to AT&T!!!!At least they godfathered those in that were on their plan. I bet they will make them change when there contract is up. I was on a plan that Sprint did not offer for some time and never increased my charges until I wanted to upgrade it. That is real service. I agree to a price and I pay it. I really would like an iPhone but AT&T and other digital providers keep yanking their customers and the best way to get back at them is not deal with them.

Jonny B, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:52 am

I like this. I will be switching to the new $15 plan and may even get an iPhone for my wife.

Don Pope, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:59 am

for those that dont like it, surely you could just unlock your iphone to work on the verizon network?

Ben, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:09 am

Perhaps AT&T is tightening its rules because they know the iPhone is going to other carriers soon?

jr, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:13 am

att has no morals,furthermore are Liars and thieves.
how can they do this to 3g owners?
i have egde and ive been paying for 3g for a year,gee
i hate att.

bubbakush, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:21 am

That’s why I use T Mobile that allows up to 10GB before buffering you 50kbps after that.

ATT customers, better wander off to T Mob, its a lot better deal. And if you have an unlocked phone, it will work on T Mob

JustMeHere, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:35 am

I’m actually happy with it. My wife doesn’t come close to 200mb, so that cuts her data plan by $15. I checked my usage and only really come close to 2GB once in the year and a half I’ve had my phone. So, we’ll save $20/mo.

Jay, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:37 am

Take a chill pill dude. For 98% of users this is a $5 drop in the price as very few use over 2GB/month in fact most iPhone users use only 400MB/month. (for a third of user its a 50% price break) And my God! there not gouging you on overages!! $25 for 2GB and then $10/GB …THERE CHARGING LESS FOR OVERAGES THEN PLAN DATA that makes AT&T the most consumer friendly data plan on the planet!

Tethering plan sucks though. Maybe if you got an extra 2GB with it but $20 for something that costs AT&T nothing?

TRRosen, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:49 am

Great news!!! AT&T just announced that current customers can keep the unlimited data plan even if they are getting the next iPhone. http://www.macdaddynews.com/?p=3750

Kim, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:51 am

If I had this plan when I got my wife an iPhone last summer, we would have saved $225 over the year. Just sayin’.

Jim, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:53 am

@Sam; No offense, but you’re not saving anything if you are being forced to pay these premiums to begin with.

Alex, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 am

I’d like the share some comments I posted on another site. Just to make you think about what AT&T is doing here. Have no doubt, they are not saving you any money and you’re a fool if you think so.

This is outrageous. AT&T isn’t doing this to free up bandwidth. If 65 percent of smartphone users use less than 200MB a month, then there really aren’t bandwidth issues, are there? And why is it they aren’t bumping users up to DataPro (2GB) if they exceed their 200mb a month (an additional $10) and instead bill them an additional $15 for another 200mb?

This is all about money and AT&T is using bandwidth as an excuse to screw over customers again. Users currently don’t use over 200mb a month because they don’t have features capable of taking advantage of it, but that is changing and AT&T knows it (video apps that stream data over 3G, voip apps that work over 3G).

AT&T is a crooked, crooked company. Take for example how they got out of their golden price control plans they had with customers in the 90′s that had lifetime contracts. To get out of it, they sold off their wireless network to another company, that company stated the plans were ending and customers would be rolled over onto new plans, then AT&T buys the network back. They were losing millions on those contracts and they found their loophole around it.

Why am I paying so much money for an internet plan that costs more than my cable or dsl plan at home? Europeans don’t have these same caps and have decent price plans.

I am completely fed up with these price gouging practices and am voicing my opinion and I feel other AT&T customers should as well. We are being taken advantage of and told lies to justify their practice when other companies can handle the same issues fluidly.

And I want to add the fact that these data plans are MANDATORY! If they were optional, like EVERY other phone AT&T sells, it wouldn’t be AS large an issue, but it is because if I am being forced to shell out this money against my will for the very fact that I have an iPhone and iPhone alone, then I demand the most out of the money I spend and the fact is, $15 for 200MB compared to $25 for TWO GIGABYTES of data do not make sense. 200MB should cost $2.50 not $15. I am paying $0.07 cents per MB on the lowest plan compared to $0.01 cent per MB on the DataPro plan. This is price gouging. Any arguments that the lowest plan works for most is blown out of the water when you consider what you are paying and that you are FORCED to pay it for the privilege of having this phone. It’s outrageous and people should be upset. This is how customer satisfaction works.

On unlimited, there was a 5GB cap. There should be a class action lawsuit against AT&T for false advertising. They could simply rename their plan to DataPro Classic or something. I am just fed up with the fact that I am forced to pay their data plans. They are giving users options on paying less, but they are still making them pay up.

What if I only use wifi all the time? Why have a data plan then? I know people who receive phone calls, decline them, pull over at an open wifi location (panera for example or whatever other thousands of stores that offer free wifi) and call that person on a voip to save on their already outrageous phone bills.

Here is an example of the nonsense that happened to me. I had my iPhone stolen. I filed a police report. AT&T offered no insurance so I was screwed. I call them up and tell them what happened, they said I am not up for an upgrade yet so I would have to pay full price to replace my 32GB iPhone. I about near had a heart attack. I couldn’t afford that at the moment, but my upgrade was up in a few weeks so I decided I would wait it out and manage with skype on my laptop until then. I didn’t want to have to pay my phone bill under the circumstances, but I was still on a contract so I had no choice. Now they offer users the option to temporarily turn off their phone lines and pay $10 a month to keep the plan active, but not terminated. BUT, now here’s the kicker, if you have an iPhone you still have to pay the additional $30 a month for the data plan. So it would cost $40 a month instead of $10 like every other phone they carry, to do this. I flipped. Why should I have to pay the data when I have no phone because it was stolen and would not be using minutes or data? It’s crazy! They would not allow me to do otherwise so again, I was forced to pay their iPhone tax.

I hope their all their corporate buildings burn down because some disgruntled employee gets screwed over for the last time by them like in Office Space (an of course no one gets hurt, well maybe the ones who decided on these actions get some heat exhaustion).

After speaking with 4 supervisors and managers, none would come down or credit me the difference. I believe my circumstances were more than reasonable and especially after having been a customer with no previous issues for almost a decade.

Alex, on June 2nd, 2010 at 10:07 am

With current overage rates, an extra 2GB would cost you over $200. The fact that they’ll only charge you an extra $25 is actually a better deal if you’re a data hog. And realistically, only a very small percentage of users will even come close to the 2GB cap.

David Fowles, on June 2nd, 2010 at 10:11 am

I work for AT&T. I really dont see a problem with the price points. Now i think the whole 2% of users use more then 2G is a bit off. I think its more like 5% but it still not many who will be effected. And they arent calling it “unlimited” like some companies do.

Now for Ipad 3G owners. I do feel for them. It sucks they bought a product and a month after having it find out no more unlimited plans. They bought the product and were sold on it becuase of the plans. I think AT&T needs to give a different data plan tiers for Ipad users. At least keep the Ipad plans as they are.

I know some peoeple are saying Apple knew about this but i wonder if they really did. Or, is Steve just as surprised as we are about the new plan pricing. I’d like to know Apple’s reply to this.

los318, on June 2nd, 2010 at 10:22 am

90% of AT&T smartphone customers use less the 200mb every month so if anything they’re saving the bulk of there customers a good amount of money. For you other 10% looks like you won’t get your 5gb max but you’ll save 5 bucks a month. Look it up before you complain

Charles, on June 2nd, 2010 at 10:26 am

We’re a 4 iPhone family. I just checked average data usage for all 4 lines for the last 6 months:

iPhone #1: 76MB
iPhone #2: 125.6MB
iPhone #3: 109.8MB
iPhone #4: 122.3MB

Looks like we’ll be saving $60 per month ($15 x 4 lines) from now on.

yargo, on June 2nd, 2010 at 10:28 am

Congrats yargo I’m only gonna be saving $30 on two of my phones and i’m pretty satisfied with 2gb a month on my phone .

Charles, on June 2nd, 2010 at 10:31 am

I’m betting that most iPad users will benefit from this as well. Even though iPads will be used more for video and audio content I think they will be used near WiFi more often the iPhones as the iPad is a sit on the couch at home or in a comfy chair at the coffee shop kind of device. Lets face it if your not watching Movies 2GBs is a lot of data.

TRRosen, on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:03 am

…I’m betting that most iPad users will benefit from this as well…

Yeah, maybe if it’s a iPad without 3G. You can use the iPad with WiFi only for free at most any place these days including Starbucks, Panera, McDonalds, etc. So tell me again how the iPad 3G going from unlimited to 2GB is a great deal?

MarkByrn, on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:13 am

Checked my usage. I’ll save $15 a month. I do spend a lot of time on WiFi but use 3G data whenever I want. I bristled a bit in the past listening to AT&T whine about data hogs. It looks like maybe they had a point. I’ll take the savings, thanks.

JPPeterson, on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 am

$25 for 5GB would’ve been a better choice if ATT cared to be competitive w/ other providers. They know they have a lock on the iPhone (for now), so they kind of have folks bent over… For my usage, I’m not too concerned about the $25 for 2GB part though.

The part where we really get screwed and really doesn’t make sense is that if you’re on the $25 for 2GB plan, you can get more data for $10 for 1GB… But if you’re on the $15 for 200MB plan, it costs you another $15 for 200MB if you go over??? Let’s see… $10 for 1GB or $15 for 200MB… Hmm… Um, HELLO??? How about $15 for 200MB then $10 — even $15 — to bump people up to the 2GB plan if they go over ($15 to impose a slight penalty for not just taking the 2GB plan to begin with — pretty standard practice)… Nah, that would actually make sense!

Stefan, on June 2nd, 2010 at 12:24 pm

I guess I’m in the minority. I switched from Verizon to the iPhone/AT&T back in 2007. VZW was awful where I lived; dropped calls, *maybe* one bar of signal. With the iPhone/AT&T, I’ve gone almost 3 years now with 5 full bars at home, and at least 3 at work. In my area of the country, 3G coverage is excellent.

Sure I drop calls, but not too many more than I did with VZW. No big deal. I think a good amount of people who complain about AT&T live in either ‘Frisco or New York, or in an area without AT&T 3G service. Where I live, AT&T is FAST and rather reliable.

I’m “one of those guys” that had to jailbreak and unlock my original iPhone so my wife could use it. She has NO USE for data ANYWHERE. Wherever she goes there’s wifi; family’s homes, the store, Panera at the Mall, McDonald’s, etc. Now, with these new plans, I’m seriously considering going “legit.” Jailbreaking/unlocking is “easy,” never a problem for me; I don’t run hacked apps or anything…but it’s just a hassle. It might be worth $15 per month for me to have her go “legit.”

I don’t own an iPad with no plans to get one, so I feel sorry for those folks. But for me & my family, AT&T has been great for us with a Family Talk Plan & the coverage is great. I am NOT an AT&T employee, I just get puzzled by all the complaints with their service…as it’s great for me & most people I know.

*ALL* mobile carriers in the U.S. are dirty, disgusting, and evil. They all overcharge, under-deliver, and disappoint. We all need a phone, so it’s just a decision as to which evil entity we’re going to pay. I certainly can’t do the $15 per month plan, as I use anywhere from 363MB to 868MB per month. Maybe I’d save $5 per month, but am leaning toward staying with the grandfathered-unlimited plan. I can think of 4 times in 3 years that I wish I had tethering, so I have no use for that option.

MacPhisto, on June 2nd, 2010 at 12:46 pm

You would have thought that Apple would have had some agreement with AT&T that would prevent them from changing the iPad data package. 3G IPAd is only out a few months and, once again, Apple’s early adopters get screwed.

HD, on June 2nd, 2010 at 12:49 pm

Apparently AT&T hasn’t updated their site or policies yet or someone forgot to do their research because they are still offering the unlimited data plans with their Iphones and other devices for 30 dollars a month.

Jac, on June 2nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm

This is a travesty and I would be outraged!! Luckily I’m with Verizon now and don’t have to deal with the issues with dropped calls and now….capped data. I have an Incredible….its a million times better than the iPhone and I generally use 3-4GB per month and not even tethering (thats multi-tasking…using Slacker Radio while using my Google Maps for GPS on 3G on a 8 hour trip through the south for example). Good luck fellas….my recommendations is to leave AT&T and the iPhone and get better service, no data caps, 3G all over the place and better phone at big red.

Drizzle, on June 2nd, 2010 at 2:54 pm

Well, this is it for me. I use my phone so much and am sick of never having service where others do. I couldnt use my iphone 3G for my entire Vacation and some guy with a Verizon Droid was cooking on 3G and doing a ton of stuff my iPhone cannot do. Google obviously is a company to reckon with and they are growing leaps and bounds over the iPhone. This AT&T garbage plan change is what has finally pushed me over the edge. I have been stuck in the Apple Fanboy cloud for far too long. There are much better phones and much better networks. Suprisingly, just because it has an Apple on it doesnt make it the best, it just makes it the most expensive. Cant get to the Verizon store fast enough. Thank you VZW and Google for making me finally realize the iPhone with AT&T has been dethroned.

BigJosh, on June 2nd, 2010 at 3:04 pm

I live on a fixed income and can find wifi everywhere. This will possibly save me $180 a year. That’s a months rent for me! This is a very nice option. BUT I do hope Apple branches out to other carriers ASAP. ATT is taking away the luster of the iPhone.

Gabriel, on June 2nd, 2010 at 3:44 pm

I’m in Canada and I have 6GB/month for $30 and free tethering for a year already on Fido (Rogers). The flipside is no Netflix, Hulu, or Pandora. Considering Canadians don’t have access to these services, it makes sense that the networks here can be generous with their data options.

NewJohnny, on June 2nd, 2010 at 6:59 pm

I just purchased a 64 gig 3G iPad. If I had known that ATT was going to pull this shit I would have just purchased the WiFi version and saved myself the time and hassle. I have had ATT for 10+ years and HATE THEM but I love my iDevices.

Jim, on June 2nd, 2010 at 8:52 pm

Like many others, these new plans will save our family of 5 upwards of $60 per month. I love the $15 option.

Kevin Hoctor, on June 2nd, 2010 at 9:29 pm

Boom pop presto chango neato mosquito…the Flyers WIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ohhhhh yeeeaaahhhhhhhh

iPad sucks balls, on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:11 pm

I can understand where they’re coming in regards to the iPhone. 2 GB is quite a bit of data per month for a tiny device. So far as the iPad goes, AT&T can bite me. The iPad has been built and marketed as a media consuming machine. The fact that there are both WiFi and WiFi + 3G versions of each size indicates that the cellular connection is not intended as some sort of backup connection to be relied on in remote circumstances. It’s there to be used.

I use my iPad at home and at work. For some reason that eludes me our office doesn’t have any sort of wifi. If AT&T are going to start dinging me because of how many PDFs and Excel documents I have to route through my iDisk, maybe Apple can finally un-cripple the bluetooth connectivity and let me transfer files like we aren’t still in the 90s.

Mike Reed, on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:49 pm

All these “woohoo ATT is screwing us but I don’t care because I use less than 200mg/month” are full of it! Why did you even bother to spend the money on an Iphone if you are NOT going to use it to its capabilities? I use 7g/month because I have to use my phone for a lot of internet. ATT refuses to run ANY land service for internet where I am and “V” and Insight cable refuse to upgrade the lines to digital. I live in the burbs of the 15th largest city in the US. Perhaps if you all went to a regular phone that would free up more bandwidth for the rest of us who actually USE our Iphones!

HDBiker, on June 3rd, 2010 at 5:39 am

Yes, I am finally considering switching from my beloved iPhone to an Android. I’m in NYC and the service is awful. This just pushes me over the edge really…

Darren, on June 3rd, 2010 at 10:14 am

The douche bag that wrote this article is disseminating incorrect information. I know first hand that contract renewers will be allowed to keep their unlimited data plans. And I also know first hand that MOST iPhone users do not exceed 2GB each month. It’s surprising yes but believe it. Since most of you don’t exceed 2GB, why complain when you will be saving $5/month. And I am sorry to tell everyone but Verizon getting the iPhone won’t solve any problems. For all you who are able to surf the web and be on a call simultaneausly, say goodbye to that if Verizon gets the iPhone (which will be NEVER). Hands down ATT is the nation’s leading cell phone and smartphone provider.

Vane26, on June 3rd, 2010 at 5:50 pm

The plans themselves aren’t horrible, they would be a lot better with a middle tier though. When I had my iPhone and with my Droid I never went over 1.5GB, and I use it really heavily, especially at work. So I think people freaking out about there being a limit need to chill out a little bit.

200MB should be like $10. Really, if you only use 200MB of data you either have a ridiculous amount of Wi-Fi available, or don’t use your phone very much.

There should be a 1-2GB tier for $15-20. This is probably the sweet spot, and I think people should really be saving more than $5 if they use it.

And then a 4-5GB plan for $35. This would be for the really heavy users.

The real ripoff is the tethering charge. Not only do they end “unlimited” data but then charge a totally random $20 for literally nothing. They don’t add any additional data limits, at&t doesn’t have to do anything to activate tethering, there is no real reason to charge extra. Well, there is one, but it isn’t a good reason. They know that people usually get no where near their data limits. And they know if people tether they will. So they want to charge you extra for actually using the data you’re paying for. That is some BS right there, and I hope at&t gets rid of it.

D.J., on June 7th, 2010 at 12:57 am

For ppl who don’t go anywhere near 2 gigs per month, I would like to remind you that as phones become faster and faster in terms of their connection speeds, files will only become bigger and bigger. You may only use 100-200 megs per month now, but a year from now that could easily be dramatically increased. A couple of years ago 100-200 megs per month would have seemed overkill. 2 gigs seems like overkill now, but it won’t be in just a short while.

Jason, on June 10th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

http://www.cellularmaps.com/3g_compare.shtml

That link shows ATT 3g expansion for 2010, is lightyears behind Verizon!!

Btw, my first computer, which i bought 14 yrs ago, had an enormous 4gb hard drive (LOL). My last vacation, I had a 4gb sd card, that was full befoe the trip was over; meaning, I had to trek to Wal-Mart, and choose between buying a larger card or uploading the pics! The point is, as our devices become more sophisticated, they consume more data! iOS4 is allowing for some much needed upgrades on the idevices, which means they need more digital resources!

Apple needs to add the cdma radio chipset with the GSM to the iDevices, like Blackberry does, and quit being anal retentive control freaks!! ATT isnt serving their best interest!!

Dee, on June 12th, 2010 at 10:48 pm

Apple is not going to build an iPhone that supports all the US carriers anytime soon.

Like virtually all other handset owners iPhone users are out of luck with their choice of high speed data carriers. T-mobile and At&T 3g signal at different frequencies, and are not compatible.

iPhone supports AT&T’s 3g data network only. You can take your unlocked iPhone 3g and GSM+Edge with T-Mobile, but you’re not going to be doing anything that requires high speed internet. Definitely not FaceTime.

Verizon is out of the question for current iPhone owners.

The only handset I know of that supports two 3G networks in the USA is the Nokia N8, which is available in Q3 2010. It will work with T-mobile and AT&T 3G networks.

Oz, on July 10th, 2010 at 3:47 pm

It’s kinds of stupid to think that you could save $5 a month. If only
one of the 12 months, any of your kids, your wife, just a little bit over
the 200mb, 5 months saving is gone. When will this happen?
One single day in a year, you or your family members just go outsides
the wifi area, you will out bill immediatly. it won’t take
a few webpages for you to over 200mb.

It just some stupid tricks to guile you. 98% of the guys
never pass 200mn a single month one year?

I don’t think at&t will reveal the real statistics.

Danny, on July 12th, 2010 at 6:33 pm

Here are the questions you have to ask yourself:

1) Why buy an IPhone 4 with GPS, video call capability, etc. if your really can’t use any of it because of data limitations? The whole point of the new IPhone is the data component and now they are saying, “Well, we are going to give you more features in this new phone but if you actually use them it will cost you. The WiFi argument is not valid because while it is nice when it is there, it defeats the purpose of having these feature in a phone anyway. If you are always where there is WiFi, there are better options than a tiny screen phone.

2) If AT&T is making money under the unlimited plan and users are not for the most part going over 2GB anyway, why change? Do you really believe a public company with profit expectations would do something to hurt their bottom line to benefit their customers if they don’t have to? Not likely.

3) Isn’t the timing of this interesting considering the airlines are also playing games with pricing trying to squeeze every dollar they can out of their customers? I view this whole thing like the slight of hand at the grocery store where prices stay the same but the package continues to shrink. I challenge you to find one pound of much of anything anymore.

John, on August 19th, 2010 at 5:30 am

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